The Lesson We Cannot Forget

Daily writing prompt
What’s the most delicious thing you’ve ever eaten?
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The most delicious meal I’ve ever eaten is the meal I had after I found out the truth about my sister. 

My parents adopted her when I was eighteen and she was sixteen. I never asked for a sister. She was terrible. She borrowed my clothes without asking and we fought about almost everything. 

One day, I asked my pharmacist uncle for some help. I wanted to get rid of my sister, but I wanted to do it slowly so no one would suspect me. He agreed to help and gave me a bottle of poison. He reminded me to administer it in small doses with each meal so no one would notice.

Of course, I didn’t want my sister to suspect a thing, so I became extra nice over time. If she wanted to borrow a sweater of mine, I let her, and said I didn’t really like it anyway. And when her nasty pen-chewing habit got on my nerves, I asked her to drop the pen and watch a show with me.

Months later, our parents noticed and complimented us on how well we were getting along. I really did start to like my sister. “Sara,” my parents said to me, we’re happy to see you’re such a good role model for her.” 

I wanted to cry when I heard those words. I went to see my uncle and begged him to give me an antidote for the poison. “You don’t want her to die now?” he asked.

I shook my head. “No. Please save her.”

My uncle simply told me to throw out the rest of the poison and my sister would be fine. I had been serving her small doses of fruit juice. 

I was so happy to hear the news. I rushed home and found her helping with making dinner. I helped too. It was a simple meal but it was the best meal I’d ever eaten because I was filled with a feeling of peace and contentment at having such a great sister.

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5 Soft Skills for Career Success

How important are soft skills when it comes to advancing your career, getting a raise, or showing your employer that you deserve to take on more responsibility?

Soft skills are just as important as job-specific, hard skills. But before we get into why or how they are vital, let’s look at why now is the right time to hone your soft skills.

Recent events during the pandemic changed the lives of millions, and many have changed careers, jobs, or where they work. Inflation and AI have brought much uncertainty, with people fearing the stability of their jobs and finances, especially with the escalating prices.

Forget vacations or even splurging on a new pair of shoes: now some people aren’t even sure if they can afford their groceries. So what can you do to increase your chances that you can keep your job, or get a job when a crisis like this occurs?

View soft skills to read the original post about the five soft skills that will take your career to the next level.

Small Goals Lead to Bigger Achievements

“I always try to start out with some type of goal. Then I work backward and think of what I need to do to get there, and give myself smaller goals that are more immediate.”

— Kristi Yamaguchi

If life is throwing too much at you right now, I get it. Especially if you have a mountain of tasks on your to-do list and each day is too short to get anything done.

Just take a deep breath and start with something small and urgent. Don’t look at the overwhelming list ahead of you until you’ve accomplished a lot of smaller goals. Some times from now, you’ll look back and see what you’ve achieved.

Dark Words of Wisdom

“Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.” –George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four

I have been watching a lot of historical movies and documentaries lately. One observation I have of history films is that they are a reflection of the time period that it was made. For example, in a movie about the 1800s, women weren’t wearing gloves at a time in history when it was common for women to wear gloves. In this sense, we are controlling how we portray the past. Similarly, schools decide what students learn about our past when they decide what goes in our curricula and what books we are allowed to read.

Thus, where we are today is controlling where we will be in our future when we show the current generation our interpretation of the past. Something to think about when we create movies, stories, and lessons to educate the next generation.

How to Have It All and Attain Your Dream

Is it possible to have it all? We all have goals and dreams; nothing is more fulfilling than seeing our goals achieved. On the other hand, nothing is more disappointing than working hard and watching success slip away as you fail.

Over time, I’ve put together tips on how to have it all. The last tip is my favorite.

Daily writing prompt
What does “having it all” mean to you? Is it attainable?
View all responses

1 Set Realistic Goals

Having it all has different meanings for different people: being rich, working at their dream job, marrying their significant other, or living in their ideal house while married with a spouse and kids. No matter what the perfect life means to you, you want a match between what’s realistically attainable and what you aim to have.

If you want to be a billionaire but you don’t have the means to reach that income level, you won’t have everything you desire. Similarly, if you want a happy marriage, you will achieve it by working on your relationship and communicating with your spouse.

2 Evaluate Your Progress

Life has its surprises. Your goal may be to earn a medal for a sport, but an unexpected tragedy makes that goal unattainable. In that case, you may need to modify your goal or set a new one. It’s also possible that you thought you could achieve a goal, but as time passes and you gain more life experience, you realize that goal was not reasonable. For example, you may want to start a profitable business but not reach your sales goal. In that case, it’s time to make new milestones and readjust your plans.

3 Put Yourself First

It’s important to put yourself first. If you’re influenced by more successful people, what other people have, or the opinions of those who criticize you, it will be difficult to have it all. If you want to be the most fashionable by comparing yourself to fashion icons, you will always be trying to catch up to someone else. If you have a critical friend or parent, you’ll always be below standard and imperfect until you put yourself first.

4 Create Happiness

The greatest key to having it all is happiness with what you have. This is not the same as setting low standards. What it means is if you want certain things in life, but you haven’t gotten them yet, take a look around you and see what you currently have while you continue to work on your goals. Being happy with what you have is important for mental health and confidence. It’s a stepping stone as you continue to work on what you want in the future.