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catherinestuart · 5 years

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#HSHQTASK005 : what’s up no one asked for this but here it is.

( man ig ciara and i are gonna stick around forever sorry y’all )

001. name / age / pronouns :

rae / 25 / she+her

002. which character(s) do you play? :

catherine stuart, ariel de bragança, sara-elena asturias, dalia radziwiłł

003. nationality / ethnicity / timezone :

indonesian / indonesian / est

004. tell us a bit about your ( home / current ) country / city / etc :

ok so, i’ve been living in toronto for about... 5-6 years? basically moved here for university. i grew up in jakarta, indonesia, one of the most populated cities in the world, it’s sweaty and crowded and can’t you blame me for wanting to leave so badly??? but yeah my parents still live there, now i live with my sister in toronto.

005. favourite color / fruit / season :

black / guava / fall

006. favourite books + writer whose writing style you admire the most :

see, i can’t pick one, it changes every day?? right now, i really want to reread z: a novel of zelda fitzgerald (only bc no church in the wild came on shuffle), but also missing my copy of death in venice. actually never mind i will forever love barthes’ a lovers discourse. when it comes to writers??? i fucking admire how personal gertrude stein’s works are, but i had a baudelaire phase in university so ig i’m pretty into him too. oh chekov too. idk i like a whole mess of things. my literary guilty pleasure is historical fiction, like ok, michelle moran’s first three novels??? that shit slaps and i was obsessed.

007. what kinda music do you listen to + any fave bands / musicians :

i love musicals, love the fucking opera, i spend all of my money on season subscriptions to the opera, ballet, and theatre -- so i gotta say ...maybe puccini? anything by cole porter obviously. i also love jazz, blues, r&b, so i’m just gonna list my most listened spotify artists: boyz ii men, tlc, duke ellington, mcfly, little mix, pj harvey, destiny’s child, aaron neville.

008. what are you doing for a living / what are you studying? :

i studied political science and english literature in university, now i’m studying data analysis and programming until my fucking work visa comes through. i have a background in working with literary collectives and content writing, so hopefully i’ll work somewhere in publishing soon???

009. what’s your dream occupation? :

conflict resolution in the united nations.

010. relationship status :

single for 7 months now

011. coffee, tea or hot chocolate? :

all of the above please.

012. dream holiday destination? :

i hate travelling, but i’ll maybe travel for the bolshoi ballet

013. the thing you’re most proud about yourself :

nothing yet tbh, i’m glad to get over my wild depressive period and reaching semi mental stability. but ok this one thing, i sang in the soundtrack for this huge indonesian movie franchise when i was in high school after the director + producer saw me sing and play piano in the school arts festival, i played come together by the beatles.

014. tell us a bit about your family!

my dad is in finance and he worked for the government as a consultant, my mom doesn’t work, but she’s somehow always busy. when my sister and i were younger we want nothing more than to grow up and be just like her, all she does is paint, go to the gym, and have brunch with her really fun friends. my little sister is my favourite person!! she studied political history in university and now she works in marketing.

015. how long have you known your closest friend?

6 years, she’s in korea now :(

016. superpower you’d like to have?

shape shifting definitely, i’ll never have to diet for the rest of my life.

017. celebrity you’d like to meet?

ugh none please, i’m too scared that i’ll get disappointed

018. guilty pleasures :

reality tv shows. listen, i stay home a lot while i wait for my visa, so i religiously watch 90 day fiance and its many spinoffs, love island, and idk i can’t think of anything else rn.

019. pet peeves :

i’m easily grossed out?? so like slime and dirt and tbh bandaids would make me vomit -- so my pet peeves would include people being dirty ig

020. do you have any hobbies? :

i used to have so many hobbies as a kid, my mom shoved every after school activity down my throat, so i did ballet for about 10 years, balinese dance for 12, piano for 15, choir for 15?? now i do nothing, which i love infinitely more.

021. where would you like to live in the future?

i’d like to stay in toronto pls canadian government give me my visa ily

022. quick fun facts (?) :

i’m a pisces, i have a fear of large bodies of water, i hate beaches and the heat, i studied classical singing in university for a bit, i’m trilingual (english, indonesian, korean), tried learning french but i got too lazy. i hate travelling but i love airplane rides??

#hshqtask005 #idk why i did this but i did

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maergo · 6 years

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FUCK YOU I TAKE IT BACK DO ALL 100

001. When is their birthday?Dec 9th002. Do they do anything to celebrate their birthday?No, he doesn’t celebrate it003. Does your character like coffee better, or tea?Coffee004. Do they prefer being alone or with others?He likes to be surrounded by up to a few people every now and then but also needs his alone time005. Are they in good health?Physically yes, mentally not so much

006. What sense do they most rely on?All? 007. Is your character an optimist or a pessimist?Both008. What is their favorite fairy tale?He doesn’t have one009. Do they believe in happy endings?Sometimes he does, it really depends on what it’s about010. Do they believe in love at first sight?No011. How would your character court the person of their dreams?He has no person of his dreams012. What makes your character embarrassed?Compliments, he doesn’t know how to react to them and then he gets embarrassed013. Have they ever been bullied or teased?He has been for a very short period of time014. Detail one secret shame your character feels.uhhhhhhhhhh i can’t come up with anything now015. Are they most likely to fight with their fists or their tongue?His tongue, he’s not a fist fighter016. What is their choice of weapon?probably hair because he doesn’t know how to use any kind of weapon017. When does your character think that violence is justified or deserved?When it is to protect themselves or someone else018. Your character wakes up to find that war has been declared. What do they do?Probably wait and see how it’s gonna turn out019. If they could have a superpower, what would they choose?I think he’d pick invisibility020. What are their hobbies?Photography, music, cooking021. How do they display affection?With close friends he’ll just constantly call them things like bitch and what not. With relationships it really depends on his mood, one day he’ll be super clingy and the other he’s just more vocally affectionate022. What is the most beautiful thing they’ve ever seen?Flowers023. What do they consider beautiful in others physically?An overall healthy look024. What do they consider ugly in others physically?Ugly is a big word but he just tends to not want to look at those that do not take any care of their physical appearance025. What do they consider beautiful in others personality-wise?Confidence026. What do they consider ugly in others personality-wise?Full on rudeness, like 24/7027. What is their idea of perfect happiness?Being content with what one has in their life. 028. What makes them laugh out loud?People who accidentally hurt themselves (falling down etc)029. What sort of sense of humor does your character have?He has a dark sense of humor030. Do they believe in the afterlife?He does031. Are they superstitious about anything?Not really032. Does your character believe in ghosts?No033. Do they keep their promises?He tries to034. What’s their view of lying?He believes lying is okay as long as it’s not harmful to anyone035. What is the most important rule your character lives by?None036. How honorable is your character?uhhhhhhhhh idk037. If your character saw someone drop a large sum of money and knew that they could probably take it without anyone noticing, what would they do?Pick it up, go to that person and tell them that they dropped the money038. What bad habits do they have?Hairpulling in stressful situations, nail biting, overthinking039. What do they think is the worst thing that can be done to a person?Emotionally scar them040. What is their obsession?Writing, going for walks, he’s also lowkey obsessed with singing and staying in bed for too long041. Are they comfortable with technology?He hardly knows how to use all the new equipment but is okay with older stuff042. What is their greatest achievement?Getting cats043. What will they stand up for?His friends/ family044. What disgusts them?pussy045. Does your character have any chronic medical conditions?He thinks he does but doesn’t want to see a doctor for it046. How do they handle getting sick?He just keeps on doing what he usually does because he hates not getting things done047. What was the last medical problem your character had?/048. Do they have any allergies?He’s allergic to roses049. How does your character feel about growing old?It terrifies him and also causes panic attacks050. How does your character feel about their own mortality?lowkey don’t feel like googling that last word051. If they knew they would die tomorrow, what would they do today?Make sure his pets will get a good place to stay at and then live his last day like any other.052. What is your character’s worst flaw?I’d say it’s his insecurities053. What is your character’s greatest strength?He doesn’t easily give up054. Does your character want power or authority of any kind?Not at all055. Is your character an introvert or an extrovert?He’s kinda both but leans more towards introvert056. Has your character ever struck someone in anger?No057. Has your character ever killed anyone?No058. What is your character’s idea of a perfect day?One on which he doesn’t stress too much 059. List several phrases your character is fond of uttering. Where did they pick them up?ugh i so do not wanna do this lmao060. What is your character’s attitude toward education and learning?He loves learning and he loved school. If his passion wasn’t writing he would’ve considered to either follow more types of educations or he’d study to become a teacher himself061. Does your character prefer adventure or safety and security?Safety and security most of the time, but an adventure every now and then is appreciated too062. What sort of legacy does your character wish to leave behind?None063. How well does your character handle difficult people?Depends on how difficult they are and in what way064. In what ways does your character annoy others?Just by being himself lmao065. Is your character better at leading or following? Which do they prefer?He good at both and prefers to lead066. Does your character prefer city life or being out in nature?The city life, if he doesn’t hear traffic constantly he gets too deep into his own thoughts067. Does your character believe in fate or destiny?Not really068. How strong is your character’s sense of responsibility? What kinds of things trigger it?He’s responsible when the situation calls for it069. What about your character is heroic?Nothing lmao070. What about your character is cowardly?He’s too afraid to face certain emotions071. How kind is your character?Generally very kind unless someone really gets on his nerves072. In a Dungeons & Dragons game, which class would your character be? (wizard, fighter, bard, priest, ranger, etc.)i don’t even know that game073. In a novel, what plot role would your character fill? (hero, anti-hero, sidekick, villain, etc.)Probably a sidekick074. What is your character’s favorite game?He doesn’t really play games-- at least I assume it’s about videogames?075. Is your character ticklish?A little076. How do they express anger?He bottles it up until it gets too much and then he just takes it out on himself077. How often do they cry? Over what?He cries a lot, mostly when he’s too stressed and can’t deal with his feelings anymore078. How emotionally stable is your character?He’s not very stable079. How easy is it for them to read the emotions of others?He can kind of sense it when someone lies about how they’re doing080. How easy is it for others to read your character’s emotions?Very easy, it’s very clear when he’s not in a good mood081. Is your character religious?No082. What are your character’s sleeping preferences?When he’s alone he likes to sleep on his stomach, when with someone he wants to sleep against or even half on top of them083. What is the first thing they say and/or do when they wake up?Usually it’s something like ‘good morning babies’ because he wakes up to a whole lot of cats waiting for him to give them food084. Describe your character in one word.Odd085. Describe your character in three words.Messy, dramatic, soft086. How would your character describe themself in one word?Unworthy087. How would your character describe themself in three words?Useless, unimportant, weird088. Is your character quiet or loud?Both089. How vocally expressive is your character?He can be very expressive or not at all090. How bodily expressive is your character?Not very expressive091. What type of music does your character like?Anything, he can go from ballads to metal in two seconds092. What emotion does your character evoke in others?Probably annoyance093. What is your character’s goal in life?To become content with what he has094. Name three things most would not expect your character to be able to know.oh idk tbh095. Name three things most would not expect your character to be able to do.Do backflips, sing hella high, uhhhh---096. How do they move and carry themselves? What energy do they project?When for work he gives off a very excited and confident type of energy, when alone or with friends it’s generally the opposite097. How well do they adapt to change?Not well at all098. Does your character like animals?He l o v e s animals a lot099. Do they talk to inanimate objects?He curses at his phone sometimes but that’s it 100. Does your character dream? If so, what do they dream about? Usually he has nightmares but mostly doesn’t actually remember them

#axheronash #「 chmnh ; about 」

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auctes · 6 years

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15-25 ;V

OVERESTIMATING MYSELF ON MAIN // @sanguamnis .

015 . are they most likely to fight with their fists or their tongue ?

this is implicitly linked to the next question , but fukawa knows she’s got a way with words . while she can fight back physically if necessary , her most natural inclination of defense is to insult , manipulate , to deride , or to blaspheme . fukawa’s defense is the offensive : when she feels threatened , she will automatically respond with what she knows is the most pointed , most personally hurtful thing she can say to a person . she exploits weaknesses as a means of removing herself from the line of fire , and she’s bloody good at it .

016 . what is their choice of weapon ?

given the choice ? her words . her novels . what i find so interesting is the absent commentary that the canon makes on fukawa’s career , and upon her ability as a writer . we know that she’s universally acclaimed , but also that she is able to sway public opinion on even asinine topics with her enormous reach ; if fukawa has an agenda , her demographic becomes her greatest weapon . she could destroy a person’s life in five hundred pages , if she so wished . probably less . drafts not permitted , she’d still take a verbal crack at it .

017 . when does your character think that violence is justified or deserved ?

short answer ? never . fukawa’s life is already inundated with associations of violence : some repressed , and some ungraciously remaining within her memory . she has been wrongfully accused of being an inherently violent person who doles out a distorted measure of personal justice , and that perception has ruined her life . fukawa is more of a pragmatist : she believes that some people do deserve to be punished , yes , and she will not mourn the deaths of awful people . but enduring a game of mandated murder for survival inevitably alters your point of view on the necessity and applicability of violence . she can’t justify it .

018 . your character wakes up to find that war has been declared . what do they do ?

go back to bed , honestly .

019 . if they could have a super power , what would they choose ?

here’s the thing . if the super power was optional , fukawa wouldn’t choose to have one . super powers are too ingrained within the world of fantasy for her to be able to completely buy into the concept , or commit to having one . she would rather remain a mundane person who is grounded in reality than test the boundary of fiction . but if i had a choice ————— and i’m discarding quirk discussion here , because that’s another dialogue within itself ————— superhuman suggestion and mind manipulation , quite honestly . it’s something she ... has more or less mastered as it is , so it’s not too farfetched to imagine that in a fantastical capacity .

020 . what are their hobbies ?

hobbies ? what hobbies ? her life is work , suffering , and occasionally sleeping . i would say writing , but when fukawa is writing professionally , she rarely has time to do so for recreation . she reads whenever she can , enjoys going to galleries and museums , and studying humanities - wing subjects yields some measure of stress relief for her . syo , on the other hand , is a more practical person with a strong spacial awareness : she enjoys building furniture , interior decorating , high risk adrenaline sports , and carpentry .

021 . how do they display affection ?

affection from fukawa is highly dependent on the subject and the nature of that relationship . she can’t offer consolidating words , and physical contact is a process . sharing her work ————— her honest , personal work , and not her professional bibliography ————— is sharing a part of herself that fukawa often deems unsafe to outwardly express . there is a measure of deep trust involved in writing a piece for someone , sharing her poetry , or telling them about things she writes for herself as opposed to for an audience . it’s honestly an intimate experience for her , as fukawa connects with her own humanity through writing ; she can perceive when those closest to her need a hug , or their hands held , or their hair stroked ————— but honest affection from fukawa is simply sharing her heart .

022 . what is the most beautiful thing they’ve ever seen ?

byakuya togami . i actually have an answer for this , because i think it came up in an in - character conversation on the second ...? killing game server . the most beautiful thing fukawa has ever seen was a beached trawler wreck on a stretch of sand near her home . understand that what fukawa perceives as beautiful could be slightly abnormal : the imagery she employs in her little love poems is ostensibly macabre , and she is inspired by personal tragedies and trauma . i remember waxing poetic about the rusted hull , and the aquatic plantlife that dried and rotted into the bow , but fukawa is most profoundly moved by things we would find ugly , or depressing , or confronting . life in stasis , nature reclaiming appropriated land , and transcendentalism moves fukawa unspeakably . it’s nice imagery , and was deeply symbolic .

023 . what do they consider beautiful in others , physically ?

fukawa does not have a physical type . however , i distinctly remember writing something once in which i stated that she falls in love with parts as opposed to the sum of them . she will hyperfixate and romanticize a single aspect of a person : their eyes , their arms , their voice , their posture , and for as long as she loves them , it will be all that matters to her .

edit : i found it , and i chucked it under a read more below . you can skim it if you want to see what i mean .

024 . what do they consider ugly in others , physically ?

exactly what she fixated upon in the above answer , usually . consider fukawa falling in love on a case - by - case basis : when she’s attracted to someone , and it ends horribly for her , she’ll condemn herself by demonising every precious thought she had about a person . she’ll curse her own stupidity , her frivolity , her foolishness for thinking another person could ever love her , and that they could hurt her like they inevitably do . everything she found beautiful in them becomes abhorrent , until she can’t stand to think about them a moment longer .

025 . what do they consider beautiful in others personality - wise ?

this one is easier . fukawa is attracted to narcissists . she likes self - assuredness , self importance , and the incredibly toxic degradation and dehumanisation to which a narcissist’s peers are subject .

on the lighter side , she appreciates courage and strength of character . she is attracted to people who are decisive , who are sure of who they are , and who are not afraid to stand up for themselves or others . intelligence is a bonus , but she is most likely to swear loyalty to a person who engenders their values into their entire being . bravery , occasional recklessness , and a strong drive to do what is right for no other reason than it is the right thing to do .

it just takes some growing up on her part .

touko fukawa does not fall in love with people . she falls in love with their parts , as opposed to their wholes ; the attributes of which come as freely and fondly to her as the sweet surrender of sleep as she vanquishes a crucial deadline . love , as a tangible epiphany , comes to her first within the pages of a novel . this is the part she likes : the sweeping grandeur of a complex indemnity , and the anticipation of knowing it for herself . ( she doesn't remember the rest . but LOVE sticks to her like yellow wallpaper . )

she's ten years old when love first draws her into its vices — in the pleasing lilt of a boy whose words consume her heart like a forest fire . his voice carries the implication of her very first protagonist : a sweet - nothing man who brings the first of touko's hopeful - hearted following to pieces . it's music / it's magic / it's more than her very beginnings can ��stand . it harshens her tone by virtue , and underscores the idiosyncrasies of her speech . she knows the words to this elegy ; they fall easily onto paper .

paper she finds pinned to the bulletin board , beneath the book club sign - up rota . ( and here's when she remembers the other side of love , and why she'd submerged it in far more saturated sentiments . ) his voice still burgeons in her when it tightens over callous condemnations of her folly ; touko finds it searingly sublime when he laughs at her heart's punchline . ( she's sure it was mesmerizing , still , when he was BEGGING her wild - eyed mr hyde to put down the scissors, i'm sorry , i'll go out with you , i'll do anything — )

she's fourteen years old when love flags her down in the hallway with its strong , safe arms . touko fixates upon the crook of his elbow , languidly inclined against the locker , as he scribbles a number onto her palm . he's a swimmer : broad and strong , to her frail and insubstantial . she falls in love with their duplicity , with bold and bashful , with gallant and meek ; with the idea of falling ( and falling , and falling , ) into those arms , and letting them alleviate the chill that's endemic to her constitution .

constitution that grows impedingly more frail as touko sits , alone , at the back of a dim theater ; falling ( and falling , and falling , ) into the constricting unease of the dark . she's somewhat thankful for the amnesty this grants for her tears to flow freely ; for her face to stain with the dimming remnants of hope that she'd foolishly allowed herself . her own arms are no substitute , but they draw her into herself ... for as glorious as his were , touko is certain they weren't enough to overcome the monster that hung him like a portrait .

it's a silly game without an end . a game of bright eyes , and easy smiles ; of lanky limbs and chiselled jaws . again and again , she lets love deceive her . yet again , she learns its true name . and the bodies keep turning , and the tally keeps striking , and the words keep flowing , and it's back and back and back into the easier parts of herself that make love seem so REAL . she will never trust again . she will never LOVE again . except that she DOES , as her empire flows from her fingertips like an endless rainstorm .

she's nineteen years old ( believing she is seventeen , ) when love pierces her palms and seizes her against the wall . she likes to believe it was earlier , in the graveyard of memories she's been forced to disrepute . she is held captive here , in the academy , with her love for him : the love she endures for the quiet turning of pages in the library ; for his relentless precision in the courtroom . for his esteem , and his diligence , and his velleity to survive . and yes , she thinks , THIS is the love she has intimately named .

names that slide from his beautiful tongue with acridity and exactitude . names that give her vile personage a substance she's been lacking . touko takes these verbal beat - downs with vigor — and it's alright , really . ( no , really ! she doesn't mind . ) he only means to villify the dispraising nature of her existence ; to give her leave of this liminal word between fact and fiction . touko feels this love in the shy callings of her soul , and in the hairline cracks of what little composure she keeps . really — it's alright .

touko fukawa is twenty years old when she is forced to relearn her definition of love . in TOWA , of all places , where the air is thick with despair - tinged expulsions of god - knows how many lungs . where the skyline alters with each new bout of destruction , and RED is not a color , but a state of existence . byakuya is gone . a more cynical , more resilient touko stands in his place : on feet that save her from falling , despite the debris below them . on legs that practice perpetual motion , despite this underwater - uncertainty about her .

genocider keeps their body intact ; touko holds their mind together . it's an empty partnership , but she's bitterfly thankful for the aptitude to propel herself from one scenario to the next . thankful for the motive : not to KILL , but to perpetuate . byakuya's existence awards her this . and she's thankful , begrudgingly , for komaru naegi . for what ? touko isn't sure yet . but there is something to be said for the muted whirring of her mind as she endeavors to amass the most sensical form and reason of their narrative .

komaru naegi : so bafflingly simple - minded , so ordinary of disposition . little in the way of courage , or conviction : a bland and mediocre excuse for a woman , who perplexes touko to no end . mystifying , isn't it ? how someone so ordinary could defy express definition . perhaps , ( and to her credit , ) it could be because touko has never penned such a baseless protagonist that she struggles to append an appropriate adjective to komaru . her fingers itch ; she's not written , properly , in months . she must be losing her touch .

touches that linger long after the initial bristle of skin against skin . casual touches that are , at the time , overlooked in favor of surviving , but later tear the flesh from touko's palms as she considers them . komaru's hands are rough , marred by tribulation ; but they are always outstretched , always wanting , always seizing touko's own at the penultimate second of an opportune moment . komaru had reached for her amid the deluges of gunfire , the onslaught of despair - crazed assailants , and it had only meant something hours later .

touko attributes this to the absence of her master ; of the thunder between her lungs . she feels this absence of companionship so profoundly that she wonders how despondent she must truly have been for all her years prior . and this makes no sense : because komaru is RIGHT HERE , beside her . behind her . always within arms reach — she is everywhere . and , in the wake of everything , as touko cards her fingers through komaru's hair , and komaru drives her face into touko's shoulder , touko is still at a loss for words .

the one she learns , and settles quite neatly into , is ' together . ' she and komaru are two tandem pieces ; they are no longer mutually exclusive after all of a day . touko , who has never really been included in anything , finds immeasurable solace in this term . ' we ' are going to hold the sky in place ; ' we ' are finding hope at the fraying edges of this fitful world . together , they are unstoppable . together , they are impenetrable . ' together ' is not a word that either of them are used to , but it becomes touko's favorite .

because she realizes amidst the chaos , quite by accident , that she does not want to lose komaru naegi . ever . touko cannot lose this : the tentative affirmations passed between them like clean air . the prevailing truth in a sea of lies that has driven touko from one madness into another . ( a RINGING in her ears : even in the static of her fugue state , she remembers komaru's hand latch securely onto genocider's arm . the trust / the tears / the TORMENT of it all ... ) the importance of this moment lingers in her heart as she finds herself again .

the decision to stay with komaru was so natural that it mightn't have been borne of conscious effort . touko is still trying to find the words — the only thing she knows — to lend illumination to what she feels for komaru . they're eminent on her tongue — until she loses them around shadowed corners , or under the ruins of this fallen city . hopeless until she feels komaru at her side / hand in hand / back to back , and the inexplicable lightness in touko's chest prevails . for all her works & accolades , how strange this expression feels —

it feels unreal , at times . touko fears that this is another of her delusions , and that one day she'll wake to the peeling wallpaper of her room , ( more her prison than respite , ) and the woman she has become will exist only on paper . but komaru is real . THIS is real . and when touko reaches for her — she doesn't burn . she doesn't bleed . and komaru doesn't crumble to ash & waste between her fingers , and all of this is really , really real . fear does not stop touko from holding on . komaru keeps her from letting go .

touko fukawa is twenty years old when she relearns the definition of love : when she falls in love ( not with people , but ) with komaru , and komaru only . she falls for her smile ; its unyielding brightness in touko's dark . she falls for her embrace , which takes touko's grey world and propels it into violent technicolor . she falls in love with the picture of innocence , and how it lifts the burden and decay from their shoulders . she falls for the maddening simplicity of her ; even for her absurd taste in reading material .

she falls for this new concept of reality that's tinged with fiction . it holds promise : that same promise that comes from long evenings of aching joints and mottled lighting that pursues the realization of the kindest places within touko's mind . komaru feels like a story — she rarely makes sense , but she is evocative of the solitary paradise in prose . only this time , when touko folds the cover of this story over its dog - eared pages , it follows her past the afterglow of a happy ending . komaru is , quite simply , her hope .

she falls for fragments : cold and creeping , as autumn bows to winter's whims . it's guided steps into touko's first real ' friendship , ' she thinks , as she marvels at the sun - steeped renewal of each day with komaru . flowers do not bloom in carnage , but it doesn't stop them from trying : every touch , every word , every abiding gaze , become parts of her . parts of this story that touko will never surcease . the sum of komaru's parts is inexplicably , inexorably whole — and it's EVERYTHING .

#sanguamnis #╰ 📖 —— mail .

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worklabournewsresearch · 3 years

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5 Strategies Employers Can Use to Address Workplace Mental Health Issues

Haynes, P. L. (2022). 5 strategies employers can use to address workplace mental health issues. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/5-strategies-employers-can-use-to-address-workplace-mental-health-issues-173818

Patricia L. Haynes writes: "COVID-19 has inflicted a serious mental health toll on many U.S. workers...As a result, many of these workers – especially those like nurses, doctors and teachers – are reporting elevated levels of anxiety, depression and sleeping problems. Americans are also drinking a lot more alcohol and overeating, and engaging in less physical activity. One-third of them have gained weight since the start of the pandemic. I research the negative effects of stress on health and sleep. I also see many of these issues firsthand in my work as a clinical psychologist treating local firefighters for stress and other issues they encounter on the job and in their lives. I’ve learned workers are better able to navigate mental health issues when their employers have a plan in place. Based on my own work as well as other research, I believe there are five key strategies that companies could adopt."

"Creating clear policies...

Partnering with mental health providers...

Preventing illness with wellness programs...

Fighting mental health stigma by changing norms...

Nurturing social support through teamwork..."

Additional Information

Lier, L.M. (2019). Organizational-level determinants of participation in workplace health promotion programs: a cross-company study. BMC Public Health. https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s12889-019-6578-7.pdf Open Access

Mattke, S. et al. (2013). Workplace Wellness Programs Study. Rand Health Quarterly 3(2), 7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4945172/ Open Access

Workplace Health Model. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/workplacehealthpromotion/model/index.html

How to Establish and Design a Wellness Program. SHRM. https://login.shrm.org/?request_id=id4DDE9CE8BC366D&relay_state=id-1e4edbbe-861c-4c7f-8a2a-ec220e596773&issuer=aHR0cHM6Ly9zc28uc2hybS5vcmcvSURCVVMvU0hSTS9JRFAvU0FNTDIvTUQ=&target=aHR0cHM6Ly9zc28uc2hybS5vcmcvSURCVVMvU0hSTS9QT1JUQUwtU1AvU0FNTDIvTUQ=

Lieberman, C. (2019, August 14). What Wellness Programs Don’t Do for Workers. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2019/08/what-wellness-programs-dont-do-for-workers

(2021). Psychological Health & Safety in Canadian Workplaces. Mental Health Research Canada. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f31a311d93d0f2e28aaf04a/t/61e59ce735bb7b247057299d/1642437865230/Long+Form+EN+Final+-+MHRC+PHS+Report.pdf

Photo Source: Total Shape. (2020). Mental Health [Photograph]. Unsplash. https://unsplash.com/photos/Ianw4RdVuoo

#human resources management #the conversation #wellness programs #workplace health #health and wellness #covid 19 #pandemic

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daminipal · 3 years

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I have done my graduation in fashion and lifestyle accessories and obtained work experience in different areas of designing and marketing. After doing that, choosing to study graphics was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

Why Graphics?

mid 17th century: via Latin from Greek graphics from graphē ‘writing, drawing’.

When we think of anything, it is often in visual terms – the first depictions of the structure of DNA; Darwin’s sketches of the tree of life; even DaVinci’s Vetruvian Man. The power of these pictures to speak to people, especially those outside our specialized research communities, is worth far more than a thousand words.

Graphics have the potential to increase the attractiveness, understandability, and communication power of research findings. They can help to reach correct audiences that research literature never will.

How is it useful?

A graphic designer uses colors, diagrams, shapes, and photographs to communicate with prospective customers. The use of various designing tools and software such as Corel Graphics Suite, Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, and Illustrator have simplified the design process while the availability of different marketing mediums such as website, social media, digital, and print media have made it possible to convey messages consistently and graphically. This allows business owners to show off their brand to a large client base.

Overall, the importance of graphics in the current scenario is undeniable. Online visuals communication, different marketing practices and social media content majorly rely on graphics and videos.

In conclusion, it is important to learn more and see the different aspects of graphics as it can open many new doors to new perspectives.

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Khoury, C.K., Kisel, Y., Kantar, M. et al.(2019) Science–graphic art partnerships to increase research impact. Commun Biol 2, 295 . https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-019-0516-1

Wikipedia commons(2020) A collage of Graphic Designer applications/projects. https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Graphic-designer-application-projects-collage-2.0.jpg#mw-jump-to-license

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juewang-jenny-blog · 4 years

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Questions for the end of Week 5(12th June)

Background

What is your main focus/concept/direction?

AR Education, Cognitive Load Theory (CLT)

What motivates and inspires you to carry out this research?

AR has enormous potential on the future education profit from its unique form of representation and the interactive experience that bridge the gap of real word and virtual material. I want to prove that AR yoga education is worth exploring under the premise that it will help promote educational efficiency by reducing the cognitive load of learners.

What are your ambitions - what do you want the project to do? Why?

Develop a trial experience of AR Yoga tutorial and verify my assumption that AR would reduce the cognitive load of learners and enables them to focus more on learning tasks; Provide insights for future AR based education and training.

Research

What are your influences & inspirations? (Specifically, list a few projects, papers, theories)

App with a 2D virtual instructor: [Pocket Yoga]

#54 in Health & Fitness in Apple App Store

Project/paper with a similar subject: Fraser Anderson, Tovi Grossman, Justin Matejka, and George Fitzmaurice. 2013. YouMove: enhancing movement training with an augmented reality mirror. In Proceedings of the 26th annual ACM symposium on User interface software and technology (UIST ’13). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 311–320. https://doi.org/10.1145/2501988.2502045

Theory: Cognitive Load Theory (CLT)

What are the main issues and debates in this subject area?

1. Students could be cognitively overloaded by the large amount of information they encounter, the multiple technological devices they are required to use, and the complex tasks they must accomplish. (Wu, Lee, Chang & Liang, 2013)

2. AR displayed by smart phones would be easier to cause a loss of immersive feeling than head mounted devices or spatial displays. (Carmigniani et al., 2010; Krevelen & Poelman, 2010).

Debates: NA; It is still in an exploratory stage.

Which are the three most important papers that relate to your topic?

Most authoritative paper on CLT: Sweller, J., van Merrienboer, J.J.G. & Paas, F.G.W.C. Cognitive Architecture and Instructional Design. Educational Psychology Review 10, 251–296 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022193728205

Sweller, J., van Merriënboer, J.J.G. & Paas, F. Cognitive Architecture and Instructional Design: 20 Years Later. Educ Psychol Rev 31, 261–292 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-019-09465-5

Design principles: Sharon Oviatt. 2006. Human-centered design meets cognitive load theory: designing interfaces that help people think. In Proceedings of the 14th ACM international conference on Multimedia (MM ’06). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 871–880. https://doi.org/10.1145/1180639.1180831

What is the relevance of your work to other researchers?

Using a similar methodology or involving the same keywords

What is the relevance (if any) of your work to practitioners?

Take the example of the paper about YouMove by Anderson, Grossman, Matejka, and Fitzmaurice, it also implemented the AR technology to an application in the area of health and fitness and evaluate the results from the learners. I could take it as a reference to structure my work.

Critique & Reflection

Summarise the key findings from your literature research so far.

AR Education

· AR has broad potentials to promote the efficiency of the education field because of the unique features—immersion, navigation and interaction (Dunleavy, Dede, &Mitchell, 2009; Kye & Kim, 2008) it owns comparing to 2D traditional video or picture representation.

· Learners will be more motivated by the novel and interactive experience from AR.

Cognitive Load

· There are three types of cognitive load which are intrinsic, extraneous and germane. Whereas intrinsic cognitive load is attributed to the difficulty of the learning materials, extraneous cognitive load is attributed to the inappropriate presentation of the instructional materials that are not directly related to the learning goals. Germane cognitive load is concerned only with learner characteristics referring to the working memory resources that the learner devotes to dealing with the intrinsic cognitive load associated with the information. (Sweller, Van Merriënboer, & Paas, 1998)

· Measuring Cognitive Load:

1. The subjective measurement technique (the subjective ratings scale)

Pros: Sensitivity and simplicity.

Cons: It cannot easily be used to differentiate between the different types of cognitive load.

2. Extended subjective technique (questionnaires)

Development: It can differentiate between the different types of cognitive load.

3. Objective measurement (secondary task technique and physiological techniques—like electroencephalography or eye-tracking variables)

Pros：more objective

Cons：secondary task technique -inability to differentiate between different types of cognitive load

physiological techniques- high cost and need more research

Sweller, J., van Merriënboer, J.J.G. & Paas, F. Cognitive Architecture and Instructional Design: 20 Years Later. Educ Psychol Rev 31, 261–292 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-019-09465-5

Roland Brunken , Jan L. Plass & Detlev Leutner (2003) Direct Measurement of Cognitive Load in Multimedia Learning, Educational Psychologist, 38:1, 53-61, DOI: 10.1207/S15326985EP3801_7

Which of these findings are the most interesting to you? Why?

I am interested in how those findings could be integrated into my study, what methodology I could take reference to.

Which do you most disagree with? Why?

Not available for the moment

Which are the best three examples you have found (that you didn't know before) of work related to what you want to do?

Successful designs and researches like AR Education on Healthcare (display of the anatomy), Chemistry (display of the structure of an atom or a molecule), Magic books……

Which are the worst three?

Not available for the moment

Methodology

How have you approached this project?

Design Prototypes and Evaluation

Do you have any design/research principles, guidelines, rules, etc. in place?

Yes, e.g. Adobe, Facebook, Google official guidelines on AR interface design.

· Leverage from users’ experience, knowledge, and engrained behavioral patterns, as well as adapting tousers’ behavior and preferences

· Support users’ natural and flexible multimodal communication patterns

· Transparently guide users’ input to minimize difficult sources of linguistic and behavioral variability, so system errors are reduced and usability is enhanced

· Minimize cognitive load associated with user input planning (e.g., producing lengthy sentences)

· Accommodate users’ existing familiar work practice, rather than attempting to change it

· Support representational systems as part of the interface (e.g., linguistic, diagrammatic, symbolic, numeric) that users need to perform their task

· Minimize cognitive load associated with extraneous complexity of system output (e.g., unnecessary features that distract users’ attention when completing a task)

· Minimize interruptions (i.e., whether due to distracting system features or explicit system interruptions), which undermine users’ ability to engage in high-level planning, integrative thinking, and problem solving

Sharon Oviatt. 2006. Human-centered design meets cognitive load theory: designing interfaces that help people think. In Proceedings of the 14th ACM international conference on Multimedia (MM ’06). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 871–880. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1145/1180639.1180831

What considerations (targets, practical aspects, ethics, how would people engage with your project etc.) do you need to take into account?

The prototype should be convenient for testers to download or access on a certain platform.

What constraints are there on you/the project (if any)?

Design build will only take mobile devices into account (smart phone or tablet) while head-mounted devices (HMD) are not available in this situation.

How will you evaluate your work?

Questionnaire and interview

Implementation

What is your plan for implementing your project (design and/or research)?

May 11th -May 31st: Research and Case Study;

June 1st- June 7th : Idea and Proposal;

June 8th -June 15th : Literature Review and Prototype;

June 16th -June 30th: 3D Model and Animation;

July 1st -July 10th : UI Design and Coding;

July 11th- July 20th : First Evaluation(Interview, Experiment);

July 21st – July 23th : Polish and Optimization;

July 24th – July 31st: Second Evaluation and Conclusion;

August 1st -August 15th : Writing and Submission

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ttpptz · 4 years

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Internships and my skills

In this post I will be looking at internships, my skills and skill gaps as well as the importance of resumes and cover letters with respect to the current state of my own.

When looking at potential universities and courses to apply for, the Bachelor of Sports Media looked impressive due to the emphasis of real-life experiences in professional workplaces in the third year when completing the internship. Anjum (2020) states ‘these internship programs not only improve students’ personal skills but also polish their professional growth and experience’. In addition to this, internships allow students to get on the spot training and valuable hands on skills that can’t be learned in a regular class. Not only do they prepare students for work upon the completion of their studies but potentially give students the opportunity to get their foot in the door of organisations. After reading Luca Gallo’s article in The Quarter Times, she clarifies just how treasured an internship can be, ‘the variety of skills I learnt during my time as a student meant I was prepared for any task or challenge that came my way’ (Gallo 2020). After completing her internship with Tennis Victoria, Gallo was able to secure employment, something I hope to do once I have completed mine in 2020.

The skills obtained through the first two years of the degree include, communication, time-management, use of initiate, critical thinking and problem solving, as well as academically through content creation, editing, design and writing. Skill gaps I currently have include the ability to present in a confident manner, something vital in the real world and an aspect of my studies I will continue to try and improve. Excel to Excel (2016) explain the top 10 skills that employers want, with examples including communication, teamwork, initiative and time management; all things I believe I am equipped with.

youtube

Currently I have a standard resume and have attempted cover letters, but they need to be refreshed before the applications for the internships begin. Although they include all the necessary things such as qualifications and why I believe I suitable for positions, they still can be tidier and stand out more to potential internship hosts. Resumes and cover letters are of upmost importance when applying for internships and jobs in general as they are what may stand between you and your dream job. They present to employers why they should hire you and what you can bring to their organisation. Cover letters allow you to target specific jobs (CareerOne 2018) and should be edited to fit the needs of particular jobs and resumes should give employers an understanding of who you are, what you’ve accomplished and the skills you will bring to the table.

References:

Anjum, S 2020, ‘Impact of internship programs on professional and personal development of business students: a case study from Pakistan’, Future Business Journal, vol. 6, no. 2, viewed 2 April 2020, https://fbj.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s43093-019-0007-3.

CareerOne, 2018, A cover letter is as important as the resume, viewed 2 April 2020, https://www.careerone.com.au/career-advice/career/a-cover-letter-is-as-important-as-the-resume-1346.

Duncan, S 2020, ‘Special Internships Issue’, Quarter Times, March, pp. 3, viewed 2 April 2020, file:///C:/Users/owner/Downloads/The%20Quarter%20Times%20Issue%2012%20March%202020.pdf.

Top 10 skills that employers want?, 2016, online video, post 3 April, created by, Excel to Excel viewed 2 April 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaH-dHN_2Og/.

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sciencespies · 5 years

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A matchmaker for microbiomes

https://sciencespies.com/biology/a-matchmaker-for-microbiomes/

A matchmaker for microbiomes

Trent Northen, a Berkeley Lab co-author, analyzes a microbiome sample. Credit: Roy Kaltschmidt/Berkeley Lab

Microbiomes play essential roles in the natural processes that keep the planet and our bodies healthy, so it’s not surprising that scientists’ investigations into these diverse microbial communities are leading to advances in medicine, sustainable agriculture, cheap water purification methods, and environmental cleanup technology, just to name a few. However, trying to determine which microbes contribute to an important geochemical or physiological reaction is both incredibly challenging and slow-going, because the task involves analyzing enormous datasets of genetic and metabolic information to match the compounds mediating a process to the microbes that produced them.

But now, researchers have devised a new way to sort through the information overload.

Writing in Nature Methods, a team led by UC San Diego describes a neural network-based approach called microbe-metabolite vectors (mmvec), which uses probabilities to identify the most likely relationship of co-occurring microbes and metabolites. The team demonstrates how mmvec can outperform traditional correlation-based approaches by applying mmvec to datasets from two well-studied microbiomes types—those found in desert soils and cystic fibrosis patients’ lungs—and gives a taste of how the approach could be used in the future by revealing relationships between microbially-produced metabolites and inflammatory bowel disease.

“Previous statistical tools used to estimate microbe-metabolite correlations performed comparably to random chance,” said Marc Van Goethem, a postdoctoral researcher who is one of three study authors from Berkeley Lab. “Their poor performance led to the detection of spurious relationships and missed many true relationships. Mmvec is a powerful new tool that accurately links metabolite and microbial abundances to solve this problem. There could be wide-ranging applications from clinical trials to environmental engineering. Ultimately, mmvec will allow us to begin moving away from simple pattern recognition towards unravelling mechanisms.”

Explore further

Real world native biocrusts: Microbial metabolism

More information: James T. Morton et al. Learning representations of microbe–metabolite interactions, Nature Methods (2019). DOI: 10.1038/s41592-019-0616-3

Provided by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Citation: A matchmaker for microbiomes (2019, December 2) retrieved 2 December 2019 from https://phys.org/news/2019-12-matchmaker-microbiomes.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

#Biology

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butterflynotes · 5 years

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We Rise / Study

Themes

Love This work makes use of a love as a theme quite obviously. It represents how people don’t feel complete - alive - without love, some people anyway. It also references the fact that love is both good and bad. The use of the lines “the desolation left in our wake” and “the eternal storm” show a representation of love that is painful, as does the line “feelings left unrequited”.

It references the fact love can be quite violent, despite the beauty and appeal it holds, as well as how it isn’t always returned - which is painful for people.

Insanity Insanity is referenced, but it is not one of the main themes of the poem. The lines “we could not tell / fact from fiction, / fiction from fact” references the legal definition of insanity, which is an inability to tell fantasy from reality.

The reason this is used is to reference the nature of love, so it holds a meaning with that theme, and that it can drive people to insanity - as well as this, it shows how we fantasise about people and fictional characters, sometimes to the point it feels so real we can barely distinguish whether it was or not. The line also holds some reference to false memories.

Destruction This is one of the main themes in the poem, shown throughout every stanza. This refers to our destruction of the world via using up natural resources and creating pollution, as well as the destructive nature of humanity when it comes to relationships.

Consequences This, once again, is not a main theme of the poem. It is referenced clearly only once with the lines “as we wait for / our consequences / during a short reprieve”. A reprieve is defined as a cancellation or postponement of a punishment. It references how we, as humanity, have destroyed the world quite a lot, but never suffered consequences - or at least, those who started it never did.

This reference to a reprieve is that those who cause the problems are often not those who face the consequences. It can also be taken in the light that there are consequences to love and relationships, both good and bad.

Togetherness This is referenced towards the end of the poem. This theme is having a sense of community, standing with others until the end - solidarity between people. It represents that the new generation will be the ones to deal with the consequences of what other generations have done, and that people must stand together as they face it.

The line “we stand together” references this theme in several ways. Not only does it reference the togetherness of love, but the way people stood together after terrorism attacks, like the Manchester terror attack in 2017 and the Parkland high school shooting in February 2018. This line itself represents the strength we have together and that, no matter what, people will come together when it is needed.

Change Change is heavily referenced throughout the poem, but most notably at the end, through the lines “and we step out / of the shadows / and into the light / we rise” which represents that the world is changing. This theme connects to many things in the world changing - for example, the rise of terrorism, the way supervolcanoes are beginning to show more activity, earthquakes in the UK, the way we change our lifestyles to save the environment etc etc.

Those particular lines show how the younger generation is the one stepping up to change things before the consequences can destroy us. It represents the way that people use petitions and the internet to cause change, such as the recent stand against articles 13 and 11 in the EU and demands for gun control in the USA.

Overall Overall, this poem has many themes which reference a lot of ideas and key moments in time, as well as the way the world - both natural and human - is starting to change. It is a message that if we stand together, we can do anything, we just need to try. At the end of the poem, the line ‘we rise’ refers to success - it is the end goal, achievable but we haven’t quite reached it.

Process

So, when I was writing this poem, I was researching a lot in the news for a story I was planning. In particular, I was looking at changes and togetherness. From this research, I thought back to stories about terrorism attacks, both in the UK and USA, as well as the changing geography of the Earth.

An example of this geography being an earthquake swarm in Surrey, England, which is on the middle of a tectonic plate so an earthquake swarm shouldn’t have been possible. As well as this, I came across stories of the rising magma plume beneath New England in the USA, as well as the speculations that Yellowstone could erupt soon.

From there, I found the ideas that people have had to reduce climate change and global warming - such as ways to reduce litter, plastic etc. I had already known about the issues with articles 13 and 11, living in a European country.

Then, I had an idea - to write about the way people came together during these attacks. From here, the theme of love came in, mostly platonic, but also romantic. I was reading and I thought that the theme of love was important, especially when dealing with this things, and that it could bring people together when nothing else could. This inspired me to include pieces about it in the poem.

However, I also wanted to emphasise the fact love could not always help and heal people, that not everything could be romanticised - especially in the wake of what is referred to as a mental health crisis. For this reason, I brought in how it is destructive, particularly to those with unpredictable mindsets, whether due to mental illness or other issues, even if that was never explicitly mentioned.

In the end, as I wrote, I realised that I wasn’t really writing what I wanted to, not completely. So I changed it and I added something not in the original draft: an endgame. Something to achieve, to look forward to - a message of hope, that we could do something about what was happening, even if it took a long time.

Soon after, I finished the poem and added in the last line, which became the title. The reason I chose it as the title was because we still rose after everything that happened, we still kept on living - so I thought that, in the end, the most important thing anyone could say would be that after everything, no matter what happens, we will still rise. We will still change.

#019. & there is more to learn — writing study #002. lungs filled with stardust words / pages full of heartache — poetry #011. to love and lose is to feel / we are only human — 2018 works

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lauramalchowblog · 4 years

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What to Do When You Have a Setback

“I went off the rails this weekend…”

“I feel like I lost all my progress…”

“I couldn’t make it a day without eating a piece of bread…”

The path to success is often paved with setbacks. And the fact of the matter is, if you haven’t had one yet, you probably will sometime in the near future. Is that a reason to freak out? No. But it is a reason to arm yourself with the tools to, as they say, make the comeback stronger than the setback.

Changing behaviours takes time and patience. Trust me, I see this with most of my health coaching clients. And, like I always tell them, there is no expectation to knock a massive lifestyle change right out of the park on your first try. I don’t care if you’re trying to change your diet or your workout routine or your sleep habits — it’s never a linear journey. There’s always a combination of successes, plateaus, and setbacks.

What Is a Setback?

By definition, a setback is an event that delays your progress or reverses some of the progress you’ve previously made. It can be frustrating, humbling, and can likely trigger some negative self-talk. After all, you put time and energy into this endeavor. Maybe you spent money. Or you told all your friends and family what you were doing. And now what?

Listen. A setback, or even a few setbacks, doesn’t have to be the end of your story. In fact, quite the opposite. A setback might be exactly what you need to get where you want your health to go.

Can Setbacks Make You Stronger?

Researchers in this study 16 conducted in-depth interviews with 85 elite athletes and coaches, seeking to understand the motivating factors of what breeds success. Turns out, most of the top athletes interviewed had suffered a significant setback early on in their career. That’s what fueled their success. They found a way to turn the defeat of a setback into a reason to push themselves further the next time they competed.

In another study, 17 UVA economist Adam Leive compiled a database of medal winners in Olympic track and field events to see how their lives played out after winning. He found that the athletes who just missed out on getting the top podium spot were more ambitious in their post-sports careers than their gold medal counterparts. The trauma of not securing the top spot actually seemed to have made the athletes stronger. And, they actually lived longer.

But it’s not just athletes who are able to reap the rewards of setbacks. Researchers have studied diverse groups from students18 to scientists 19 and found the same thing — failures along the way can make you stronger than those who never had a stumble.

4 Steps to Overcoming Setbacks

In light of this research (and about a decade of helping my clients through inevitable setbacks of their own), I wanted to share my personal strategy, designed to take you from setback to success.

1. Look at the big picture. Sure, you had a setback, but my guess is you also had some successes along the way. Despite slipping back into your toast-and-cereal-for-breakfast routine or discovering that your favorite pants are currently too tight, ask yourself what’s gone well over the past few days, weeks, or months. What changes have you made that have contributed to a more metabolically flexible lifestyle? What habits have you implemented since you began your journey?

Also, take an objective look at what didn’t work. Was there a stressful event or period of time that interfered with your progress? Did you get overly hungry or not eat enough protein? Get really honest with yourself and write down your successes and your struggles. Seeing them on paper without emotion can help you move forward more easily.

2. Recognize your obstacles (and have a plan). If summer BBQs trip you up, have a plan. If vacations make you loosen your commitment, have a plan. Key takeaway here? Have. A. Plan. Figure out what situations, places, or foods are your triggers and learn how to navigate them. Or avoid them all together until your confidence around your ability to choose gets stronger. It’s one thing to consciously enjoy a cookie at your favorite coffee shop; it’s a totally different story if you accidentally ate one and decided you “screwed up” so you might as well binge on sweets for the rest of the day.

Keep in mind the theory of cause and effect too. Binging on carbs over the weekend will likely send your brain begging for more pastries, pizza, and pasta come Monday morning. And if you’re someone who subscribes to “food as a reward,” those pints of Ben & Jerry’s can look awfully tempting after a few weeks of “being good.” Acknowledge your obstacles and find a way around them.

3. Surround yourself with support. In a world of whole-grains-this and low-fat-that, not to mention old-school doctors who whole-heartedly believe that saturated fat will send you right to your grave, it can be a challenge (to say the least) to get the support you need to make lifestyle changes that last.

That’s why it’s so important to have a network of people who have your back, whether it’s our community here on Mark’s Daily Apple, a health coach like one from the Primal Health Coach Institute, or a group of friends and family members who understand the science behind why your heart won’t explode by following a diet free of refined carbs, sugar, and industrialized oils.

4. Take a step forward. Ditching your whole efforts or punishing yourself with a grueling workout after a setback won’t get you any closer to your goal. As I mentioned earlier, the journey is never linear. It might feel like you’re taking one step forward and two steps back, but eventually you will get there. Your path is still there. There’s always a next step. You just need to choose to take it.

Think about what you can do right now to start making progress. It doesn’t need to be a huge sweeping change either. It can be as small as going for a walk, preparing a big-ass salad, or getting to bed at a reasonable hour. Having a long-term goal is great (and something I highly recommend) but getting there requires you to take the first step.

Remember, setbacks can actually make you stronger. So, if you’re in the midst of a massive change and wondering what to do to get back on track, put aside your frustration and follow these four steps:

Look at the big picture

Recognize your obstacles

Surround yourself with support

Take a step forward

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References

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2781139/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15590663

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10867779

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9748017

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2572158/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16556014

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17210719

http://www.celldiv.com/content/3/1/14

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10407566

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ptr.4639

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16807698

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16770527

http://ajpregu.physiology.org/cgi/content/abstract/292/6/R2168

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17044766

https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/129/3/768S/4722180

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-016-0476-2

https://news.virginia.edu/content/who-needs-olympic-gold-batten-researcher-finds-silver-medalists-live-longer

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00612/full

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-12189-3

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jesseneufeld · 4 years

Text

What to Do When You Have a Setback

“I went off the rails this weekend…”

“I feel like I lost all my progress…”

“I couldn’t make it a day without eating a piece of bread…”

What Is a Setback?

Listen. A setback, or even a few setbacks, doesn’t have to be the end of your story. In fact, quite the opposite. A setback might be exactly what you need to get where you want your health to go.

Can Setbacks Make You Stronger?

Researchers in this study 1 conducted in-depth interviews with 85 elite athletes and coaches, seeking to understand the motivating factors of what breeds success. Turns out, most of the top athletes interviewed had suffered a significant setback early on in their career. That’s what fueled their success. They found a way to turn the defeat of a setback into a reason to push themselves further the next time they competed.

In another study, 2 UVA economist Adam Leive compiled a database of medal winners in Olympic track and field events to see how their lives played out after winning. He found that the athletes who just missed out on getting the top podium spot were more ambitious in their post-sports careers than their gold medal counterparts. The trauma of not securing the top spot actually seemed to have made the athletes stronger. And, they actually lived longer.

But it’s not just athletes who are able to reap the rewards of setbacks. Researchers have studied diverse groups from students3 to scientists 4 and found the same thing — failures along the way can make you stronger than those who never had a stumble.

4 Steps to Overcoming Setbacks

In light of this research (and about a decade of helping my clients through inevitable setbacks of their own), I wanted to share my personal strategy, designed to take you from setback to success.

Look at the big picture

Recognize your obstacles

Surround yourself with support

Take a step forward

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References

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-016-0476-2

https://news.virginia.edu/content/who-needs-olympic-gold-batten-researcher-finds-silver-medalists-live-longer

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00612/full

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-12189-3

The post What to Do When You Have a Setback appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

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jeki2011-blog · 5 years

Text

Three tips to achieve academic success — while enjoying a social life

Alejandra Ortega

Academia is strenuous, overwhelming and highly competitive. Those of us who are in postgraduate programmes need high marks in our classes and a lot of publications under our belts if we want to get excellent scholarships and postdoc positions.

I learnt this when I was studying biology as an undergraduate student in my native Colombia and pursuing a postgraduate scholarship in the United States or Europe. I experienced so much pressure trying to learn biochemistry, genetics and statistics that I sacrificed everything else. I gave up my social life, ignored my extracurricular activities and ended up consumed by my work. Rather than perceiving work as a part of myself, it was my whole self. So many classes demanded that I write weekly reports, do lots of homework and study for exams. I wanted to be among the best, and I succeeded, but at a great cost: the memories from my years as an undergraduate and master’s student are limited to study rooms, late nights and stress. Life needs to be balanced.

Looking back on that decade of monotony from my current perspective as a bioscience PhD student at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia, I realize that we do not need to be workaholics to be good at what we do. Instead, we should focus on our tasks to finish them in less time and with less effort.

Here are three tips on learning to work hard and play hard.

Set small goals, plan your schedule and stick to it

Spend the first two minutes of your day (or week) writing down all of the tasks you need to complete that day (or week). Do not be too ambitious.

For example, instead of promising to finally finish that paper introduction today, aim to write 300 words of it. Our brains work better with small, simple tasks. Then, allocate time to complete the activity in a realistic schedule. Is 300 words in 1 hour too much? Then take two hours — and achieve this goal by avoiding distractions.

Collection: Work–life balance

There are many digital and conceptual tools available that can help you to focus. My favourite one is the ‘Pomodoro’ technique. With this technique, you have a short period of time (I use 20 minutes) to work on a single specific task and nothing else — no messaging, no checking e-mail, no refilling the coffee cup. Afterwards, you get a break (five minutes, in my case). Then, you go back to work for the same initial period of time, take another break and repeat the cycle until the task is finished. In two hours on a Pomodoro schedule, I am more productive than in an entire day of distraction-filled ‘work’.

Aim for your own best

Academia can be dangerously competitive. In the race to the top, we can start to compare our work with everyone else’s. I was surprised to realize that my chances of getting that dream scholarship were the same with a near-perfect grade as with a good grade — I had spent too long chasing perfection when ‘good enough’ would have done the job. I was disappointed to find out that some of my classmates with lower grades were accepted into other nations’ postgraduate programmes in the biological sciences. Do not get me wrong; they are brilliant, amazing people. But I had missed many nights out and so much fun just to score a handful of extra points on an exam. Sometimes, an extra mark isn’t worth it.

There is always time for extracurricular activities

Every Sunday and Tuesday, I meet with friends to play some instruments and sing. I have firefighting training on Wednesdays, and on Thursdays, I go for a run. Finally, on Fridays, I attend a film club. These activities take only one hour per day, and they actually make me more productive. To arrive on time to these hobbies, I have to work rather than ‘fake work’. There is no need to check your phone or e-mail every 15 minutes. If you do this while telling yourself that you might have an important e-mail, you are fake-working.

Follow your passions, find some hobbies and make them part of your routine. Sign up for a regular class, or play table tennis with a friend once per week. Force yourself to make time for such activities. Your brain needs breaks, so do not saturate it with work. After three hours of analysing data, you stop thinking clearly and start making mistakes. Stand up, go and play table tennis and come back with a fresh mind. Extracurricular activities keep us motivated to work more efficiently.

The path to success is not working hard — it is working smart by being productive. The key to this is getting involved with activities outside work, such as music, sports and other hobbies, and to spend time with friends. These activities keep you motivated and make you work efficiently. Work smart — and play smart.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02504-9

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sciencespies · 5 years

Text

A matchmaker for microbiomes

https://sciencespies.com/biology/a-matchmaker-for-microbiomes/

A matchmaker for microbiomes

Trent Northen, a Berkeley Lab co-author, analyzes a microbiome sample. Credit: Roy Kaltschmidt/Berkeley Lab

But now, researchers have devised a new way to sort through the information overload.

Explore further

Real world native biocrusts: Microbial metabolism

More information: James T. Morton et al. Learning representations of microbe–metabolite interactions, Nature Methods (2019). DOI: 10.1038/s41592-019-0616-3

Provided by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Citation: A matchmaker for microbiomes (2019, December 2) retrieved 2 December 2019 from https://phys.org/news/2019-12-matchmaker-microbiomes.html

#Biology

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butterflynotes · 5 years

Text

Face Value / Study

Themes

Thought This was a large part of the poem, even hinted at in the title. When we take something at face value, it means we believe it with little thinking. This poem addresses how, as people grow older, they tend to stop reading into the things around them as much as children did - in the joyful, non-paranoid way at least.

Criticism of Society The poem is critical of society, mostly shown in the first stanza with the lines “in a world where we / think of nothing.” This is a criticism of a society that thinks little and takes everything at face value, refusing to change. This ties in with other prominent themes.

Changes and Perceptions This is addressed by the idea of growing up. The theme is referenced many times, especially with mentions of how different being a child was, shown in lines such as “a crevice of another reality.” It is used to show that the world we grow into after childhood is so different to how we once thought it would be because as children, we knew little of it. The poem also addresses change through the use of seasonal imagery such as autumn.

Perceptions of adults and children are almost at a rivalry. The speaking character, an adult, reflects on how their childhood was, but almost can’t believe how different things were for their childhood self. The two had very different perceptions of the world. It is much like the situation seen in To My Nine-Year-Old Self by Helen Dunmore.

Writing Process

Poetic Technique and Structure In the poem, the following techniques have been purposely used:

Enjambement

Caesura

End Stopping

The poem uses the free verse structure as there is no specific pattern to stanza length or any specific poetic structure.

Writing The poem was written all at once in one draft to maintain an easy flow. The steps taken are as follows:

I chose a theme, which was face value.

Building on this theme, I came up with my concept - the way perceptions and thought processes change.

Once I was sure of the themes, I wrote the poem all at once in one draft. I do this to help maintain the flow, which can easily be skewed by multiple drafts.

I tweaked grammar and spelling to make sure it was all correct.

#002. lungs filled with stardust words / pages full of heartache — poetry #003. these whirlwinds I speak / the rain will fall — original content #019. & there is more to learn — writing study #011. to love and lose is to feel / we are only human — 2018 works

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lauramalchowblog · 4 years

Text

What to Do When You Have a Setback

“I went off the rails this weekend…”

“I feel like I lost all my progress…”

“I couldn’t make it a day without eating a piece of bread…”

What Is a Setback?

Listen. A setback, or even a few setbacks, doesn’t have to be the end of your story. In fact, quite the opposite. A setback might be exactly what you need to get where you want your health to go.

Can Setbacks Make You Stronger?

4 Steps to Overcoming Setbacks

In light of this research (and about a decade of helping my clients through inevitable setbacks of their own), I wanted to share my personal strategy, designed to take you from setback to success.

Look at the big picture

Recognize your obstacles

Surround yourself with support

Take a step forward

References

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-016-0476-2

https://news.virginia.edu/content/who-needs-olympic-gold-batten-researcher-finds-silver-medalists-live-longer

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00612/full

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-12189-3

The post What to Do When You Have a Setback appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

What to Do When You Have a Setback published first on https://venabeahan.tumblr.com

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