Tag Archives: Reading

Day 3002 : Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

“Contrary to what we usually believe, moments like these, the best moments in our lives, are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times—although such experiences can also be enjoyable, if we have worked hard to attain them. The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile. Optimal experience is thus something that we make happen. For a child, it could be placing with trembling fingers the last block on a tower she has built, higher than any she has built so far; for a swimmer, it could be trying to beat his own record; for a violinist, mastering an intricate musical passage. For each person there are thousands of opportunities, challenges to expand ourselves.”

― Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience

 

It’s 12: 29 PM on day 3002 of my journey towards independence and I managed to pray, read the  Bible and do some work

 

Yesterday after weeks of reading I finished reading Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi it’s a book that describes the state of Flow – basically that in-the-zone feeling when you’re doing something and everything else fades into the background – and how we can all achieve it. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience is by far the most intellectual book I’ve ever read so if you open this very interesting book best be prepared to concentrate for a sustained period of time.

Day 2768: Be Obsessed or Be Average by Grant Cardone

The next time someone starts labeling your obsession an illness, tell them, “I’m not afflicted, I’m gifted.” – Grant Cardone

 

It’s 1: 10 PM on day 2768 of my journey towards independence and I managed to pray,  have breakfast, read Proverbs 6 promote my 50 New Feet Campaign benefiting MiracleFeet –raised  $13 584 only $5 166 more to raise by June 17, 2018 to reach my new goal of helping 75 kids with Clubfoot by June 17, 2018

 

Recently I finished reading Be Obsessed or Be Average by Grant Cardone the book is counterintuitive in that it sort of tells you that everything you’ve taught about achievement is wrong the world says slow down take a vacation while Grant says go all-in to achieve your goals be obsessed  I LOVE the book because for the first time ever I feel like the fact that I’m obsessed with my goals is not something I should try to change. I am obsessed and I refuse to be average #BeObsessed .

Day 2012: 2016 Reading List

“Reading is a basic tool in the living of a good life.” – Joseph Addison

 

It’s 1 : 12 PM on day 2012 of my journey towards independence and I managed to pray, read 1 Peter 5,  have breakfast, learn one new thing – Oxygen was discovered in 1774 by Joseph Priestley in England and two years earlier, but unpublished, by Carl W. Scheele in Sweden. Scheele heated several compounds including potassium nitrate, manganese oxide, and mercury oxide and found they released a gas which enhanced combustion. – and work on my 25 Smiles Campaign –  yesterday Ellyn Harris  donated $25 (thanks SO MUCH Ellyn  your support means a lot to me :) ) which brings the total raised to $3 362 only $2 888 more to raise by 10 Jan 2017  (SO SO SO GRATEFUL to everyone who has supported this campaign so far :)  ).

 

Today I was thinking of all the books I want to read this year (my goal is to read 20 or more books this year) and to make things easier for myself I made a list (I’m a big fan of lists LOL 🙂 ). Take a look:

2016 Reading List

  1. The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom
  2. Out of Sorts: Making Peace with an Evolving Faith
    by Sarah Bessey
  3. The Terrorist’s Son: A Story of Choice by Zak Ebrahim
  4. Now and Then by Mira Lyn Kelly (Note: This book is for ADULTS ONLY [if you’re under 18 don’t even think about buying this book lest your parents think i’m a bad influence on you LOL 🙂 ])
  5. What I Love About You by Rachel Gibson (again probably for adults only [I shudder to think what you must be thinking of me right now LOL 🙂 ]  )
  6. Lord of the Flies by William Golding (my 15-year-old brother said it’s good which is astonishing because he rarely talks about books so I’m going to read it)
  7. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez
  8. Night (The Night Trilogy #1) by Elie Wiesel
  9. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
  10. Imtiaz Sooliman and the Gift of the Givers: A Mercy to All by Shafiq Morton

 

(Note: I might not read the books in this particular order it depends totally on the availability of the books)

 

Are they any books you want to read? Let me know in the comment section below and who knows I might read your pick and review it 🙂

Day 1895: Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer

“How do you know that you are not part of a book? That someone’s not reading your story right now?” ― Jodi Picoult, Between the Lines

 

It’s  12 :  24  PM on day 1805 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, pray,  read Romans 12, publish my Disability of the Day feature, publish my Kid of the Week feature, learn one new thing – Abrogate [ab·ro·gate] v. Repeal or do away with a law, right, or agreement. “To abrogate a law.”-  have breakfast, hang out with family and listen to music.

 

Yesterday I finished reading Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer it’s about Prince Oliver who’s determined to escape the fairy tale in which he is stuck and Delilah who’s determined to help him it’s a sweet story of young love but it’s also a story about wanting more out of life which I think all of us can relate to I would recommend it to anyone looking for a sweet and light read.

Day 1588: Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult

“Could love be not grand gestures or empty vows, not promises meant to be broken, but instead a paper trail of forgiveness? A line of crumbs made of memories, to lead you back to the person who was waiting?” ― Jodi Picoult, Leaving Time

 

It’s 1 : 30 PM on day 1588 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to  brush my teeth,  pray,  read Jeremiah 5, publish my Disability of the Day feature,  learn one new thing – Named after the Roman god of war, Mars is often called the ‘Red Planet’ due to the iron oxide prevalent on its surface, which gives it a reddish look –  promote my Educate Generations campaign–still on  $1 370 but I’m grateful- go to a 2 hour long church service and stay for brunch.

 

Yesterday afternoon I finished reading Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult the book is about young Jenna who is determined to find her elephant researcher mother who went missing after an accident at the elephant sanctuary the whole time I was reading the book I was trying to predict how the book was going to end looking back I realize I shouldn’t have bothered trying to figure out the ending because the twist was so brilliant that I would have had to be a genius to see it coming.

Day 1118: Don’t have enough time?

We have enough time for everything we just choose to waste it– that’s what I keep learning.

 

It’s 12 : 07 PM on day 1118 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth,  pray, read 2 Samuel 21,    publish my Disability of the Day feature,  feed myself  All Bran Flakes  and a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast and tweet and Facebook about my campaign – nobody donated so far today either 10 days to go.

 

Yesterday I disconnected from the internet, switched off the TV and spent the whole afternoon reading and to my surprise I  had managed to read a hundred pages of Conversations with Myself by Nelson Mandela just goes to show we have enough time for everything we just choose to waste it. Do you waste your time then ask yourself where has all the time gone?

Day 1085: National Book Week 2013

“Reading brings us unknown friends.” — Honoré de Balzac

 

It’s 12  : 05 PM on day 1085 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to pray, read 1 Samuel 19,   publish my Disability of the Day feature,   tweet and Facebook about my campaign -nobody donated so far today –  stretch my hamstrings, brush my teeth,  feed myself boiled egg and Bran Flakes   for breakfast and  practice sitting up straight to strengthen my core muscles.

 

Today marks the start of National Book Week here in South Africa National Book Week is important to me because I love reading it makes me sad that kids my brother’s age would rather play Xbox 360 than read a book reading opens your mind to all the possibilities of your life. Read a book, open your mind.

Day 960: My Favourite Blogs 2013

“Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another’s skin, another’s voice, another’s soul.” — Joyce Carol Oates

It’s  4  : 27 PM on day 960 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to stretch my hamstrings, take off my dirty shirt and put on a clean t-shirt – I hate whoever created buttons it took me ages to get dressed – brush my teeth, feed myself Bran Flakes for breakfast,   practice sitting up straight to strengthen my core muscles, pray, read Numbers 13,  publish my Disability of the Day feature and  practice typing with both hands.

As you may know I love reading other people’s blogs and since I believe everything’s better when you share it I thought I’d share with you some of my favourite blogs. Take a look:

My Favourite Blogs 2013

  1. Love That Max – a blog by Ellen Siedman (mostly) about her adorable son Max who just happens to have Cerebral Palsy – reading this blog gives me a new appreciation for my mom a special needs mom is not just a mom she doubles up as a physiotherapist, occupational therapist, speech therapist… the list goes on and on.
  2. Emma’s Hope Book –a blog by Ariane Zurcher  which gives you a glimpse into a family’s Autism journey – Ariane has taught me humility she’s the first to say she’s wrong about something.
  3. Chasing Rainbows – a blog by Kate Gallagher  Leong  about motherhood, love and loss – Kate has taught me grace her oldest son Gavin died just recently and  in the midst of her grief she wrote a post telling people not to worry about what to say to her and her husband when they show up at the church.
  4. Outrageous Fortune – a blog by Shasta Kearns Moore about the joys and sorrows of raising twin boys (one who has Cerebral Palsy and one who doesn’t).
  5. Bringing the Sunshine – a blog by Andi Sligh about life with a double dose of special [needs].
  6. Bird on the Street – a blog by Katy about parenting four kids one of whom happens to have Cerebral Palsy.
  7. Noah’s Dad – a blog by Rick Smith which lets you see a boy who has Down Syndrome through his father’s eyes.
  8.  Whispers of a Barefoot Medical Student – a blog by Mariechen Puchert about life as a medical student.

I LOVE hearing from you feel free to leave a comment below.

Day 803

Sometimes you’ve got to do things for no particular reason  – that’s what I keep learning 🙂

It’s  4 : 10 PM on day 803 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to stretch my hamstrings, brush my teeth,  feed myself an egg sandwich for breakfast, go shopping with my family, feed myself fried chicken for lunch and make sandwiches as part of Virginia’s Sandwich Run – I was going to take pictures of me making sandwiches and publish them in this post with the intention of inspiring others to make a difference in the world but my family told me in not so many words that me doing that would come across as being boastful so I decided against it for my family not because I care how I come across to people.

Today was one of those rare minimum-therapy-maximum-fun-days where I gave myself permission to do as little therapy as possible and have lots of fun I had the best time in the book store I even said to my sister I wouldn’t mind being locked in here reading is one of my favourite pastime when I read I forget about my hamstrings that need to be stretched, I forget that I have to practice sitting straight, I forget that at this stage of my life I need so much help… I basically forget about all my problems and escape into a different world for a while.  Do you always do things with an end goal in mind?

I LOVE hearing from you feel free to leave a comment below.

Day 342

You can’t make choices for anyone else – that’s what I learned today.

It’s 7: 47 PM on day 342 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, sleep some more, feed myself corn flakes for breakfast, publish my Kid of the Week feature, finish reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini – a book about extraordinary love and sacrifice I would recommend it to anyone who needs perspective – feed myself rice and curry for dinner and brush my teeth once more.

This morning we were discussing what we were going to eat for breakfast and I almost had a heart attack when my sister said she was making hamburgers and putting an egg on top of it – my brother is 17kg’s overweight according to his pediatrician – but after much begging, pleading and suggesting alternative foods I realized that he was going to have to make the decision to lose weight by himself so although I feel like I’m watching a train crash in slow motion I’m going to back off. Do you sometimes wish you could make choices for those you love?

Are we connecting on Twitter? If not, say hi at http://twitter.com/Nisha360

If you’ve given to my cause or you can’t give now, please help me by sharing my cause with others. You can tweet about it like my friend Stan Faryna. This is the tweet he uses: @Nisha360 is a brave, smart young woman trying to make a better world for us all. Please help her do an amazing thing. http://bit.ly/hC7vOu

Stan’s very sweet for saying so, but feel free to write what reflects you best.

Thanks to all my friends out there who are helping me make my dream come true: to make a better world for all of us!