#listening to other people’s perspectives and then evaluating my own thoughts is really good practice

[alarrylarrie]

.

[arhvste]

TSUKISHIMA KEI - IMPOSSIBLE AND INSUFFERABLE PART 3

this is it y’all the chapter you’ve been dying for

hara bullying hour is officially in session bitches 😈

i will fix any grammar errors tomorrow my fellow simps now have fun reading about little bitch hara’s downfall

part 1 part 2

Tsukishima had exited his classroom after the last bell had rung still in the same foul mood he found himself to be trapped in as of late.

“Tsukishima!”

Hinata bounded towards the tall boy with a big smile on his face.

His foul mood had worsened in nanoseconds.

“What.” he coldly spat at the energetic ginger.

“You’re coming with me. Captain's orders.”

Tsukishima frowned and reluctantly obliged as he followed Hinata into the clubroom where Daichi was sitting on the table alone with what looked like an ipad.

Opening the door, Daichi welcomed him with a warm smile to which Tsukishima tried to reciprocate even though it was clear the clubroom was not where he wanted to be.

“Hey Tsukishima, I have a few people to talk to you right now. I need to run some errands before practice. I’ll meet you in the gym once you’re done, take as much time as you need though, I’ll see you shortly.”

“Thanks for the concern but I’m really okay.”

Daichi had already left Tsukishima and the ipad in the clubroom alone. Irritated, Tsukishima sat down on the table and picked up the ipad only to instantly pull a face of disgust.

“Why? Why you of all people.”

“And what an absolute pleasure it is to see you too Tsuki.”

There on the screen showed the captains and setters of Fukurodani and Nekoma. Bokuto sat there with a wide grin on his face, excited to be talking to one of his ‘students’ as he liked to call and next to him, Kuroo who was smiling smugly at the agitated middle blocker. Akaashi and Kenma in the background were seen keeping an eye on their captains to make sure they weren’t crossing the line of invasion for poor Tsukishima.

“Whatever you’re about to say to me I’m not interested, thanks.”

“But Tsukiiiiiiii!” Bokuto whined pouting through the camera.

“Let your wonderful and wise Senpais give you advice and take advantage of it.” Kuroo smoothly spoke, propping his hand under his chin.

“No.” Tsukishima wanted to end the call right there and then but, a small part of him felt bad for both Kenma and Akaashi having to waste their time being there too so he opted to not hit the tempting ‘end’ button just yet.

“Listen, we heard you had a rough break up and we want to give you some advice.”

Tsukishima rolled his eyes before he spoke. “So enlighten me, my two most wonderful and clever senpais.” sarcasm dripping from every single word.

“See Kuroo! He does love and respect us!” Bokuto was beaming as he shook his fellow captain and friends' shoulders slightly.

“He might respect you but I can assure you Tsukishima-san is far from loving you.”

“Akaashi don’t say that!” Bokuto cried out pouting once again.

“Honestly Tsuki, you didn’t seem like the type that would suffer from heartbreak to me. Guess I was wrong.”

Tsukishima was ready to cut the rooster headed captain off right then and there but Kuroo began to speak again.

“You also didn’t seem like someone who disliked volleyball either at first but I was wrong about that too. Look, your ex-girlfriend obviously meant more to you than what you’re choosing to insist but if it’s affecting your plays I’m going to need you to do something about it. I quite enjoy playing against you simple country folk. You are good opponents I’ll give you that, but you won’t be if your playing ability starts to deteriorate.”

“Yeah what he said! Tsuki, how did you even get a girlfriend anyway? If I was a girl I’d run 7 miles from you with that mean glare. But anyway, snap out of your bad mood and go get her back if you’re still hung up on her. If she has this affect on you she must mean something to you right? Do it go get her back kid.”

“You two sure do have a lot to say for a pair of relationship virgins.” Kenma quietly spoke up.

“Kenma! If I wanted to be so brutally attacked I would’ve asked Yaku.” Kuroo feigned an offended look.

“He’s right though.”

“Akaashi stop or I will cry.” Bokuto turned and threatened his close friend only to have him roll his eyes back at him.

“Look, Y/N I mean L/N, had a long relationship with me I think it’s normal for me to be slightly off my game for a short while. Why is it such a big deal and why can’t you all just mind your own business. Focus on getting yourselves girlfriends, if that's even possible, before trying to get me back together with my ex one.”

“Listen here young one -”

“Oh here we go.” Kenma mumbled.

Kuroo paid no mind to him as he continued. “- Myself and Bo are ever so busy. We’re third years and captains. We have no time for girls but I can assure you we both have the option to have one if we want whenever we want.”

“No you can't. Girls find your hair stupid and probably don’t find chemistry puns funny or attractive.”

“Kenma! Are you here to help or to bully me?”

“Both.”

Bokuto snickered but was silenced by Akaashi’s sharp voice.

“Stop laughing Bokuto-san you’re no better. The closest you’ve gotten to a girl is our managers who babysit you if anything and you still owe one of them money.”

Bokuto’s face dropped as Kuroo’s smirk widened.

“Kuroo stop laughing.”

“I’m not laughing.”

“Are too.”

“Am not.”

The bickering between the Tokyo prefecture students went back and forth until Bokuto stood up to chase Kuroo around who had grabbed Kenma to help him.

Tsukishima had just about had it and had his finger hovering above the ‘end’ button.

Akaashi took it upon himself to pick up the device they were communicating through and leave the room Kenma was currently trapped in with the two child-like captains.

“My apologies for the two of them, they're a handful. But what they’re saying does hold some value. Tsukishima-san, you’re a talented player and sure this must be something you’re trying hard to overcome but, I do think Bokuto-san and Kuroo-san are somewhat right. This girl clearly means something to you and keeping yourself in denial won’t help you. It’s important to keep control of personal issues as it will affect your performance in a match otherwise emotions build up and you’ll lose focus.”

Tsukishima was taken aback slightly. Akaashi was never one to speak up often, only giving his input when needed unlike his friend who would talk for the sake of it. Tsukishima had genuine respect for Akaashi and had decided that from their meeting at the training camp. He was someone Tsukishima found level headed and honest. Someone worthy of giving their opinion in Tsukishima’s head anyway.

“Yeah. I’ll give it some thought. Thank you for your time Akaashi-san I look forward to our next meeting.”

“My pleasure Tsukishima-san and if Bokuto-san bothers you, don’t hesitate to contact me and I’ll sort it out for you.”

“You’re like his babysitter.”

“He needs one. He has the mental age of a 5 year old. He is still a good captain with good intentions though. Same goes for Kuroo-san. They are concerned for you and want you to know that they are here if you need them. They’ve really taken a shine to you.”

Tsukishima almost smiled. Sure the two loud third years were irritating and provoking at times, they had changed his perspective on volleyball and it was thanks to them he found himself fall in love with the sport he played. He only wished he had the girl he loved too. Not that he’d ever admit that out loud though.

“I do somewhat appreciate them, I suppose. Anyway I had better go. Sorry for all the trouble Akaashi-san, please apologise to Kozume-san too.”

“No worries, take care and I hope to see the usual or improved standard of yourself when we next play.”

“I’ll try.”

And with that the call had ended. Tsukishima didn’t want to admit it but the points Kuroo and Bokuto had made to him did make some sort of sense and he was silently grateful to them.

Entering the gym felt good for the first time in a while.

Nodding at Daichi, Tsukishima participated in the usual drills coach Ukai was running. Keeping to himself, Tsukishima thought over the current situation and evaluated his options. He wanted to talk to you again but his pride wouldn’t allow it. Not while you apparently have a new boyfriend. That stupid Hara Itsuki none the less too.

-

2 weeks had passed since then and to Tsukishima’s annoyance, both Bokuto and Kuroo made it their responsibility to contact him every few days to check on his progress and wellbeing. Sure he was technically their rivals, but neither Kuroo or Bokuto cared. They saw Tsukishima as a worthy and respectable opponent and someone they wanted to be good role models to.

The rumours had begun to die down much to your relief and you had decided to distance yourself from Hara ever so slightly to discourage people from getting the wrong idea. Hara noticed this and he didn’t like it. He didn’t like it at all.

-

5pm at Karasuno highschool was usually a peaceful time. Volleyball practice had ended and very few students were left on campus.

Tsukishima had been making his way out of practice when his phone rang. Another facetime call came up on his screen and immediately his face scrunched up.

“Don’t you have anyone else to bother?”

“Nope ~”

Tsukishima snarled as he made his way to his locker to grab his biology textbook before heading home.

“Hang on I’m gonna add Bo to the call.”

“Must you? I can just about handle you both one on one and I don’t even like doing that.”

“Such a sharp tongue Tsuki. I only hope you're working on your blocks and observations to be just as sharp again.”

“Hey, hey hey Tsuki!”

“Ugh.”

The two captains spoke to each other briefly as Tsukishima kept them on the call while unlocking his locker until a familiar voice piqued his interest.

“Shush for a sec would you.”

Tsukishima demanded the two third years as they stopped and stopped talking.

The blonde first year could hear your voice nearby and from what it sounded like you were in slight distress.

“Stop it you piece of shit!”

“Thats Y/N’s voice.” Tsukishima quietly muttered as the two captains listened carefully.

Quietly walking closer to where you were heard, Tsukishima noticed Hara had you cornered against the wall and it didn’t look like he was letting you go anytime soon.

“Listen to me Y/N. I’m fucking sick of waiting. Do you know how long I’ve been waiting to do anything with you? You’re so fucking naive it’s pathetic.”

Tsukishima was taken aback slightly. Hara had just insulted you? But weren’t you dating him? Deciding not to step in just yet, he decided to continue observing from a distance and then make a decision on what he should do.

“Hara, listen to me. You broke me and Tsukishima up whether that was your intention or not. I rejected you because I don’t want to date anyone. Especially not you and you know why. Let me go now.” Your tone was icy and your glare was hard.

Lowkey Tsukishima was proud of the tone you were using. Before the two of you had started dating, you were never nasty to anyone. You did start to pick up the habits of Tsukishima’s spiteful tone however a few months into your relationship and he was proud of that.

“Listen here you fucking slut. Your lanky boyfriend only got in the way. Poor naive little Y/N did you really think I was interested? Your personality is something I’ve been forcing myself to put up with for months and I still haven’t dicked you down yet. You’re a selfish brat.”

Your face twisted with disgust. You were furious, enraged even. Since your fight with Tsukishima you had built up your tolerance to harsh words so Hara’s insensitive language didn’t affect as much as it probably would’ve a few months ago.

“Who the hell gave you the confidence? As if I’d ever let a creature like you touch me. Did you really think I’d let you sleep with me after you drove a wedge between me and Tsukishima? You’re a sick little bitch an ugly one too!”

Now Tsukishima was proud of you. Harsh insults, cutting edge tone, dark scowl and a whole load of attitude. Whether you liked it or not, your time spent over the long months with your ex boyfriend had transformed you into his own Frankenstein's monster and he took a small hint of pride in that.

Hara grew angry and slammed his hand harder against the wall making you flinch.

“What makes you think I’m waiting for your permission. You’re helpless Y/N. A helpless little slut who’s about to get what she deserves.”

Your eyes clenched shut. There was no chance in you winning a physical fight with this boy. You had just about lost hope.

“AHAHAHAHAHA BO DOESN’T HE SOUND LIKE A GREMLIN!”

“BRO YOU’RE RIGHT HE DOES!! I JUST KNOW FROM HIS MID PUBESCENT VOICE HE SMELLS LIKE MAYO OR SOME SHIT!”

“STOP IT YOU CHEEKY BASTARD I’M GONNA PISS MYSELF!”

“DON’T BLAME ME, BLAME LITTLE PITCHY VOICE BITCH AT KARASUNO!”

Hara’s head snapped to face Tsukishima who was sighing in embarrassment at his two upperclassmen’s comments. Kuroo and Bokuto were currently having a field day mocking the ‘little bitch boy’ Hara.

You looked up as your eyes widened at the sight of your ex boyfriend stood there, phone in one hand, bag and textbook in the other. He was slightly sweaty from training and he held a dark expression to his face.

“What the actual fuck?” Hara spat out.

“I’m afraid you’ve been caught out Hara-san.” Tsukishima cooly said as the screeches of the two captains on the phone lowered down.

“Tsuki PLEASE show us what little bitch boy looks like I’m begging you!”

“Yeah show us Tsuki!”

“Ready to have your eyes burned?” Tsukishima snickered as he flipped the camera and pointed it towards the now raging Hara.

“WHY DOES HE LOOK LIKE THAT NO I AM GONNA PISS MYSELF!”

“IT’S THE EXPRESSION FOR ME!”

“Guys stop being so mean I think he’s going to cry.”

Hara snarled and glared straight at Tsukishima who had decided to give into Bokuto and Kuroo and encourage their provocative behaviour for once.

“You’re the one who’s going to be crying you lanky bit-AH SHIT FUCK!”

Hara was cut off by your knee making quick contact with his crotch with heavy force.

“Felt kinda small down there buddy.”

With Hara on the ground clutching his assaulted private area, you ran away from him and next to Tsukishima’s side.

“NO WAY DID SHE JUST SAY YOU FELT SMALL DOWN THERE THIS IS SO FUCKING GOOD I’M SO GLAD WE CALLED TODAY AHAHAHA!”

“LITTLE DICK PITCHY VOICE BITCH BOY!”

Tsukishima made a mental note to not ever encourage the two captains to be as irritating as they were being to Hara now but since he wasn’t on the receiving end it couldn’t hurt to push them a little bit.

Hara began to move and both you and Tsukishima stood towering above him.

“Oi Tsuki I don't condone violence but… kick him if you’re bad.”

“Do it Tskui, do it for the boys.”

“Nobody is kicking anyone.”

A new voice was heard in the halls.

“Sawamura-san.” You bowed your head slightly as he smiled at you and Tsukishima briefly before turning his attention to the two fellow captains on the call with Tsukishima.

“I’d appreciate it if you two didn’t try to corrupt my players thank you.”

“Do you country kids not ever have a bit of rough house from time to time?”

“Not when I’m around no.” Daichi replied back to the bedhead captain who only smirked in return.

Now turning his gaze to the whimpering boy on the floor Daichi raised an eyebrow.

“What happened here.”

“Attempted assault.” Tsukishima swift replied.

“Attempted? That bitch did assault me!” Hara cried from the floor.

“Kuroo listen! The gremlin’s voice is even more pitchy!”

Daichi sighed and grabbed the boy up from the floor.

“I’m not stupid. Tsukishima isn’t the type to lie and L/N doesn’t exactly look thrilled to be in your presence either. I think me and you should take a little trip down to the principal's office and have a look through the cctv footage.”

“Get rekted.” Bokuto snickered as Daichi dragged the disgraced boy off towards the reception.

“Listen I think you two have some things to talk about so we’re gonna go now. Remember what we said to you Tsuki. Call you soon!”

“Get that cooch my son!”

Tsukishima immediately hung up after Bokuto’s last comment which earned a snicker from you.

“Look, Tsukishima, I’m really really sorry about what went down a while ago. I’ve had a lot of time to think about it and it was wrong of me not to just approach you and express my issues I had with you. In all honesty I didn’t have a huge problem with your attitude, Hara got into my head a bit and would tell me my reputation was being dragged down by you.”

Tsukishima stared down at you as he examined your face. He could tell you were being genuine but he knew you both needed time to talk things through and be more transparent with each other before picking things back up from where they left off.

“I know Y/N. I’m sorry for what I said too. I know I said some hurtful things but I didn’t mean them. You’re worth more than what I claimed you were and for that I apologize. I just wish you had been more open with me.”

Your eyes widened slightly. Tsukishima never apologised so this was a big deal to you. You gave the boy a soft smile.

“It’s going to take some time for us both to heal. A lot went down today but if you’ll let me, I want to give us a chance to rebuild things between us. I still love you no matter how much I try to deny it. We need to work on communication obviously but I do want to give us another shot, Tsukishima.”

“Kei. It’s Kei to you. And yeah you’re right. We do need to be more open with each other. I’m not saying we should get back together right now, but I do care about you and I suppose I do need you in a weird way. I’m happy to work on us if that’s what you want.”

Tsukishima smiled down at you. The first genuine smile in a while which you immediately returned back to him.

-

Hara had caused a lot of damage. But you had the time to rebuild it all and that’s just what the two of you did.

This was obvious to all 3 captains involved in watching over Tsukishima when they saw the improvement in his playing.

Sure Tsukishima found people irritating often, but thanks to their concern a weight was lifted off his shoulder. Hara was expelled for attempted sexual assault, and you were being more clear with him.

It would take a while for things to go back to what they used to be, but getting rid of Hara and having you back by his side was a good start.

[chilly-me-softly]

Every Little Thing’s Gonna Be Alright • Chapter 8

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7

The phone vibrates beside her, distracting her from the episode she is watching, and she groans softly. It's not even seven in the morning and someone has already decided to test her patience. She hates phone calls, she's always afraid to stay silent on the line without knowing what to say. But when she sees the ID caller, she gladly answers.

"Hello"

"Hi, it's Jack... Grealish"

"I know" she murmurs lowering the computer screen and putting it to the side. They had exchanged numbers almost a week before, the day he had stayed over. She'd actually taken the numbers of all the guys who'd helped give her baby a safe place to sleep that day but she hadn't exactly turned him down when Jack had asked her if she'd minded him using that number from time to time. To get updates on the baby he'd said, because he'd assembled her cot and the least she could do was update him every now and then.

"I hope I didn't wake you up, but when I checked the clock I had already started the call and it was too late to back out" he states all in one breath and she finds herself shaking her head, suppressing a laugh.

"It's okay, I was awake. If I hadn't been for a while I might even believe this’s just a dream anyway"

"How so?"

"Ah nothing. It's just that it's all so surreal you know"

"I told you I'd call you sometime"

"I know, but I guess part of me thought you didn't mean it"

"Why, because you turn me into your little slave last time?!"

"Hey you're the one wanted to help" she retorts immediately and his laugh reaching her ears soon after is something unique. She had noticed it already that night, but she was so high at the time that even banging her pinkie somewhere would be the best thing in the world. And hearing it again, calmer and with the right emotional detachment, undoubtedly hadn't changed her opinion: her lips stretches into a smile again; the desire to feel it again and again, still there.

She runs a hand over her stomach absentmindedly as a thud and some odd noise is heard, before Jack's voice. "It's been a pleasure anyway"

"What are you up to anyway? Why already awake?"

"I'm about to leave the house now. I've got practice in a couple of hours but I always like to get there a little early"

"I see, captain Jack Grealish setting an example to everyone"

"Stop it, you're making me blush" Jack jokes but he's actually thankful no one can actually see him blushing like a stupid teenager as he waits for the automatic gate to open.

"Wait, I hope you're not on the phone with me while you're driving"

"No, I mean yes… I’m in the car. But my hands are free to drive"

"Good" and she doesn't actually know what's going on, she doesn't know why they're talking to each other like they're old friends interested and curious about each other's lives. All she knows is that only a few times recently she's felt so light, so carefree, so entertained by something and she wants to ride the wave while she can. Jack is a nice guy after all and she's certainly not wasting her time in chatting with him.

"Hey listen, I gotta go" he finally sighs, actually stopped at his parking space for a few minutes already. He had tried to drive as slowly as possible, but the destination had still arrived sooner than he had expected.

"Oh that's okay, I should have gone to the bathroom anyway" she giggles, starting to shrug off the blanket, "You know my pregnant vagina doesn't wait" and runs a hand over her face immediately afterwards internally cursing herself for saying that while he laughs it off on the other end of the phone. "I'll let you go then"

"Have a nice day. Thanks for the call, I really enjoyed it"

"Well we could do it again, don’t we?"

"Yeah, why not" Jack smiles smugly letting his head go against the seat before the two greet for the last time and continue their days.

The two continue to be in touch over the next few days. Mornings when he's getting ready to go to training while she's comfortably lying in bed seem to be the perfect time to do it, the best way to start the day. Each time a different topic, whatever is on their minds, allowing them to get to know each other's thoughts on many things. To see different things from a different perspective, to re-evaluate others, to joke and make fun of each other.

Evelyn could see early on that Jack likes to talk rather than text, he's one of those people who might call even though a simple message might simplify things. He likes to hear a person's voice, have a face-to-face conversation and watch the gestures of the person in front of him. It's easy to hide feelings by text or misunderstand what is being written.

She, on the other hand, is his opposite, she could spend hours and hours texting. She would rather wait for hours for a reply than solve everything in a short time with a phone call. She simply feels uncomfortable calling someone. The pressure of having to talk in order not to create awkward silences, the unpredictability of what might be said by the other person, not being able to hide their feelings.

And it's always Jack then taking the first step, who calls first. But every time a smile breaks out on her face when she reads his name on the screen.

He even goes to the next level, the video call. Her second nightmare of course. And one of her greatest fears had also come true. The two of them had stood looking at each other without saying anything at one point, but Evelyn hadn't felt embarrassed unlike many other times. She had just stood there quietly staring at him, him lying with his head on his pillow doing the same, lost in his own world thinking about who knows what. And she hadn't thought about anything, hadn't thought about filling that void, because it felt right. It felt right.

It's different with Jack. She doesn't look at the clock hoping to finish as soon as possible, she doesn't make excuses to hang up, she doesn't feel satisfied if for some reason they can't talk during the day.

And that is precisely why at some point she has to put a brake on herself, slow down before everything slips from her hands irreparably. Because talking to him is easy, imagining things is even easier. And she could easily keep blaming hormones if it makes her feel better, burying everything somewhere as she always does. But she can't possibly get her hopes up, she can't let her mind wander. She just can't.

----

Tag: @alexajanecollins @emwritesfootball

Chapter 9

[geniusinventora]

THIS IS A SHORT VERSION BUT I’M LIKE DYING

I honestly do plan on making a more in depth (yes I do mean more in deoth this is all surface level) post about this, but I cannot work cause my head is empty and only focusing on this so I might as well share.

One of my biggest things about Gyro is that he does not, in fact, WANT to be Dad shaped. He knows he’s not fit for it. He understands that he is not a suitable role model for any of the kids- yes Boyd included. He already has a lot of issues involving parents. He doesn’t want to have any child that he even remotely sees as one that he likes end up like he does. It’s why he takes a lot of precautions about people, especially the kids getting close to him. In the show, he clearly never learns their names and doesn’t make an effort to. It’s purposeful. He could completely learn Scrooge’s great-nephew’s names. He knows their personalities and colors. Their outfits. The lies they tell. No, he does it on purpose to create a distance. Some verses that works, other it doesn’t. I’m focusing on the show/prime canon.

Boyd is an entirely other topic. ENTIRELY different topic. While yes, his actions and reactions to Boyd in Astroboyd were not appropriate nor good for Boyd, I personally cannot hold that against him. I know people don’t comb through every line like I do, and especially like I did with Gyro. It say this as a joke a lot, but I genuinely did predict the core and a lot of details of Astroboyd long before it came out. I paid attention to facial expressions, words, and mannerisms Gyro had around his inventions and specifically the one that we see with an AI- Lil Bulb. I GENUINELY did figure out that SOMETHING happened to Gyro before he worked for Scrooge. At the time, I had always headcanoned it as FOWL. When Frank said that was not the case, I had to re-evaluate. However, what I did not have to do is take his advice. I didn’t need to go back and look at the episodes. I knew them too well.

Gyro had been dealing with the guilt, memories, and mental scars that Tokyolk gave him for 20 YEARS. He built 2BO with, whom he had trusted at the time, Akita to be a defense droid. The idea was for it to be the defender of the city. A protector. Imagine looking up to a firefighter, or am ambulance driver, or a super hero for gods sake. Imagine meeting a hero, a savior. Someone you are putting your full hope and trust in. 

NOW IMAGINE THEM DESTROYING THE CITY.

Gyro had no idea the World Breaker code was in there. He was just aware that the creation he built from scratch, that he put his heart and soul into just destroyed the city. It caused several injuries, definitely more. 2BO had turned evil. FROM HIS PERSPECTIVE, THAT IS THE ONLY CONCLUSION YOU CAN COME TO WITH THAT. Of course he doesn’t want to listen to Huey, a child who couldn’t comprehend he has only EVER seen that mistake in anything he made after Boyd. Look at how he talks to Boyd, and treats Boyd in that episode, then go watch the Great Time Chase. He clearly was reliving Tokyolk with Lil Bulb going off the rails. Gyro most DEFINITELY was not over it. He lived with that for 20 years. Like I said, I cannot forgive Gyro for treating Boyd how he did for a day- but that was a day. Gyro had been beating himself up far more for over 20 years, with absolutely no one there to help him while Boyd had Huey.

Speaking of the kids though, Della was THROWN into the motherhood role. Motherhood is FAR different in reality than what it is through ideas and beliefs. Della going on the SOS was ONLY SUPPOSED TO BE A SHORT TRIP. She made that CLEAR. The story tellers made is CLEAR. SHE WAS NEVER INTENDING TO LEAVE. It was UNFORTUNATE what happened, but to even remotely hold Della to the idea that she was intending on leaving the kids is ridiculous. Was she reckless? Yes. Was anyone expecting that she WOULDNT COME BACK? NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT.

Not only that, but she was having to deal with SO MUCH that she COULD NOT HEALTHILY PUT THE CHILDREN FIRST when she returned. She had been nearly isolated for practically 10 years. She had NO contact with anyone, or anything. Not only that, but she had been slowly losing help. Not only would be most definitely dealing with PHYSICAL issues, she also would have had to deal with MENTAL issues as well. It would have been better if we saw moments of her growing more, but at the end of the day? This is a series about ducks for kids. Like, trust me I hate it when people say that but this was a childrens show. Kids don’t ALWAYS want long story. That’s fine! That’s fine and dandy. The beauty of Ducktales is that they recognized that their audience was ALSO fans who WANTED things like that. 

When it comes to the end of the day- there was no way Della WOULD have been a good parent showing up. However, with my experience with kids both in school and in my life- If they know you’re trying, they are surprisingly understanding. Children NEED a figure to look up to in order to develop. It’s a natural instinct that kids have to have SOMEONE, because at the end of the day, they do need someone to protect them. While Della had to work for her role, she had to catch up on 11 years of learning how to be a parent. Learning the balance between encouraging and reckless, between loving and overbearing, between a mother and a friend. It’s a fine line, and one that very few parents are really able to walk well.

And while we cannot see development on SCREEN? You can clearly infer SO MUCH from lines about, around, and said by Della herself. She had to learn to be a mom, just like the kids had to learn how to HAVE a mom. I’m not saying that Della was perfect. By all means I know she wasn’t.

What I’m trying to say is to expect adults in this show when they themselves have been built dynamically and complexly is ridiculous, especially if you don’t put in thought about their point of views. Gyro is a hesitant man who is dealing with things that went wrong, and the INSTANT he learned he was wrong? He changed his tune. He INSTANTLY was telling 2BO that HE COULD CHOOSE HIS PROGRAMING. He was faced with the truth, not with what he had perceived and believed as true from his own perspective for 20 years.

For Della, she CLEARLY is trying. She tries to find common ground with every child of hers, and even with lost family. The other adults are ALSO clearly helping both parties with the sides. She will make mistakes, but its clear anytime Della is how TRANSPARENT she is with her remorse and how she will instantly strive to be better and PROVE herself to her family. She doesn’t just accept that she’s not suit for the job. She works, she changes, and she fixes herself and behavior to be better. She finds things in common, she encourages her kids in their activities, she makes sure they’re all okay, and she protects them. She does whatever she can to be a parent to them. 

I’ll write more on Gyro later, specifically. I just... I needed to talk about my thoughts.

[ciestessde]

NOT My Hero Academia: Part 1 – Ch.5

It was the next day, and the students were back in their homeroom. "Good work with yesterday’s battle training," Aizawa addressed the class.

"I’ve looked over your grades and evaluations, and I only have a few notes. Bakugo…" Izuku saw him shift slightly in his chair. "Work on your awareness of enemies during battle -- even minor threats can take you out if they surprise you." Bakugo grimaced. "... Got it," he muttered.

"Midoriya, Uraraka, Iida." Each of them sat straighter when their names were called. "… Well done." Their expressions shifted from surprised to pleased, and Iida stammered out a "Ah -- Thank you, sir!"

"Now, on to homeroom business… Sorry for the sudden announcement, but today… you’ll pick a class president."

The feel of the room shifted. Everyone started shouting, clamouring to be picked for the position. ‘Oh yeah,’ Izuku realized after a moment, ‘It’s not just a bunch of mundane tasks at U.A. To be the leader of a group… It’s the kind of position suited for a top hero in the making.’

After only a few moments of this, Iida, ever the voice of reason, cut through the noise with a suggestion. "I put forward the motion… that our true leader must be chosen by election!" "But Iida," countered Tsuyu, "we haven’t known each other long enough to build any trust." "And everyone’ll just vote for themselves!" added Kirishima.

"That’s precisely why anyone who manages to earn multiple votes will be the best-suited individual for the job!!" Iida turned to Aizawa, who had already zipped himself up inside his sleeping bag, "Will you allow this Sensei?!" "However you do it, just make it quick."

As expected, most people came out with only a single vote. Although there were a few exceptions, as some people actually had none.

Momo Yaoyorozu won with only three votes. And the vice president, with only two, was-

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sitting with Iida and Uraraka at lunch, Izuku said, "I admit, I’m a little worried about being vice president…" "Worry not," said Iida, "Midoriya, although I personally felt someone with a quirk to be a more fitting vote, your ingenuity and decisiveness in a pinch make you a perfectly acceptable leader." Uraraka said, "Didn’t you want to be president, Iida? You’ve got glasses and everything!" Iida, looking a bit nervous, set his drink down. He avoided eye-contact with both of the other students. "Ambition and suitability are different matters… I humbly made the choice I thought was correct."

Noticing his speech pattern, Uraraka excitedly asked, "The way you talk… Iida, are you… A rich kid?!" Iida responded hesitantly. "... I don’t like people to know, so I try to hide it, but… Yes. Mine is a renowned hero family. And I am the second son."

Izuku went into fanboy-mode after realization hit him. "Of course!! Ingenium!! He employs 65 sidekicks at his office in Tokyo!! So you’re…!" Finally looking up -- and even looking a bit cheered -- Iida responded, "How very informed… Yes, he is my brother." Now filled with pride for his family, Iida went on, "He leads the people with his unwavering adherence to rules and regulations. A truly beloved hero!! It’s my admiration for my brother that’s inspired my own desire to become a hero."

He deflated slightly, smiling with admiration. "Though I realize I’m not yet ready to lead anyone. As the superior candidate, it was right that the role should go to Yaoyorozu."

Uraraka and Izuku paused in their eating. "Never seen you smile before, Iida," Uraraka observed. "Eh?! Is that so?! I smile on occasion!!"

‘Iida has Ingenium to look up to, huh…?’ No longer eating, Izuku watched his classmates banter in front of him. ’I guess I have Master and Kurogiri-sensei, but… It- doesn’t feel the same. I don’t want to be a vigilante like they are.’ He looked down at the bowl in his hands. ‘But… do I… still want to be like All Might…?’

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He was taking a break, drinking some water in the middle of training, when Kurogiri asked him, "Tell me, Midoriya…" He stopped drinking. "What kind of hero do you want to be?"

"I-…" Izuku looked away, thinking. Every time he thought about becoming a hero, Izuku couldn’t help but remember that video. The one of All Might rescuing so many people with a smile on his face! But, at the thought of All Might… Izuku’s mind turned to that moment on the rooftop. Yet still… Izuku’s fist clenched, and he replied, "I want… to be the Greatest Hero, who smiles as he saves people!"

"So… You want to be like All Might, correct?" Izuku’s gaze shot up to Kurogiri. "It’s not an unusual assumption. But… Do you really believe society will allow someone who’s quirkless… to become the Number One Hero?" Kurogiri’s wispy, mist-like face was unreadable, but his tone was full of pity. "After all… It is a popularity pole more than anything, isn’t it?"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

…

While riding the bus with his class on their way to "Rescue Training" the next day, Izuku was still contemplating that question. But his thoughts were interrupted by Tsuyu, "I generally say what’s on my mind, Midoriya."

"Oh?!" Izuku’s head snapped to face the frog-like girl. "What is it, Asui?" "Call me Tsuyu," she corrected him automatically, "Without a quirk, hero training seems kinda pointless. Why not just become a police officer?" "Ah! Well!" he floundered, "See, I considered it and all, but-!"

"Hold up, Tsuyu," Kirishima said from the seat on the other side of her, "Police officers and heroes are totally different! Heroes can patrol and help people completely independently, and can even have part-time jobs, if they want! Not to mention those support items Midoriya has. You can’t have those as a police officer, and they’re awesome! You can do a lot of cool stuff with them!"

Kirishima struck a pose, activating his quirk. "Not like my hardening. I’m good in a fight, but it’s real boring." "I think that’s pretty neat, though. Your quirk’s more than enough if you wanna go pro," said Izuku. "Pro!" Aoyama exclaimed from across the aisle, "But don’t forget that heroes also have to worry about popular appeal!!"

Izuku flinched, just slightly.

Aoyama didn’t notice. "My navel laser is both strong and cool. Perfect for a pro." "As long as you don’t blow up your own stomach!" said Mina. Aoyama didn’t seem to like that comment.

The conversation was cut short when All Might wooshed by the bus, and everyone realised how close they already were to their destination.

.

Thirteen, their instructor for the day, greeted them by talking about how a lot of quirks could easily be used to kill. How "one wrong move with an uncontrollable quirk" could defeat society’s restrictions and monitoring of quirks… "During Aizawa’s physical fitness test, you came to learn of your own hidden potential. Through All Might’s battle training, you experienced the danger that your respective quirks can pose to others. This class…"

Thirteen’s previously grim demeanor did a 180.

"... will show you a new perspective! You will learn how to utilize your quirks to save lives. Your powers are not meant to inflict harm. I hope you leave here today with the understanding that you’re meant to help people." Izuku thought to himself, ‘I can’t help thinking that… somehow… that doesn’t apply to me.’

Thirteen bowed to the students, the unwilling audience to his speech. "That is all! I thank you for listening." "Great." Aizawa stepped forward, away from Thirteen, All Might -- and Mirio. "First off… Midoriya."

Izuku felt his stomach drop. ‘Please, let me be wrong…’

The teacher’s words were cold. "Without a quirk, these exercises will be pointless for you. Honestly, you should just leave the rescuing to professionals in these situations." It wasn’t an attack. His tone made it clear: He was -- or he believed he was -- stating facts. Which just made it worse. "But still… we’ll teach you the basics, for now. Everyone else will be divided into groups and rotate through the different sites. Listen for your name."

While Aizawa listed off names, Mirio approached Izuku. "Hey… That’s a bummer. But don’t let it get to you!"

Mirio practically shined with optimism, "There’s plenty of awesome things you’ll get to do here at U.A.! And that strategy you used yesterday -- not to mention getting into U.A. without a quirk in the first place…!" Mirio’s eyes sparkled, and he practically shouted, "That is SO Plus Ultra!! I’m actually kinda jealous!" At the older student’s support… Izuku couldn’t help smiling.

All Might called Mirio back over; it was time to start the lessons. Before leaving, Mirio said, "Hey, if you ever want some pointers -- or just to train -- give me a call, ok?!"

After that, the rest of the day wasn’t too bad.

But still… Aizawa’s tone… Izuku wasn’t sure what to call the teacher’s tone, actually.

Except maybe… pity?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Beginning]

[Previous Chapter] - [Next Chapter]

Read my original book, Crossroad of Infinity for free right here on Tumblr, on my website, or on AO3!

[moneypedia]

I said I would show you my “how” and here it is.

This is my guide to conquer depression with practical advice you can use right now.

Just make sure you commit to making this change, because none of this will help without your own time and effort.

And remember, if someone as broken as I was can comeback from this, there’s no doubt you can too.

Use the links here to navigate between each section and go straight to what you want to see:

Check Your Source

Master the Reframe

Thoughts on a Page

The Fundamentals

The Power of Words

Embrace What Others Hate

Keep Your Thoughts on a Leash

(Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you decide to follow the links and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission from the item(s) at no extra cost to you.)

Check Your Source

You know what’s more depressing than actually being depressed?

Doing a Google search on how to beat depression.

(I know that’s ironic if you got here through Google but hear me out anyway.)

Back when I was dealing with this, and even now when I compare my tips with others, I realized that most people who gave advice were victims who told how to live with the problem. They didn’t have solutions that came from actually solving it.

It was like an unemployed person telling you how to survive without a paycheck instead of showing you how to get a job.

The first page of Google showed me posts telling me to be patient so my situation might change. They told me that I should go watch a heartwarming movie. Or maybe drink tea every morning to bring me peace.

Are you serious?

You’re telling someone who feels lower than the dirt underneath your fingernails that tea is somehow gonna help?

It was pathetic. You could see the struggle laced all throughout their words.

Even when I was in that place, I knew better than to listen to those still stuck where I was trying to leave.

So remember that if the person you’re listening to still sounds broken, they haven’t conquered anything yet.

But keeping that in mind, you should also avoid another group. That group is the tough love crew—with an emphasis on the tough part.

They’ve either…

A) Never faced what you’re dealing with. So they’ll treat you like less of a person because they can’t show understanding.

Or…

B) They have been through this, but they overcompensate for their former weakness by giving bogus “man up” advice.

It’s people like that who keep you from starting meaningful discussions about what’s going on.

The good news is, you have one person here who’s dealt with your problem and found real solutions—not just gimmicks to treat symptoms. So follow this guide and only take additional advice from people who have done what you want to do. Otherwise, you’ll set yourself up for failure.

Master the Reframe

You can often trace depression back to the thoughts you decide to dwell on. If you focus on your failures for example, you’ll view life through a darker lens than someone who focuses on the good.

It’s always possible to find good in any situation, whether controllable or uncontrollable. And reframing is how you do that.

So what is reframing? It’s simply changing your view of a situation to the most positive outlook.

We can look at the classic glass-half-full example to see reframing in action. The person who reframes will see the glass as being half full, whereas a person who doesn’t will see the glass as half empty.

All you’re doing is taking your circumstances and looking at them from a better angle.

If you’re dealing with a controllable problem, it’s best to use your reframe as a starting point for action. And if you have an uncontrollable problem, you look for learning points, opportunities, and the overall big picture.

So here’s a different example: Let’s say you lose your job.

You can do like most people and worry about your money. You can hold a grudge against your boss. Or you might complain that it wasn’t fair and refuse to search for work.

But all of those are terrible perspectives. Reframe them instead:

You can’t control the fact that they let you go, but you can ask the company why it happened.

You can use the loss as motivation to change your work ethic.

And you can view it as more time to spend with your family now while forming a list of potential interviews for later.

Reframing alone won’t solve your problems, but it will keep you from dwelling on things outside your control.

Just make sure you base your reframe in reality. Don’t act like you’ve risen above the job you had after you’ve lost it.

You may very well have a better opportunity out there. But there’s no need to build a false ego. If you take a loss, learn from it and move on. No one is above anything.

When you base your reframe on a false truth, all you’re doing is deluding yourself. And doing that will cause more issues than the original problem did.

But anyway, that’s reframing in a nutshell. It’s easy to understand yet tough to master.

So if you’re new to this, it’s a good idea to start small with the daily problems in life. Those will prepare you for the harder challenges you face later on.

Remember that there is always a bright spot in any problem, but you have to find it first.

Creativity really is one of the pillars of a strong mindset. So make sure you always see the big picture.

Thoughts on a Page

Many people who deal with depression live inside their heads—they think much more than the average person. And if you think that much, you need to read and write.

I’ll focus on writing in this section.

Writing is just putting thoughts on a page. It’s taking your train of thought and organizing it to make sense. And it’s the organization part of writing that’s so therapeutic.

That’s because many of us don’t notice the quality of our thoughts until they’re staring us in the face. And when we do see them, we’re surprised by what they say.

That’s the biggest reason why I recommend you write on a consistent basis. You don’t have to publish anything—that’s not the point here. The point is to get your thoughts in front of you so you can analyze them.

Now the best tool for this is, you guessed it, a journal. And no, not one where you talk about how cute your crush is. You need to be very specific in how you use this to get results.

The first thing to do is write down all of what you’re thinking. You have to dump everything out your brain before you piece it back together.

This journal will be for your eyes only. So feel free to write about anything here.

Write down all the thoughts that dominate your mind no matter how dark they may be. Do that until you can’t think of anything else and then take a step away.

After doing that, you’ll feel relief—like you threw off a heavy burden.

Wait a few minutes and then come back to look at it all. When you see your thoughts in front of you later, you’ll realize that many of them were irrational, and you’ll wonder how you let them float around in your head for so long.

Everything else you wrote will have an underlying theme to it. You may be dealing with self-esteem issues, thoughts of inferiority, or a general disappointment that you allow to hold you back.

Once you find that theme in your words, trace it to a problem that’s either controllable or uncontrollable.

After that, reframe your perspective and create an action plan.

This whole process will force you to organize your thoughts and control your thinking patterns. But make sure you write all this by hand to get the best results.

For an idea of how this would work, let’s take a look at my story to see how I would use this strategy:

First, I would write about my situation like I did in Part 1.

Then I would walk away and come back to the journal later. After coming back, I would scratch out anything crazy like self-harm or suicide. Then I would see my underlying theme—failure to meet expectations.

From this point, I would reframe my problems and make a plan to work with what I had.

Then I would write down whatever I chose in the end. And that would leave me with a before and after picture of where I was at. I could then come back to my journal if I ever struggled with the same issue again.

This brain dump process is one of the best tools to evaluate your thoughts. I’ve used it plenty in my own journal but now the process is automatic. I just do it my head.

But until you get to that point, take note of this process and apply it to whatever you’re going through.

I’ve put all the steps below:

Write your dominating thoughts

Step away for a while

Come back and analyze what you wrote

Cross out irrational thoughts

Find the theme

Determine the problem

Reframe the problem

Write your action plan

The Fundamentals

Look at any great NBA player and you’ll see that they all have one thing in common: they’ve mastered the fundamentals.

Sure, some of them have insane physical gifts, but for every great player with a physical advantage, there’s a hundred athletic freaks who didn’t make the cut.

Guys like Jordan, Magic, and Kobe all performed moves that made people’s mouths drop. But when you look closely, you’ll see that those moves are only additions to basic parts of the game.

Those guys would have never been the players they were by building on what looked cool or felt right. They built upon the right moves no matter how old, boring, or tedious they were.

And building your mindset works the same way. You have to build on fundamental truths, no matter how harsh they may be.

One of the hardest pills to swallow is that the world isn’t obligated to care about your loneliness. The world isn’t obligated to care for your feelings. And it’s not obligated to care for how special you think you are.

You are responsible for your emotional state.

Now I know that’s tough to hear, especially if you’ve never had to humble yourself like this before. But once you learn to care for your own emotional needs, you can move on to what the world always cares about—value.

It doesn’t matter what failures you have, how much money you make, or even what you look like. The world always cares about what you’re willing and able to give.

I know I didn’t understand that during my rough years, and you may not understand it now, but it’s true. So instead of always searching for what you can get, find ways you can give to others instead. And guess what will happen when you do?

People will want to be around you. Money won’t be a problem. A stranger will see that some people do care.

Stop worrying about what you want, and focus on what others need. Become someone who willingly gives to others and your own needs will be more than taken care of.

The Power of Words

Remember how I said you should read and write? Well now we’re at the reading part.

Reading has been so valuable to me that I feel bad for people who don’t do it—they make life harder than it needs to be. I wouldn’t know to do 50 percent of my daily actions without reading about it somewhere. I can only imagine what those people have to work with.

They don’t understand that words are powerful. That they’re life changing.

Our schools overdo it sometimes with the whole “knowledge is power” thing, but for good reason. Almost every oppressive government in history made sure to destroy one thing—books.

My point is, if you’re depressed and you aren’t reading, you don’t stand a chance.

Back when I fought depression, I felt completely alone. I thought no one could relate to me. And looking at all the people around me then, I had good reason to think so. All I could see were people laughing with their friends while I was miserable.

I had to find help from elsewhere and that’s why I started reading. I read so much back then that I kept a bottle of Tylenol next to all my material.

Through reading, I found mentors, motivators, and friends. They were people I could relate to. People who had felt like I did and found a way to rise above it.

I learned more about the world through a year of reading than I had all throughout my years of school. And most of the challenges people complain about now became simple to me.

That may sound like an exaggeration, but you have to understand the impact words can have on your character.

Whenever you read, you open your mind to a new perspective. Just like in a normal conversation.

When you expose youself to the thoughts of others, you start to change the way you think. That new thought process shapes the way you act. And those consistent actions determine your character.

And that whole process started with a little reading.

“So where should I start?”

I’m glad you asked.

I’ll give a few recommendations here, but before I do that, I need to warn you about the danger of some reading too. The process above is helpful if you read good material, but if all you take in is garbage, that’s what you’ll get out.

So with that said, here’s where you can start:

The Bible

If there was one thing that helped me the most during this time, it was getting back into my Bible. And no, that’s not me pushing an agenda. That’s me telling the truth.

Earlier I said the world doesn’t really care unless you have something to offer, but there is Someone who always cares. And reading the Bible is how you learn more about Him.

The most common version of the Bible is the King James Version (KJV), but I think it’s best to read multiple versions to get the best understanding. Two of my favorites are the New American Standard Bible (NASB) and the New King James Version (NKJV).

Some translations are definitely better than others, but if you read any of those three, you’ll be fine.

I should also mention that the Bible has been around for centuries, and scholars have spent lifetimes making it easier for readers to understand. That’s why I think it’s best to use a study version instead of one that only has the text.

I personally have a NKJV study Bible that I love. It has summaries of individual books, commentary for almost all the verses, and articles about specific topics.

Now if you’re new to reading the Bible, I’d encourage you to start with the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Those are all about Christ and the work He did that was so important.

I’ll talk more in depth about all this in the future, but you can start there if you’re new.

But getting back to my specific experience with depression, there were two books of the Bible that helped me the most.

Proverbs

He who heeds the word wisely will find good, And whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he. (Proverbs 16:20 NKJV)

When I was kid, one of my favorite teachers bragged on the book of Proverbs all time, and those memories stayed with me years later. So when I decided to get back into the Bible, it was the first place I went.

Practical wisdom fills the pages of Proverbs, and that wisdom is still relevant for people today. The book covers everything from communication, financial planning, and even dealing with the opposite sex.

Proverbs differs from many of the other books of the Bible as it’s a collection of wise sayings, and not so much a book with a consistent subject throughout. However, its general nature makes it great for application to numerous parts of everyday life.

So if you need advice for how anyone can find happiness and live a truly successful life, the book of Proverbs is one of the first places you should go.

Ecclesiastes

Maybe your depression doesn’t stem from a problem at all. Maybe it’s just a feeling of emptiness—a void you can’t fill no matter what. Well that’s what the speaker in Ecclesiastes describes here:

Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind. (Ecclesiastes 2:17 NKJV)

It’s this ability to face the harsher parts of life that makes Ecclesiastes one of my favorite books of the Bible.

While the book is similar to Proverbs as it also contains guidance for practical living, the author focuses more on a big picture view of life itself. And while I wouldn’t call it a feel-good read, the author eventually describes how to find true purpose and live life to the fullest.

So check it out when you get the chance. People could save years of wasted time by reading Ecclesiastes and following its instruction.

Other Reading

I’m sure it’s clear that the Bible is the Book I hold above all others. That’s because the Bible doesn’t just inform—it transforms.

I do read a lot of other material though, but I can’t recommend everything I read in good conscience. I’m mature enough in what I believe to filter out what I know is wrong, but you may not be, and I don’t want to lead you down a wrong path.

I would recommend some stuff in the thinking genre here, but the more I read, the more I notice that most of the material is either just motivational or an over-complicated course on reframing. And if it’s neither of those, it’s usually downright delusional.

How to Win Friends and Influence People

One book that did help me though was How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Many readers consider it a classic and most people have already heard of it, but if you’re struggling to find detailed advice about forming better relationships, this is a great place to start.

I’m the furthest thing from a social butterfly and I’ve never been good at making friends out of strangers, but this book helped me get an understanding of how to become a somewhat likable person.

The book includes actionable advice in every chapter. And there’s one principle that forms the basis of all the techniques described in the book—think of others before yourself.

So that’s all I got for reading now. I know it’s not much, but it’s better to keep the recommendations short so you can focus on actually reading.

And oh yeah, I’ll keep posting to this site too.

Embrace What Others Hate

I don’t know when it became cool to tout vacation as the best part of your work, but I do know it’s a terrible trend on the rise.

No one wants to work beyond what’s required. And even that requirement is too much for some.

But the truth is that production isn’t a burden. It’s a gift.

And you have to cherish work as the gift it is.

Even when I was down, part of me already knew that.

That’s why I was gaming so much back then. It was something that gave me a sense of purpose when everything else was dull. My reality was still in shambles but my effort to work at something helped carry me through it all.

When I first decided to refocus on my schoolwork though, I thought I needed to prove something—like I had to show everyone that the old me had come back. But soon enough, I realized it wasn’t about that at all…

I was doing it because it was fun.

I sat in the front of classes and took notes like it was my God-given duty. If I wasn’t in class, I studied in the library. And if there was a group project, I planned the whole thing out and showed the group later.

Soon I was not-so-subtly dancing in class because it all became so effortless. My classmates probably thought I was crazy—in fact, I know they did—but I finally had purpose in what I was doing. I had real enthusiasm again and people picked up on it.

That’s because most people run from work. They hate it.

If you find a way to not just be good at what you do, but actually enjoy it, depression will be a thing of the past.

Keep Your Thoughts on a Leash

If you don’t get anything outta this post, at least pay attention here.

Every section in this guide—and the process of beating depression in general—revolves around controlling your thoughts.

You may need to change your view of the mind for that to happen, so think about it this way:

For all the dog owners out there, do you let your dog mindlessly bark at you for as long as it wants?

Of course not.

Yeah you love your dog, but you have to discipline it. Good masters make their pets act within certain boundaries of behavior. And you have to treat your thoughts the same way.

You can’t let your head fill with blatant negativity. It’s your mind. You have to control it and make it work the way you want.

This whole guide is meant to teach you how to discipline your thought process. And once you recognize which thought patterns lead you towards a depressed mood, you have to shut them out.

I know it sounds difficult now, but those bodybuilders you see on magazine covers didn’t get that way overnight. Their form came from hours of sweat and hours of focus. It was the furthest thing from easy.

The same is true for mental strength. You have to consistently train your mind to think in beneficial ways.

And from what I’ve seen, you’re more than capable of doing that. People who are prone to depression tend to have the potential to develop the strongest minds. You just haven’t learned to control the amazing gift you have.

Yes, I know clinical depression is real and I’m not here to argue against that. I encourage you to see a professional if you need to, but I do know that it’s possible to control your thoughts. And yeah, that may make me sound ignorant, but I don’t claim to be a doctor, I’m just a problem solver.

If you think your thoughts are something you can’t control, you’ve already limited your ability to change.

I didn’t limit myself. No matter how hard things got, I knew there was a way out. And I kept fighting until I got there.

I challenge you to do the same.

Think bigger than your circumstances. Learn to control your thoughts. Don’t waste years of your life being an empty shell.

Your mind can only go where you allow it, so go out there and take it back.

I can’t wait to hear your victory story.

-Drew

[duke532]

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Principal Producers, such as bewildering competitors, don't occur by some karma. They are known to be incredibly whirled an amazing technique around the practices that will make the best outcomes. Their use of unequivocal practices, their advantage and their center is the thing that drives them from being standard to being stunning. Is it careful to say that you are set up to discover the stuff to be an amazing maker? Here are 11 things that all Great Producers share for all plans and reason:

1. Remarkable Producers don't find clients: they make them.

Moreover as there are appealing makers and terrible makers, there are good clients and unpleasant clients. The best makers have portrayed the credits and occurrences of good clients and need to work with those clients alone. They turn time around rehearses that will make extra pay. Dazzling clients cause issues and to gobble up epic time for everybody in the alliance. In the event that you have never done considering everything, plunk down and list 7 responses for the going with confirmation: MY IDEAL CLIENT IS:

2. Earth shattering Producers fish in gave lakes not colossal seas.

As stunning fishermen study to track down the best fishing openings and are reliably tracking down the best stuff or assets for track down a prize winning fish, Great Producers pick what they need, train themselves on the affiliations and affiliations they decide to work, and use the best contraptions to achieve their grumblings. Stunning makers seek after importance in their comprehension into a depicted field and can give the best data and relationship to their client base barb fedida . 

3. Astounding Producers lead a standard client needs assessment going prior to making thing examinations.

Again and again we see that makers base on what will get them the most pay and not really what is best for the client. Seeking after the cash alone is a rash improvement that will hurt your book of business in a brief timeframe. Heavenly entertainers present asks for and listen energetically to pick the character, needs and needs of the purchaser as opposed to making narcissistic, "plan" thought.

4. Central Producers train rather than "sell"- they outfit their clients with enough data to settle on instructed choices.

A Great Producer needs to talk on a level that the client can get a handle on. Nobody gets a kick out of the opportunity to be "sold" at any rate we generally speaking all around absolutely worth purchasing things and building relationship with individuals we like and feel wallowing with. Gigantic Producers find what persuades their purchaser and presents data in a manner the purchaser can appreciate. Happening to sorting everything out a fundamentals examination, noticeable entertainers need to change their program or relationship to that of the purchaser. In the event that it doesn't have the extent of the stores of being a solid match, they deliberately diminishing to seek after things until an unparalleled time for the two players.

5. Confusing Producers go past thing to furnish their clients with worth, authenticity and trust.

Apex entertainers don't expect seeing what is crucial for the purchaser. They need to ensure a substitute point of view by finding the necessities of the other first. None of us really whenever purchases anything from anybody we could coordinate without or trust. Colossal Producers care about their standing. I say that the TRUE DEFINITION of BRANDING is the thing that others say about you when you leave the room. Do you attempt to truly address your properties, and live with trustworthiness? Would your accessories say that you are an individual who makes confiding in related with others? In the event that the single time you talk with your client is during a case or re-endeavoring, or the specific time you put time in your record administrator is the place where you need something then you don't get a handle on this idea. The Best Producers offer more in advantage than they take in pay.

6. Stunning Producers are excitedly arranged inside the business and their zone.

Noteworthy makers are known as "connectors". They seek after relationship subject to a drive to help others in accomplishing their protests. Do you have the character to truly serve others without expecting anything as essentials be? Upgrades affiliation isn't associated with checking who's productive or understanding a return favor; it is associated with being the individual that cares to help address the issues of clients, decorations, accomplices, at last you will discover, sufficient new business references. Have the all out of the stores of being absurdly "satisfying" of a point of view? Consider the alternative...when was the last time you met somebody who clearly had a way to deal with oversee "get" something from you? Not a puzzling liking; like you were being utilized. Truly, your cerebrum was hollering, "GET ME OUT OF HERE!" "DO WHAT YOU CAN TO GET OUT OF THIS - QUICK, HURRY, HE'S LOOKING AWAY, RUN FOR THE EXIT!" Don't be that individual. There is a striking saying, "in the event that you assist great others with getting what they need, you will continually have what you need."

7. Great Producers work just with individuals who need to work with them.

Super entertainers encase themselves with in each practical sense, shady people who share information, understanding and worth in their affiliations. Design that since you are set up to sell doesn't mean the purchaser is set up to purchase. Help yourself and your relationship out: find rapidly whether you and the purchaser are a solid match. On the off chance that you have changed yourself to comprehend the necessities of the purchaser, introduced demands and listened tensely, you will know the fitting response with accreditation. Occasionally things are basically not wanted to be, and you shouldn't gobble up your responsibility in clients who may not actually prefer to or who aren't set up to work with you.

8. Incredible Producers make "rules of commitment"

A Great Producer regards the appraisal of their client's time what's more expects something from a general viewpoint vague from along these lines. Super entertainers store up standard trust and regard in the selling cycle. How does the purchaser pick? Is the purchaser related with a firm relationship with the tenant point master or subject virtuoso? Is it given up that you are certain that the purchaser will take off in different affinities with their present relationship and work with you considering everything? Do you have a thing that will genuinely get the best worth terms of colossal worth, thing and organization? Makers who can't set up the standards of responsibility have the most decreased hit degrees, starting with one side of the country then onto the going with, in any case.

9. Annihilating Producers can see a central chance versus one that is a maltreatment of assets.

Shocking Producers know their own capacities and cutoff focuses. They twirl around their optimal client base, find their attributes through the status to danger learning new things, and take a gander at drawing in conditions that will assist them with accomplishing their fights. Apex entertainers size up the condition, base on their evaluations and gain limit with the language to leave with clean and expectedness.

10. Staggering Producers have a high A.Q.

Paul Stoltz (The Adversity Quotient) says not our I.Q. besides, not our singing data, yet rather our capacity to see and beat inconvenience is the NUMBER ONE FACTOR FOR SUCCESS. Unequivocally when life gets crazy, Great Producers distinctly need to beat uncommon conditions, beating news and bargaining commitment by getting that "this in like way will pass" and don't let a person or thing baffle their fantasies. Tremendous Producers don't let society, "the economy" or the assessments of others sway their inspiration for importance.

11. Dazzling Producers have a built up specific vision. [Those plans can mix a VISION, a BUSINESS PLAN, a MARKETING PLAN and formal GOALS.]

Having a pulled specifically vision gives you importance and inspiration to your affinities. Truly, even top entertainers flounder and fall behind, yet the most connected with will get from their mistakes, change their frameworks and keep on pushing ahead. They are driven by an energy to live their vision and defeat inconvenience. Do YOU have a dream adequately hair-raising to call you through the torment of progress?

What number of these credits depict above reflect what you are as of now progressing astoundingly? Is it exact to say that you are ceaselessly endeavoring to accomplish importance or have you permitted conditions, commonness or outside impacts block your central goal for being a top entertainer?

Understanding what creates a Great Producer can be major, at any rate it doesn't amazingly transform you into a Great Producer. It isn't what we handle that is enormous, yet rather it is WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT WE KNOW that pulls out Good Producers from Great Producers.

Pay WORK: Pick a one area you handle you need to control and accomplish some captivating choice subject to what's basic for this current week. Risk to record what you need, and what you understand you need to do another way. By then set a BY WHEN for yourself of when it will be begun, and when you will be from an overall perspective extensively more sure about your awareness into the cutoff spots, attributes and practices we have shared for the current month. You can in addition email me for tips and basic courses to changing into a Great Producer.

[blsimonofcascia]

Christine Mae C. Bagazin

Leaders become great not because of their power but, because of their ability to empower others (John Maxwell). Leaders are the ones who have authority and leads a group of people may it be in a family, a classroom setting, a city or even a nation. They are highly looked up to by the people because of their skills. However, one does not instantly become a good leader. And even sad to say, not all the people who label themselves as leaders, are good ones. However, we must dig deeper in what it means to be a leader and a member for both roles are very vital in every day circumstances. We must thoroughly evaluate different perceptions and narratives about it and there should be a proper assessment of status quo as we came to know and realize what being a leader is really all about.

When we were young, we saw a lot of figures and models that shaped our perceptions of leaders. Usually in cartoons, we identify kings, queens or the monarchy as the authority thus we discern them as leaders or rulers. Characters such as the parents of our favourite prince and princesses like Ariel’s parents or Pocahontas’s parents or Master Shifu in Kung Fu Panda or Li Shang in Mulan are leadership figures in famous cartoon movies. The usual narratives in movies shown for kids display leaders as these people who could command the entire nation to do anything at his/her will or anyone who could have anything that they want. Though this is not exactly the case for all the characters, this has somehow become accustomed. Leaders are shown as these fierce, strong, smart and brave characters and as a young mind watching these films with these types of characters, there is no doubt that we truly admire these personalities even till now when we’ve grown. How these films portray leaders are really vital and important especially to the effect it gives to the mass audience.

Surely in our homes, our parents are considered as the default leaders for they guide us through right and wrong and they are the ones who basically teaches us everything when it comes to basic things and it will be instilled in our mind as we grow older. However, our first take on being leaders would most likely be in school. We get to experience first-hand the ropes of authority and influence. However there is this stigma in school that I am not fond of but it is regularly practiced especially during grade school and high school days. The students who is the smartest are most likely chosen to be the leaders. The reason why this narrative exists is because if you are the smartest of the bunch, you are most likely to properly assess the situation and know what to do hence why they will associate you of being a leader. Especially here in the Philippines, if you are intelligent or when you have high grades and is part of the honor roll, you are put in a higher pedestal than the others. It is because they view intelligence as a high trait and so honor students are highly looked upon in school. However, I have personally experienced and witnessed that this narrative is false because of certain loopholes. Firstly, we must nuance leadership and intelligence. As I have mentioned, since intelligence is put in a high pedestal, most people will think that this is the most vital quality of being a leader. However that is not the case. The most vital quality a leader must have is simply the ability to lead. Qualities like resiliency, integrity, having initiative and more is what sculpts a person to be a great leader. Of course, it is not to say that intelligence does not play a big role in this but that quality could be easily overpowered especially in terms of leadership. To paint a picture, imagine a classroom setting. The group with the top 1 student as a leader is less likely to prosper than a group with a leader that has good leadership skills. The deadlock with this narrative is since because you are smart, you are automatically part of the line of leaders but as we grow older and as we experience different people and leaders alike, we can really say that to become a leader, intelligence is nothing if you don’t know how to properly lead.

I’ve had my fair share of experience with incompetent leaders. One of the most striking experience that I had was in Grade school. We had mandatory scouting and so we had many different activities. Aside from our moderator, we also have classmates who attended special scouting training and are considered ‘leaders’. There was this one activity wherein we were tasked to learn how to knot-tie. The teacher showed us how to do it and we were put into groups so that we could make an output based on the discussion. Since knot-tying was a very complex lesson, each group had about 3-4 leaders to assist in making the output. At that time, I thought the leaders knew how to knot-tie since they basically trained for it and they also claim that they are good at it too. But alas, when we asked for help because we were confused, they started scolding us and telling us that we were not listening properly and that we should find a way to do it. They told us that we should properly make a decent output or else they will be scolded by the moderator. Back then in my 13 year old mind, I was baffled and mad. They have no right to call themselves leaders when they can’t even help us and even scolded us for something that we genuinely don’t know about instead. My perception of leaders shifted because of the leaders that I have encountered when I was in grade six. Even at a young age, it was then that I realized that anyone can become a leader but it takes great skill and hard work to become a great one.

As the years pass by, I had no leadership experience, and I was always just one of the group members. I was satisfied with it, but in Grade 8, I was suddenly chosen to become the science chairman of our class in that grading. Needless to say, I was really a wreck, and I was mostly unsure of the things that I’ve done that time, but rest assured that I tried my very best to serve my classmates and my teachers. Surprisingly, people had good remarks about my leadership, and I was even elected as one of the classroom leaders in 9th grade. From then on, I had taken a lot of leadership roles in organizations and in clubs. I improve more as I took on a lot of roles and responsibilities. My experience had taught me a lot of things, and I could really say that I had become a good and decent leader. I had won awards and gotten recognition, but most of all, I had developed a deep love of service. People might think that people serve leaders because they are the ones who are giving commands and are the ones in charge. However, as I have gained experience through my many leadership endeavors, the people do not serve the leader, for it is the leader that serves the people.

Those experiences of mine are only on a small scale perspective. However, if we look at a wider and bigger spectrum, we can say that being a leader of a large group or a nation is one big responsibility. Not only will you handle a lot of people and a lot of burden, you are also under scrutiny and criticism. A great example of this is political leaders. Political figures such as Pres. Duterte, Vice Pres Robredo, Executive Sec. Medialdea and Mayor Labella are few of the many political leaders running the government of the Philippines. Since we are in a democratic country, it is the people that chooses their leaders. Candidates shows us their vision and plans for the future in hopes that we may choose to vote them. Gullible as we are, citizens here only base their votes in the surface level of things and they don’t properly asses candidates and their backgrounds. Traits like social statutes, popularity and looks are scrutinized more by the people rather than their leadership and political backgrounds. The politician who could give more to the people in terms of monetary value is more likely to win than politicans who give less. And because of these factors, there is no clear reassurance that the politicals leaders who won, are competent and good ones. Morever, as constituents, it is our duty to assess, criticize and overlook their actions for us to be aware and it might serve as their checks and balances.

We all have the right to express and most especially, we have the right to yearn for good political leaders that could properly govern the country. That is why it is really important for us to be aware of what is happening. We have the right to criticize our government leaders if it could lead to the betterment of our country. So let us ask ourselves this: are the government leaders we have right now, enough to make our country prosper? Or do they have their own personal intentions that they want to fulfill instead? Needless to say, we can’t directly and really know their true motives if whether they would really want to serve the country or they are only doing it out of their own personal reasons. The only thing we could do is to assess, criticize and be aware of how they handle our country. In order for us to do this, we must know the proper qualities of a good leader and we must not be ignorant of the current events happening in status quo. Whether it be in a healthy political discourse or a messy fight in Twitter, we must involve ourselves in the discussion and be aware of their actions for it would really reflect in our country.

An example scenario is the very news of Bong Revilla running for senator. Even if he was involved in the Pork Barrel issue and he has cases of plunder, he still won the elections. Now a lot of people claims that he is no fit to be a senator but why was he ever even voted in the first place if people deemed him to be too incompetent? It all goes down to the trait of Filipinos not knowing how to properly assess and choose a proper candidate that results to how they still vote for inaduquate leaders despite their past crimes. Right now, Senator Revilla is still severly criticized but at the end of the day, he got the position and he is the one in authority even if a portion of Filipinos aren’t too fond of him. Sadly, that type of situation does not happen to Senator Revilla only but too a lot of politicians. In the present, our government leaders are struggling to cater to the people in this pandemic and their true colors are peeking to the public of their possible hidden agendas. Truly it is in times of calamity and troubles do we really see how a great leader leads his/her people to better circumstances. If constituents don’t see a good future with these leaders, then just like what I realized when I was in 6th grade in my scouting experience, let us all remember that anyone can be leaders but it takes properly honned skills, a passion for service and a dedication to the people  to become a great leader at the very end of the day.

[gg-astrology]

Hey, I wanted to know if you could write your thoughts on cancer sun/aquarius moon? ☺️ thank you 💖

Hey there!! 💕💕💕 I’ll try okie 💕

[Below Cut: Cancer Sun - Aquarius Moon 🍐]

I don’t know why the first thing that comes to mind about this combo is that they ‘snatch’ things often skjdnfkndkn

There’s just something that’s very ‘prepared’ about them, like prepared with an answer in 0.1 second or has an Opinion ready in 0.2 second after you propose an idea/question

You want to be the most ‘accurate’ -- the most ‘self-realized’ and thus, you are dedicated to your own pursuit of those happening. Tripped and fall sometimes, but you always get back up and continue striving for your own sake (and others-- there’s a self-awareness of the social consciousness/world around you as well)

Aquarius Moon when inside a Cancer’s body expands the intuitive and creative side of Cancer– it makes for someone who’s strong, independent but also very interested in making their own walks/marks in their own unique way. A very positive feeling to who they are/how they work, and can sometimes come off with an air of confidence/inner-peace with themselves bc of that.

They’re vibrant, like in their own subtle ways (Cancers are kinda subtle by nature anyways). They know who they are and can often find ways to get what they want (or rather, work in the method that they want) in order to ‘get the end results they need’

These people however, are rather stubborn and fixated on things being seen in ‘their way’ – their values/self-worth is tied to how much effort they put into coming with all these incredible ideas, and helping others achieve their own success (by using their formulas)– so others should see ‘em for their effort and use it y know?

Any other objections of dismiss like ‘nah we’re going to use this/see it this way instead’ makes them fume a lil like ‘why?? what’s wrong with my theory/method??’ 

They’re inventors who thinks of themselves as making this theory/explanation for others to use, march by their own band to get there. 

They want that recognition/others to put it to experience (like ‘apply’ what their plan is and get results their own way) – so when others are like ‘nah we wanna do this other thing’ they’re like ‘tf????’

Y know like you came up with a practical and bullet-pointed solid plan to help a friend, an advice, and that friend completely just goes ‘lol nah i didn’t do it’ and you’re like??? tf???

Cancer/Aquarius are astute and want to use their perceptiveness to good use, do something with it for humanity/people around them. It’s part of their core self-esteem as well, and that’s where they can get tacky/cranky about things flaking out.

These people aren’t really followers, they like to experience and absorb new ideas/arenas and places. They have a strong sense of duty, to themselves/others – as Aquarius is also Saturnian and Cancer has that dedication to balance/stability that it does. 

In the midst of all this, you find yourself wandering. Your mind is off elsewhere when you have to pay attention to something, you don’t really focus when things are about ‘others’ or things others have done that society deems you should learn/know about. If your sense of autonomy/pulling 100% of yourself isn’t there– you’re lost in the sea of day-dreams instead.

See you’re most alive when you’re pursuing your own path, when you are 100% committed, because that’s where your inner Aquarius restlessness gets it’s sense of ‘duty’ from. That’s why i said you aren’t followers, but at the same time —you lack the understanding/patience to really empathetically see the belief of others, or where others are coming from. 

You’re self-absorbed in a way, and while it’s not necessarily a bad thing it does hinder you a lot from your full potential.

You dream about a positive future, an optimistic world yet you are inclined to cynicism, careless/impatient and is apathetic to other people’s belief/ideology or perspective. You can tend to put yourself first, your own motivation/investment in your ideas and beliefs before others. And this cuts you off from truly getting the ‘society’ you want to manifest/see/believe in because you’re emotionally detached to that (in practical ways, like putting your money where your mouth is and actually fulfilling the details of sitting down, listening to others and caring about them before yourself— think Virgos and their dedication to details) 

Make sure to check yourself for your ‘can do no wrong/self-righteousness’ path, because while you are aware that you stumble sometimes, you refuse to admit that you need reformation and that’s what’s stubbornly causing you self-denial/clinging onto your worst habits.

Your habit of throwing yourself into devotion/dedication into something, will cause you to have disenchantments and also brings about your apathy to others. So I hope you evaluate that part of you as well 

I hope this is helpful 💕💕💕 Good luck!! 💕

[maiji]

“If you could pick 5 members to be on your team in the dark tournament, who would it be?”

So while I was going back through my archives trying to see if I had any incorrectly flagged content (I scrolled all the way to 2015, found three, and gave up/went to bed lol), I kept getting distracted and rereading old posts out of amusement. One of them was this 21 Questions Yu Yu Hakusho meme - and one question in particular made the gears of my brain clank so I thought hey, why not? Let’s answer it.

I'm going to tackle this question from two angles.

A) If I could pick ANY characters in Yu Yu Hakusho to form a team.

B) If I could only pick characters who appear during the actual Dark Tournament.

As soon as you see my first list, you'll understand why I was like, “oh.” and opted to do it again from B lmao.

(Oh yeah my tags spoil everything but oh well. Hope the rationale makes up for it hahaha)

VERSION A: Fun times

Raizen.

I'm sorry, the tournament is over now, thank you for coming. Seriously though, he's Yusuke with a million times more firepower and brains/experience. Also, one of the appeals of Yusuke is that he makes fighting fun, which is why everyone wants to go up against him. Raizen's friends express the exact same sentiment repeatedly. Raizen in his prime in battle would be a sight to see. He'd be all DID SOMEBODY SAY FIGHTING?? YEAH I'LL FIGHT ALL THE FIGHTS WAHOO and nobody would be able to get him off the arena platform. If there is an arena platform left. Or an arena. Or anything.

Enki.

Jolly uncle/all-round good dude, I love him. He also loves fighting, so he is also lots of fun. He seems much more cool-headed and practical than Raizen, and definitely takes the lead in coordinating the rest of Raizen's pals. Thus, he's a great wingman for Raizen. If you somehow actually manage to defeat Raizen- haha, what am I talking about? OK, if Raizen slept in or something, then you can fight Enki. And in that case the tournament is still over.

Kokou.

LOVES FIGHTING AND WILL KICK YOUR ASS. Even Enki was relieved he didn't have to face her. I firmly believe after Raizen she's the strongest - or at least one of the strongest - out of all of Raizen's already insanely powerful friends. Honestly, between Raizen and Kokou they'd probably just take everybody down, including each other, and have a blast. 

My perfect noodle husband Hokushin.

Obviously no one is surprised at this pick on my blog. Also loves fighting, plus super duper reliable, he's perfect support for anything. Along with Enki, he'd help temper Raizen and Kokou's wild party. And somebody needs to clean up after all the mess and make sure everybody gets first aid and whatever. Well, first aid for the other team they just massacred, I guess.

One more Raizen friend: Natsume.

We could put another one of Raizen's friends here, but I pick Natsume because we know a lot more about her and she's so badass and we should have more women. Also, because she's very clearly another great mashup of LOVES FIGHTING and NOT STUPID, as a fifth member, she can easily step in to fill any of the others' shoes, whether it's happily beat the crap out of everything in sight or be calm and strategize. If anybody ever actually needed to be filled in for some reason.

I call this amazingness Team Old People. IMO this team is flawless because they would just be so damn entertaining on so many levels. You have five extremely powerful and smart warriors with centuries of experience who have nothing to prove aside from sheer enjoyment of battle. Every one of them has expressed a passion for fighting because it's simply a joy for them, which means they wouldn't be playing it safe/boring. Seeing a master in action at practically anything is awesome, and not only that but they’d be willing to experiment and take risks and do things that are out there. A tournament is also a form of entertainment for the audience (both the real life audience and the one in the show), and that combined with their expert level combat skills means that I think they'd be so fantastic to watch. And all of them have distinct personalities that balance "I am an ancient demon with wisdom and stuff" VS "I love punching people (or getting punched) in the face!!" in different enough ways that they still offer really interesting character dynamics and interaction opportunities. And they would also be incredibly supportive of each other while still allowing for plenty of snark.

That said, FUN FUN FUN aside, the very obvious problem with this team is that they seriously break the question. And everything else. Even if they don’t intend to flat out obliterate everything, that’s what would probably happen, and that unfortunately can easily head towards its own kind of boring. Everyone would be like "why are we having a tournament, we're going home". So, we must leave Team Old People behind and move on to version B.

VERSION B: Serious business

Dark Tournament characters only. I will exclude members of the Toguro Team from my selection for obvious reasons. NO MORE FUN TIME. This is me pretending that I'm some rich underworld dude or whatever putting together a team I'm betting on to get through the tournament. You're going to see a clear pattern emerging from my picks.

Genkai.

The veteran. Intelligent, experienced, very powerful and pragmatic. I'd shell out big bucks to get her to come back to be my team's captain. No question for me, she's a must, even if all she does is sit on the sidelines and coach the rest of the team. With a group of serious, motivated and talented fighters, she'd be the best mentor and my team would be well-positioned to MAKE ME LOTS OF MONEY SO IN YOUR SMOKY SCARRED FACE SAKYO

Hiei.

Those who know me may find it shocking that I'm including Hiei but not Yusuke, Kuwabara, or Kurama. Hiei doesn't appear on my tumblr very often, and of the four main characters he's probably the one I'm least emotionally invested in. But if you're assembling a team for the Dark Tournament, you're IN IT TO WIN IT!! And Hiei is the best bet. I shall explain.

Hiei is efficient and effective, and his success ratio is the highest out of all Urameshi Team members - the most number of individual fights without a single loss or draw. Granted, he sits out for a chunk of the tournament, but he rarely appears worn out at the end of a fight. The only time he overexerts himself is against Zeru; after his recovery, he never seems to break a sweat. Even against Bui, he had no real issues. From a betting perspective, his odds are very, very good. Kuwabara and Kurama both experience multiple losses - Kuwabara often because he's young and overconfident or becomes so personally involved that he cares more for a positive outcome for other people than for winning; Kurama often because (as Hiei notes) he tends to overcalculate the situation and draw things out so long figuring everything out that it turns into a disadvantage. Yusuke's very strong and has huge potential, but he's also focused far too much on the experience. This makes his battles fun to watch but would give a strategist heart attacks. Many of his fights involve near-misses or less-than-ideal situations stemming from amateur errors. And finally, he gets dinged with a draw in his match with Jin, in part because his dawdling on the field made the deception feasible. Yusuke's great for drama and storytelling, not great for the comfort of my pocketbook. Having him on a team is risky when I know the other underworld bosses I'm competing against are not above using underhanded tactics.

As a result, based on a purely practical evaluation, Hiei is the most reliable choice. He's very focused on, and very good at, the one thing I want - DEFEAT THE OPPONENT UNEQUIVOCALLY. He comes in and tears people apart and there's no chance of an ambiguous referee call. He just needs his team members to be people he can respect to keep him in line. With Genkai as captain, that shouldn't be an issue. Nor with the rest of my picks.

Ryo (Kai in the anime) / M-3.

This is the Dr. Ichigaki member with the invisible claw powers. After their fight, he offers to be a replacement for the seriously injured Kuwabara (Yusuke appreciates it but has to turn him down because it's against the rules unless Kuwabara actually dies). He seems to be the strongest of the three students who were brainwashed by Ichigaki, and without Genkai's intervention and his own struggling against Ichigaki's mechanism, he would very likely have wiped out Kuwabara and Yusuke. He's extremely serious and dedicated, and with someone like Genkai steering the helm I think he'd go far. I'd be comfortable putting money on him. I also like him a lot and wish he had more involvement in the story - I've always felt that if Togashi didn’t need to get Koenma in for story purposes Yusuke hadn't been so freaked out and completely lost mentally when Genkai died, he probably would've asked Ryo to be the replacement fifth member. SOMEONE WRITE THIS

Touya.

Stronger than Gama, less arrogant than Risho, more reliable than Jin (who has many of the same problems as Yusuke), and Bakken sucks and will never be considered by anybody. Touya's powers are also very flexible. Somebody just needs to tell him to NOT TALK TO HIS OPPONENT. Don't talk to them, don't listen to them, don't let them distract you, don't let them get into your head, JUST GET IN THERE AND EYE ON THE PRIZE AND BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF THEM OKAY lol. I also think when Genkai was training everyone for Kurama, Touya was probably the one who gave her the least hard time. I mean, out of Touya, Jin, Chuu, Rinku, Suzuki and Shishiwakamaru who do YOU think would bellyache the least? I thought so.

The fifth member is actually a backup/alternate who doesn't necessarily see action (if you recall, this is why Chuu was mad). For my final pick, I took a while to decide, so I'll tell you about both of the last two people I was considering since I enjoy any excuse to talk about characters I don’t usually see mentioned.

5a is Zeru. 

OK, partly I considered him because nobody remembers him lmao - he was Hiei's first victory, obliterated into a shadow by Hiei's training-wheels Kokuryuuha. But if you look at my other picks, I think you'll appreciate why he's on my radar - he fits the profile of what I'm looking for very nicely. I want someone in control of themselves; who is a reliable, consistent, focused fighter unlikely to get distracted by other things; who clearly demonstrates power and is committed and has potential to grow really fast with the right direction/team captain. The only thing is that with Hiei already on the team, this may be duplicating the skillset and the mental profile a bit too much. And I think it's clear Hiei already has the upperhand in baseline power. So,

5b is Suzuki. 

His strength isn't fighting. It's his ingenuity in adapting, augmenting, and outfitting his team members with really good, really creative tools. He's honestly more a tinkerer and an inventor, imaginatively tweaking things to be even more useful, and whenever he realizes and accepts this about himself instead of trying to be just another fighter in the limelight, he'll be rich lmao. Anyways, this skill makes him a hugely valuable asset. I don't need him to be in the ring, I'm fine having him support with cool gadgets to amplify the rest of the team.

I HOPE YOU LIKED MY PICKS lol

[lucids]

You Can Lead a More Satisfying Life by Making a Few Small Changes.

Being satisfied and feeling fulfilled are what we all ultimately strive for. Happiness with our lives is the very reason we do just about anything.

So ask yourself: Am I really satisfied with my life? If the answer is no, it's time to re-evaluate and change. To lead a satisfying life, take some time to reflect on the things below.

1. Focus on the positive. It's easy for anyone to get caught in the negativity trap--constantly dwelling on what needs to be done, what should have been done, mistakes made, etc. Rather than allowing those negative, anxious thoughts to dominate your mind, think of the good things in your life. For every negative thing that comes to mind, force yourself to find a positive thing. This will lead to a more positive outlook on life and a more positive attitude in the long run.

2. Find your stress relief. Figure out what soothes you, the things that most reduce your stress. Whether it's playing guitar or sports, or whatever, you need to find a hobby that quiets your mind and gives you a sense of inner peace. Make a point to take time out of your busy schedule to practice your stress-relieving activities on a regular basis.

3. Don't be afraid to take time for yourself. It's natural for people to get overwhelmed when they're busy. Rather than allowing yourself to get so overwhelmed you just throw your hands up in frustration and give up, learn to recognize when you're getting close to your breaking point, and then take a break. Do not be ashamed to take a personal day. Realize that your mental health is just as important as your physical health.

4. Take responsibility for your actions. When you find yourself in a bad situation, it's easy to point fingers and blame other people for your problem, but that does not remedy the situation. Rather than focus on what could have been done, take responsibility for your own actions, and then examine the situation. Take control of the things you can, and let go of everything else. Make positive changes where you can, whether it be in your business or personal life, and accept the things you cannot change.

5. Be more understanding. One of the biggest stressors for most individuals comes from misunderstanding. Developing the ability to see from another person's perspective without bias is a gift very few people possess, but it is a valuable trait. When conversing, listen without judgment and leave your mind open. This will allow you to make more friends. The ability to see from another's perspective will allow you to learn more and think more abstractly.

6. Re-evaluate your relationships. One by one, consider each and every relationship you have. Think about how they affect you in your daily life. Who wants to see you succeed, who inspires you, who makes you happy? On the other side, who might be dragging you down, who might make you feel bad about yourself, who might be a toxic influence on you? Be brutally honest with yourself and distance yourself from the people who you feel might be sapping your energy. Surround yourself with people who are positive influences and people who make you happy, enhancing your quality of life.

7. Live your best life. Only you know what truly makes you happy. Don't let other people dictate how to live your life. Walk your own path without fear of judgment. Of course, your family and friends are important and it is absolutely fine to go to them for advice when you need it, but it's ultimately your decision whether you take that advice. Every individual has just one life to live, so remember, live your life how you want to live it.

Source: https://www.inc.com/rhett-power/you-can-lead-a-more-satisfying-life-by-making-a-few-small-changes.html

[cbhunter494]

How To Lead Jo Owen Ebook

How to Lead: The definitive guide to effective leadership (4th ed.) by Jo Owen. Based on original research into some of the world’s best organisations, How to Lead cuts right through all the myths and mysteries to get straight to the heart of what it really takes to motivate, inspire and deliver results. How to Lead: The definitive guide to effective leadership - Kindle edition by Owen, Jo. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading How to Lead: The definitive guide to effective leadership. Jo Owen eBooks Epub and PDF format Jo Owen eBooks. How to Lead: What the best leaders know, do and say. Pearson Business, August 2012. Jo.owen@leadershippartnership.com A unique and brilliant combination of authoritative guidance and stimulating and entertaining advice, How to Leadhelps you resolve some common challenges that every leader will face:. Why should anyone want to follow you as a leader?

How To Lead Jo Owen Ebook Reader

How To Lead Jo Owen Ebook Cover

How To Lead Jo Owen Ebook Free

How To Lead Jo Owen Ebooks

The one-sentence summary

Successful leaders will take on risk, change and ambiguity.

WHAT THE BOOK SAYS

This book contains all the important stuff about leading well: motivating people, building networks, selling ideas, influencing people, giving feedback, evaluating people, and learning to be lucky

It takes you through the foundations, practice and mastering of leadership, and makes the point that leaders aren’t necessarily at the top of organisations

The main qualities fall into focusing on people,being positive, and being professional (that means having loyalty, honesty, reliability, solutions, and energy)

Leading from the middle involves finding your way through the matrix. Those who fall by the way are:

the expert (technically competent, but that’s all) cave dweller (territorial) politician (political) boy scout (naïve) autocrat (acts as though they already are a leader)

WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT IT

A survey of 1,000 leaders reveals the qualities they look for in emerging leaders:

adaptability, self-confidence, proactivity, reliability, and ambition

Luck is normally down to practice, persistence, and perspective

There are good quotes to be had here:

“ Many sins are forgivable, but disloyalty is not one of them.”

“An organisation full of Ghengis Khan wannabes is unlikely to be a happy place.”

“It is possible to learn leadership. If you know how to, you are well on the way to success.”

“The successful leader will take on risk, change and ambiguity.”

There is an interesting checklist of what people want from a good boss:

Shows an interest in my career

I trust them – they are honest with me

I know where we are going and how to get there

I am doing a worthwhile job

I am recognized for my contribution

WHAT YOU HAVE TO WATCH

Not much. This is a well-organised and thoughtful book on leadership

MORE DETAIL

A survey of 1,000 leaders reveals the qualities great leaders need: 3 Ps leading to a fourth:

·People focus

·Positivity

·Professionalism…leading to Performance.

He distinguishes between emerging leaders, leading from the middle, and those at the top.

Leadership foundations

Find the right boss; always deliver; no surprises; ditch the excuses; adapt your style; have an alternative; learn; do what is right; size the prize; understand costs and risks of decisions; follow strategy and values; build consensus; flip a coin – don’t hide, decide; motivate; set direction; communicate; fight the right battles

Towards leadership mastery

Start at the end; take responsibility; raise the bar; drive to action; act the part; keep on learning; set expectations; have a plan; shape your team; set your style; protect your territory; deliver results; craft an agenda

Ineffective leadership behaviours

Ego; no emotional quotient; focus solely on expertise; naïve about networks; hires weak clones; threatened by talent; poor delegation; problem focused; can’t do approach; retreats into comfort zone; political; keen on status.

I’ve been tasked with ‘learning to lead’ for the remaining weeks of this term, inamongst the other things I’m doing. To that end, I’m reading a range of books and articles, watching videos and generally trying to learn from the experts. 🙂

Looking on Amazon, there were lots of 5-star reviews for a book by Jo Owen entitled How to Lead: what you actually need to do to manage, lead and succeed. I’ve just finished the first chapter entitled ‘Focusing on People’ and it has lots of good ideas and advice crammed into it.

Here’s my notes and reflections on what I’ve read:

Leaders are made, not born

Owen says three principles underpin his book:

Everyone can lead

You can load the dice in your favour (but there’s no magic recipe)

You can learn to be a leader

Leadership is not about the position you are in but about the way you behave. Leaders need followers, otherwise they are not leaders! There is no particular intelligence requirement for leadership, but instead some core behaviours:

ability to motivate others

vision

honesty & integrity

decisiveness

ability to handly crises

‘Performance’ is not mentioned in the above, but naturally flows from them.

You don’t need to know it all

Some leaders suffer from ‘altitude sickness’ in that they can’t cope at a higher level when they’ve been successful further down the hierarchy. Sometimes this is due to a perception that you need to ‘have all the skills’ immediately. Instead, good leaders radiate self-confidence and build on their strengths whilst realising that learning is a lifelong process.

Despite being an author and consultant himself, Owen says that people learn from lived experience, not primarily from books, manuals and conferences. That being said, these can help you understand your experiences and build upon them.

Focusing on people

Good leaders focus on other people, not themselves. There are three major elements to this:

Decentring – knowing yourself and how you affect others

Influencing people – selling ideas to them

Managing upwards – influencing the boss

In order to deal with other people you need to know what makes them tick. Owen suggests trying to ascertain their Myers-Briggs personality type. Regular readers will remember that I wrote about such tests back in a post entitled “You can tell a lot about someone from what they’re like.” You don’t have to use the Myers-Briggs indicators – you can use your own such as ‘big picture’ vs. ‘detail’. Understanding what makes your colleagues, and especially your boss, tick helps you press the right buttons.

Selling ideas

In order to influence others, you need to focus on the third of three levels that are naturally used when you try and sell an idea or object to someone:

Features – the innate characteristics of the idea or object

Benefits – the features people want from the idea or object

Hopes & dreams – what can be achieved through the idea or object

By tapping into peoples’ hopes and dreams you can motivate and inspire them to action. Owen recommends reading Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People, if you haven’t already. I listened to it as an audiobook a while back, but will be purchasing the book soon!

What makes people tick

Owen, rather pessimistically, asserts that fear, greed and idleness makes people tick. These can be seen as ‘influencing levers’. He gives some advice as to how you use these levers:

How To Lead Jo Owen Ebook Reader

Fear – ‘de-risk’ ideas by, for example, running pilot projects.

Greed – be clear r.e. the WIFM? (What’s In It For Me?) factor. This has as much to do with recognition and status as money.

Idleness – find a way in which the idea supports the other person’ agenda. This will motivate them to action.

Owen gives some great advice taken from the world of sales. At the end of the meeting, give the person or group of people to whom you are pitching a choice between two positive ideas. It takes effort to reject the idea completely, so people will usually choose one of your two option, leading to success on your part!

The unforgivable sin

After interviewing 700 leaders, Owen came up with a list of the following traits that they are looking for in emergent leaders:

adaptability

self-confidence

proactivity

reliability

ambition

How To Lead Jo Owen Ebook Cover

Most mistakes are rectifiable and forgivable, but the one unforgivable sin for them is disloyalty. As one put it, ‘Don’t outshine me, don’t outsmart me and don’t outflank me.’ Wise words indeed. :-p

Influencing the boss

Although you are not usually in control of who is your boss, you can still influence your relationship with them. Influencing your boss, says Owen, has three elements:

How To Lead Jo Owen Ebook Free

Finding the right boss (find a sponsor more senior to your immediate boss and make yourself useful to them)

Delivering the right results (a matter of style and substance – use the ‘style compass’ on your boss and what your ‘must-win’ battles are)

Having the right behaviours (you have to adapt to your bosses’ style as they won’t adapt to yours. Make sure they know what you’re good at, what your capacity is, and what your progress is)

Conclusion

How To Lead Jo Owen Ebooks

I enjoyed the first chapter of How to Lead– it was general enough to be applicable without being vague, and opened my eyes to strategies that could work well in my new position. 😀

Related Posts:

[shroud-of-roses]

Scrying With Spirits: Bronwyn's Complete Guide

This is my personal guide on how, when,and why to scry with spirits, and warnings to keep in mind when doing so. This is all of my information (so far), and is thus MY complete guide. It is not, however, the end all be all guide. Other people will surely have more information to offer, and different ideas as to what is and isn't necessary or useful. Feel free to add your own thoughts to this post!

There are many ways to ask for guidance with divination. Asking deities, spirits, and creatures for help are three different ways. I will be focusing on how to ask human and non human entities who are not all powerful but can have influence or knowledge of the future etc. for help. These are all acquired through research and experience, so what may work for me may not work for you. I will cover many aspects of this practice, and hopefully you can take something away from this post!

Why?

When you do any form of divination with spirits, it can open a world of knowledge you never would have otherwise known about. I find that Scrying, especially when you use a black mirror, is very powerful. This may be because mirrors are said to reflect the other side, or act as gateways from our realm to theirs. Scrying in particular has always been a very interesting and accurate way to divine anyway, because you enter into a meditative state that can really open you up.

But whatever the reason, it works very well for some people, including me, when you are divining with spirits.

One reason I do this is to see things from a different perspective. If I feel that I may be influencing my own readings, asking a spirit for help can unblock your mind from that stagnant idea you have going. It either helps validate or shoot down your original reading, or at least helps you shift your focus a bit. I enjoy seeing the difference when I do divination for myself without asking for help and then doing the same with a spirit. It often has a whole different energy to it, and honestly relieves my mind of worrying if I am right or not.

Another reason could be to build a bond with a particular spirit, or even trade services. Let's say you have become a companion to a powerful spirit who does know things of the future, or has a strong sense of intuition. To get to know them and their abilities, you could divine with them. Or, if you give them energy and a vessel, etc, they may want to repay you with a service like aiding you in divination. However, you shouldn't force them into it. That is never okay.

A simple answer to the why question is: to get answers. We don't know everything, even if we are intuitive and psychically gifted. We can't always access information. Other entities sometimes can. Asking for help is alright.

Warnings

Don't offer to repay them what you don't have, if you are trading services or goods, then make sure you have that before you even ask the spirit for help. Nobody likes a shady spirit, but shady spirit workers aren't any good either.

Don't make deals that seem... Off. If the terms aren't clear, or are so simple they can easily be twisted, be wary. Don't rush into a decision. Think things through very carefully. Get it in writing and have them agree to it by putting their energy into it. Use it in a spell if things go awry.

Some spirits are strong, and they can be manipulative. Some are malevolent but know things you don't, and so you want to ask them for help. Here's a word of advice regarding these entities: don't invite them in unless you are experienced with their kind. If you have never worked with a malevolent entity, then you have no idea who they are or what their motive is. Even with experience, every entity is different. When you open a door to them, they don't always leave willingly. Never call something you don't think you could handle on your own.

It is almost never a good thing when negative entities offer something without being asked. Some things are too good to be true. Keep that in mind, but do as you wish. And if you're approached without ever having asked for help, be careful. They may be more powerful than you think.

Use protection when divining. I find this especially important with Scrying, because I feel that one is looking into the spirit realm and opening up a window. Yes, there is a screen. But is that enough to keep out a large bird? No. So why would you leave yourself unprotected when Scrying when large or strong entities could come through? Here are my tips for this if you choose to use them:

Lock the mirror. I draw a sigil on my mirror with a dry erase marker or chalkboard marker. It specifically states that nothing can come in and nothing can go out as long as it is not in use. To open the mirror, I erase the sigil.

Keep your mirror in a bag, a box, or wrapped in cloth. Anything opaque will work, but I find black to keep things in very well. I imagine white would work too, ad it is reflective in my experience. That way, if anything tries to go in or out of it, they will be blocked by the clock.

Keep a clear quartz in one hand while you scry, holding it behind the mirror to ward off negative entities and to protect you. If you are communicating with a negative entity, ask them to protect you (but honestly, I wouldn't recommend working with them. They're unreliable and could potentially harm you. If you get a bad vibe, don't do it. Listen to your intuition).

Drink herbal tea meant to protect and cleanse before and afterwards. This will help ward you from entities you are not welcoming, as well as keep them from attaching to you. My favorite is a mint tea or lavender tea. Rose is also good. Be careful when mixing herbs with medication, especially if you are sick or have a condition. Also, some herbs are not great for pregnant or nursing people.

Bless your space before and after the session with gem elixir (made with nontoxic water-safe crystals that correspond with protection) mixed with salt and moon water. Use incense to clear out any remaining energy you don't want hanging around.

Keep your energy up. Ground yourself after the session, and get lots of sleep, rest, and food. Don't abandon your physical needs to ensure a spiritual connection between you and the other side. How can there be a connection if you don't take care of yourself well enough to do anything?

How?

When you're familiar with Scrying (I have more than one post on my blog if you want to learn) it becomes very easy to do so with spirits. Here are my steps and procedures:

Contact the entity. Usually, this should be a spirit you are familiar with. On occasion, you can divine with those you are not as familiar with, though when that is alright is up to the diviner.

Decide on the terms. Figure out what you want to know during this session, how you would like to receive it (ex: symbols, images, energy, etc), and what you each will get from one another. This could be a simple exchange of energy for a service, or a more complicated matter involving help over a period of time, or maybe a partnership as spirit companions for a little while. This is all up to you, the spirit, and how you want to compromise.

Set a date and time. Simple enough, but I will expand upon this on the 'when' portion of this post. It is all personal decisions, but the information I give you is what I do and what works for me.

Prepare. Keep your energy levels up, and make arrangements for protection as well as silence. It really helps you concentrate when you are divining if you don't have people barging in or talking around you. White noise helps, and so do binaural beats.

Show up on time. Ask for help, and make sure your terms are all correct. Ensure that the spirit is there and they are the only entity present, if you have only requested their help.

Begin to scry, and open yourself up to influence and aid. This can take a few minutes for some people, and shorter or longer amounts of time for others. It all depends on you and your shields, how well you scry on your own, and the strength of the entity.

Document everything you are given. Keep a journal nearby for this.

Say goodbye, thank the entity, and cleanse the space as directed in the 'warnings' tab, or use your own method. Draw your lock sigil on your mirror if you choose to, and store your mirror as you wish.

Follow through with your end of the deal if you have a duty you haven't yet completed. Make sure the entity knows you have completed their requests.

Evaluate the reading in a few days/weeks/months/etc to determine of it was accurate. Decide if you will ask the entity for help again, and discuss it with them to find out if they would be willing to do it if you're interested.

When?

When you scry can be completely random. My tip is to plan it accordingly to things that relate to the reading, ex: a reading about new beginnings on the new moon, one about your past life as the moon wanes, etc. It can totally be influenced by whatever you feel is really important, so choose what you like, or just scry whenever you need to.

The best day I have found for this is Saturday. I am not sure why, but it always turns out best then. Maybe its because it's a transition between days of the week, from one week to the next. Either way, that's my top pick. Find what day works best for you!

Some people recommend Scrying or doing special sessions for divination on sabbats and such. I don't really celebrate them a whole lot, so I can't tell you much about how well it works on those days compared to every other day, but I say that you give the day the power.

Final Notes

Again, these are just my ideas and experiences. Take it all with a grain of salt, and try your best to do things by experience if you can. Be cautious, but definitely do this if it is calling to you. Don't let me or anyone else tell you how to do this either, as long as you aren't appropriating or causing harm to spirits, you should be good!

Thanks for Reading,

🔮🔮🔮Bronwyn 🔮🔮🔮

[confirmation-of-practice]

Final Module Evaluation

This post will be my final and summative evaluation of my Confirmation Of Practice module and will detail my experience throughout it, discussing where I began where I have arrived and how I reached this point. As well as this I will describe my feelings on how I preformed during the module and how I can improve for the final module of the degree. I will not be covering in detail how I felt at each point during the module as I have created separate evaluations that address this in detail, I may however mention it in reflection.

To begin I want to say that this module as a whole has been among the most engaging and fulfilling to date that I have done, the flexibility and freedom to design and execute my own module has pushed me consider my own interest and practice in a more tentative manor, something I have enjoyed. The module itself was structured very well and despite the difficulties caused by Covid-19 I feel I have produced an outcome which is among the best I have produced to date. I do wonder what I could have generated without the obstacles we have all had to face but there is no utility in this and I am pleased overall with my performance. However, there is still some large and critical errors I have made and continue to make, these are things I will continue to address and work upon as I enter my final module and most likely after this course, I will address these in my evaluation.

At the beginning of this year and this module I knew that I wanted to engage more thoroughly with Christianity and religion in a more transparent way. This is a feeling even in reflection that I share, even if for different reasons. Previously I had addressed Christianity less clearly instead centring my project around  systems of faith and spirituality, both of which I find interesting but neither exactly being what I wanted to research. The rationale for not being as explicit was rooted in wanting to remain unconfrontational and not wanting to seem like I am targeting a particular group. However, my thinking changed on this as I became more honest about my interests but also where I am most knowledgeable, this is more apparent when referring to the criteria “Knowledge has been assimilated and individual and personal perspectives have been formulated and debated with effectiveness.”. This quote taken from the 70-79 grading band demonstrates that the topic that you are discussing should be well known to the student working on it. Having a working knowledge was important when addressing what I could build upon, and I knew that Christianity was the belief system I was most well versed in. These factors and others made choosing to research the Christian faith relevant and engaging. Upon deciding this I chose to continue my research into cleansing as a basis to research from, as again it something I have previously accumulated knowledge on. 

In retrospect I am glad I chose the subject matter I did and I will continue this line of inquiry again with the final module. The way I began addressing it could be improved when looking back at the initial stages. An example being my revision of methodology that I now see leaves little room for planning and course correction if needed. This revision of methodology is something I will again work on in the final module. Another aspect in need of improvement at the early stage was my lack of recorded engagement with the Cathedral staff. I spent time talking with the staff at the Cathedral but lacked the foresight to record much of it for evidencing sadly, this is something I plan to correct if I have the opportunity to meet the staff again while on the course (dependant on Covid-19 policy and law). The value gained from candid conversations with people within the Cathedral is invaluable and gives me insight and knowledge that could not be attained any other way. This trend of interaction with people is something I hope to cultivate and continue in the future, as it offers insight that is difficult to extract through other means. 

Moving on from the beginning of my project I began to consider the for that this module would take, and how I could convey ideas around cleansing effectively. This path quickly led me to the Cathedral, which then led me to discovering their own Chalice that is within the vault. This chalice that was locked away from me instantly engaged me and the mystery and lack of imagery made me even more interested. When research the Cathedrals chalice there was only one image which was black & white and was found within a book in the Cathedral library. The fact that I could see it but only in an obscured way made the object almost mythical and sacred, leading me to read about reliquaries and their capacity to affect the viewer. All of this research led to me want to make a chalice and use that as the conduit for my project, an ambition that took many forms and phases until I reached its current interpretation as a soap chalice. The journey of how this transpired can be found in this blog (it is too long to detail in here), but it led to an outcome much more detached than I first thought it could be. This is due to the wisdom of my tutors and my eagerness to listen to them, culminating in a series of objects I think are successful. However, going back to my mid point the research I was doing into the chalice and cleansing was primarily based in the cathedral library until it came time to begin making. Towards the end of the midpoint of the I came to realise that my initial machination was not daring enough or engaging as well as requiring skills I had not acquired or truly wished to. Creating a copper chalice was not what I wanted to do, and I thank my tutors for recognising this was the case and giving me the opportunity to reconsider and choose a better if not more explorative path. 

This new path led me to exploring soap and how I could allow my project to really becoming cleansing, physically and conceptually, I wanted the work to reflect my feelings of the Christian ritual Eucharist and transubstantiation (the belief that the bread and wine consumed during Eucharist becomes the literal body and blood of Christ) initially, giving the viewer a new perspective on the ritual that they might not have had. This by implication led to me developing what I thought of Eucharist, this is still something I am developing now and will continue to do. I looked into various associated avenues of research associated with what I thought of the ritual. This then culminated in the creation of my first concept for the soap chalice, this design for the chalice lasted awhile and only altered when I came to creating it, which at that point I realised the concept driving the chalice was misguided. This was due to my desire to build the blood red (wine) chalice off of unresolved feelings of negativity. This was driven by past experiences that I hadn't confronted, upon realising this I wanted to alter the design to reflect my new more considered approach and feelings. This change in attitude and perspective came with the decision to make a chalice series opposed to a single chalice. By doing this I could both convey the modular aspect to my chalice as well as convey a new perspectives. Through choosing multiple different chalices I could convey the darker implications I found in Eucharist while tempering it with other more balanced or complimentary perspectives as well. 

Upon making this change I arrived towards the end of my module where I began to make the actual soap chalice. This in itself was an internal struggle as originally I never intended to make the soap, upon conversing with a fellow CDC student they called into question my integrity as a maker and whether I could be classed as one while not making my own soap. This event was uncomfortable and painful initially, leading me to walk away and contemplate what they said was true, in the end I didn't come to a clear conclusion but I did realise that for my own integrity I wanted to make my own soap. So that is what I have done and at the time of writing this it is still drying and setting for it to be assembled. I am glad that I was questioned and pushed as it gave me a real sense of challenge and forced me to question my identity as a maker more thoroughly than before. I am unsure whether my soap will be as successful as my other chalices but I know that either way I have much more ownership over the object and process. 

Coming to the end of my recap and reflection of this module I am very happy with the experience it has given me. As I write this we have entered another lockdown which has given me more time to reflect and consider the module and my place in it. The freedom offered by primarily self-direct work has been good and given me space to form my own ideas unaffected by a brief. One of my primary concerns I held before this module and still now is whether I am capable of generating really interesting concepts at all. It is something I have not answered still, however, this module has given me tools to enable me to find out the answer to this difficult question. I have enjoyed this module greatly and learnt a lot about the importance of planning, sampling, testing and resolving ideas thoroughly. It has also made me understand the importance of feedback and community, especially now that there is little of it. These rituals of cleansing I have focused upon are becoming increasingly important to the world around us, I myself have found a great need for ritualism in the form of cleansing my body and my mind together. As these lockdowns continue and the difficulties increase I feel as though the cord I struck in this module and previous is still not completely played out, I question whether there can be a resolution in my final module that amalgamates all of these concepts and feelings about cleansing we have in our current society.

[wherespacepooh]

Shae-lynn Bourne Interview at Y.H. 2017-18 Media Day

(Shae-lynn and Yuzuru’s ema at Seimei Shrine. Photo cr. misayuzulove@twi)

...I get goosebumps. He has a connection with the music and moves freely. He does everything, believing in what I say. He makes the process of choreography a really beautiful thing for me. ––– S.L.B.

Told from Shae-lynn Bourne’s perspective, a glimpse into Yuzuru the skater and Yuzuru the person. She also talks about choreographing for him and with him, and the bond they’ve forged. With her instinct to connect with both music and people, it’s clear how she and Yuzuru make a killer team. Alternatively––SLB is such a romantic (in the best way possible). She made the jump landings in SEIMEI 2 really hard. She confirms he grew taller. - Gladi :P

SLB spoke with the press on Day 1 of the 2017-18 Season Media Day. The 15-minute interview in its almost-entirety was edited by Figure Skate Magazine (B.B.Mook 1383). Repeated QA’s were omitted. 

Translated by gladi. Please do not repost without permission.  Photos below were taken by Ryosuke Menjyu and belong to B.B.Mook.

A new SEIMEI with increased charm The year of reaching new heights

Although SEIMEI isn’t a completely new program, we’ve made modifications and added new appeal. It’s an improved, new SEIMEI. Of course the order of the elements has changed, so have the entries and difficulty of the elements, as well as the level of the content. It is Version 2, so to speak. I think this will become the final version.

I believe it was about a month after the World Championships. I wrote a message suggesting, “How about skating to SEIMEI?” I thought it was such a perfect fit for the Olympics. Afterwards, I was very glad when I learned of his choice.  I think it is the right plan.

I have always been deeply impressed by his performance. It is not a simple thing. Winning the Olympics and still continuing to grow even now, four years later. Winning a medal––while it’s normal to think that is enough, [Yuzu] has lifted limits and pushed boundaries. I think he has raised the entire sport. The level of competition has gone up considerably since he spurred the other men into action. At the 2015-16 season's NHK Trophy, he lit a fire in the people who saw his performance. After that, it was the Grand Prix Final. Everyone was thinking, “Surely, such a feat can no longer be accomplished.” But, with even better performances, he rewrote the record once again. He brought power to his skate and obliterated his limits. I believe that was what lit the fires in his rivals. Compared to the past, everyone, myself included, has become more excited when we watch skating. I am deeply moved by his unrelenting efforts to keep growing, even in mental strength.

I wasn’t able to see his performance live at Helsinki. I wanted to see it though. Since it’s completely different from watching it on the television or on video sites. But, I was so proud, and very happy. Last year, we created a program that was technically very difficult. I think he felt a need to push himself on. And then he carried it through. So this year, he knows he can do it. He jumps perfect quads, right? Artistically too, he is advancing. He continues to mature. It’s like he is riding on an upward current, I think this will be the year [when he is really ready to reach new heights].

First off, mentally he has become very mature, and he has broadened his own boundaries. He can probably jump many quads alone, but can he succeed in times of pressure, those moments when this is it? It is very difficult. I can’t even imagine the level he’s trying to accomplish and reach.

He has grown as a person as well. All the different situations [he faced] in life have helped his growth. I remember when he went through that difficult season two years ago. That collision on ice, and afterwards, undergoing surgery too. Going through so many difficulties, challenges and obstacles brought about his growth as a person, as a man, as a performer.

Although I am older than he is, I’m still growing each day. What I’ve noticed from practicing together is that I’m opening up to him. In part, I feel comfortable and that we understanding each other. It is that feeling of relating with someone. I feel the growth in the way he stands and moves. He’s gotten taller and he has opened up his heart as well. His self-confidence has increased, and he knows himself well. Such growth is bringing forth an entirely different performance.

Through efforts over the past year Yuzu’s raised level of performance

Since he's already skated to SEIMEI for a season, it has accumulated inside of him. Additionally, I think he himself loves performing this program. When the skater himself is excited [about the program], it communicates. When you like the music and the story, the movements become a thing of your own. The program’s character––he feels so real to him, and he relates to him. In the past year, he skated to something new and different, improving technically. In fact, the level of his performance has gone up. That’s why, it’s great that he returns to a program he dearly loves and integrates the familiar with difficult elements. If he were to choose a completely different program, there would be a lot of new things he’d have to do. Choosing a program he likes is a strategically sound plan. In doing so, there is a fire in him and he can skate with passion. And that affords him some ease with the elements; he could add difficult elements to the program later. He can probably do better if he feels good and relaxed, as opposed to when he is nervous. I’ve repeated show programs a year after, and because I knew the music well, I did very well. Making use of his own experience, I’m sure he can skate this program even better.

When I first choreographed SEIMEI, he entrusted it entirely to me. Before beginning choreography, before entering the rink, we had an openhearted discussion about the music, about the story of the movie. He told me why he liked this music. I always ask about that sort of thing. There must be a reason for choosing [a particular piece], because that is important. Without a reason, there is no way to put in any emotions either. After we listened to the music and watched the film, I found a unique way of understanding him. Through discussion, the two of us decided on the right direction of the story. That was what we did before choreography. When we get on the ice, he’s open to trying out anything I suggest.

Because he will say so if he thinks something is wrong, we communicate well. Although he trusted me right away, I think he chooses me because he feels that what we’re doing is right. I think this is a great relationship. As I’ve said earlier, I feel that the heart and soul of this piece really resemble him. And that’s why, it wasn’t so difficult to put together this piece. Yuzu always has his opinions ready, and I think that is a really fantastic aspect of him. He has his own view of what he wants to do, and I think it's great if my suggestions can help him towards the right choices. During our practice, I suggested to him––"Will you meet with the actor [of Abe no Seimei]? It would be great if you could try acting together." It would be a wonderful collaboration, and he would learn more about his own internal preferences and what the piece means to him. It’s helpful to do things with remarkable people.

I think last season’s Hope & Legacy wasn’t an easy piece to skate to. Musically, it didn't have the power that SEIMEI has. It also wasn't something romantic, but there was a soft lyrical quality to it. I think he thought intensively about the movements of his own body, the musicality of the piece, and the flow when he goes from one movement to another and so forth.

So, I think it became good training that showed off a different side of him. What matters was that he’d brought and integrated everything into the second half of the program, that he added to the quads, and that he had continued to express the music even as he was executing such difficult elements. At World’s, he had carried all of this, everything, through.

It was a really wonderful moment when he first told me that he wanted to work together. He is a rare, spectacular skater. It's a very fortunate thing when a choreographer gets the chance to work with a high-level skater.  And when I first met him, I was instantly, strongly captivated. Choreographing the program, he would just jump a few triples and quads. This wasn’t ever the case with anyone. He was serious in looking at how it would be [with the elements inserted. I felt his deep respect for the ice, me, the coaches, his family. It was a true sense of respect. I feel his recognition and gratitude, so it’s amazing to be part of the team, and I think he was definitely evaluating [how the program looked] in earnest. He showed that he was grateful, but it was such a wonderful thing, so much that I wanted other skaters who were training together to see it as well. He always evaluates [the choreography] properly and expresses his thankfulness.

At times, when someone becomes a champion, you lose sight of such a side, but he is a real champion even as a person. Speaking of why SEIMEI is a good fit for him, it’s because the character has an extraordinarily strong mind. Someone who surmounts chaos and confusion through his frame of mind. On the one hand, Yuzu is so sweet, funny, and charming。Yet on the other hand, he is really strong. Working together with him, I see it––his true nature. The more I got to know him, the more he opened up to me as a person. I think that’s maturity, and also trust.

Not only that we were able to work together, that I was able to see the way he mastered and skated so skillfully to this program and fought––it was a marvelous experience beyond all description. There are skaters in this who stiffen, tense up, and feel stressed when the time comes for competition. Although there were good days and bad days, he just keeps making progress. That is why it was so great to become part of his team, and I can’t wait to see how he performs his next program.

What I want to emphasize in particular with this program are the landings of his jumps. Because they are very difficult… although that is my fault (laughs). Thanks to him––that is to say, because he has raised the technical level––the competition on the whole has become very tough. Everyone is going all out to defeat him, or to catch up with him. So he works hard to get to a place out of anyone’s reach. That is why I think he is successful.

The fact that he really feels the music, his ability to execute everything effortlessly, his inherent strength… considering all of this, he is going to come out even stronger. The SEIMEI this time comes backed by the experience from last year, because hard training pays off.  Practice brings confidence, no matter when. This year, I don’t think he needs to attend the first competition, but to him, furthering his growth is a necessity. The Olympic stage––is where he must be at his best condition.  

It’s hard to pick one of Yuzu’s greatest strengths. He is strong as a whole. He has the ability to perform, he can also jump without under-rotation. But he doesn’t just complete his rotations, when he soars into a quad, it is as though you're looking at a double. You feel his composure and confidence from the ease and the flow in and out of his jumps. That is why he is special compared to other skaters.

Physical matters aside, his mental strength is number one, the best thing, out of all his strong points. No matter how much you work hard and train, it is probably 90% a mental problem. Not only that, his physical ability now has also gone up, he knows his body well, and his body has matured. On top of being mentally tough, he is also training his muscles––I think this is his biggest strength.

When practicing parts with Yuzu, I always feel like my hair stand on end and I get goosebumps. He has a connection with the music, and he moves freely. He does everything, believing in what I say. He makes the process of choreography a really beautiful thing for me. That’s why, it is always a pleasure to enter the rink with him and collaborate together.

(fin)

Figure Skate Magazine (B.B.Mook 1383) on Amazon.co.jp: This magazine tends to be text-heavy but detailed. Yamaguchi and the rest of the editorial team did a great job bringing to life what Team Yuzu was like during Media Day in the current issue. Please consider supporting them.

(Caption: Sharpening skate and mind.)

(These two photos from Day 1 weren’t with the piece, but I thought they fit? In a weird way? Fierce Yuzu and RAWR-RAWR Yuzu? XD)

[michaelandy101-blog]

The Beginner’s Guide to Usability Testing [+ Sample Questions]

New Post has been published on https://tiptopreview.com/the-beginners-guide-to-usability-testing-sample-questions/

The Beginner’s Guide to Usability Testing [+ Sample Questions]

My favorite part of the writing process is when my editor reviews my work. By the time I’ve submitted the first draft of most of my blog posts, I’ve invested so much time and effort into my piece that I’m too emotionally attached to it. I need to distance myself from it.

My editor also has fresh editing eyes, so she can discover any overlooked errors and new creative opportunities to sharpen my piece. After I address her edits, my piece always looks more polished.

Asking other people to evaluate your work applies to almost every discipline, especially user experience and design. It’s not smart to rely on yourself when evaluating your own product or website design. You’re partial towards it, and that can skew your perception of reality. Learning directly from the people that your work is actually for — your users — is what enables you to craft the best user experience possible.

UX and design professionals leverage usability testing to get user feedback on their product or website’s user experience all the time. So we interviewed some of HubSpot’s Senior UX Researchers and Designers to teach you what exactly usability testing is, its benefits, and how to effectively conduct your own study.

What is Usability Testing?

Usability testing is a method of evaluating a product or website’s user experience. By testing the usability of their product or website with a representative group of their users or customers, UX researchers can determine if their actual users can easily and intuitively use their product or website.

UX researchers will usually conduct usability studies on each iteration of their product from its early development to its release. This allows UX researchers to uncover any problems with their product’s user experience, decide how to fix these problems, and ultimately determine if the product is usable enough.

Identifying and fixing these early issues saves the company both time and money: developers don’t have to overhaul the code of a poorly designed product that’s already built, and the product team is more likely to release it on schedule.

During a usability study, the moderator asks participants in their individual user session to complete a series of tasks while the rest of the team observes and takes notes. By watching their actual users navigate their product or website and listening to their praises and concerns about it, they can see when the participants can quickly and successfully complete tasks and where they’re enjoying the user experience, encountering problems, and experiencing confusion.

After conducting their study, they’ll analyze the results and report any interesting insights to the project lead.

Benefits of Usability Testing

Usability testing has five major advantages over the other methods of examining a product’s user experience, like a questionnaire:

Usability testing provides an unbiased, accurate, and direct examination of your product or website’s user experience. By testing its usability on a sample of actual users who are detached from the amount of emotional investment your team has put into creating and designing the product or website, their feedback can resolve most of your team’s internal debates.

Usability testing is convenient. To conduct your study, all you have to do is find a quiet room and bring in portable recording equipment. If you don’t have recording equipment, someone on your team can just take notes.

Usability testing can tell you what your users do on your site or product and why they take these actions.

Usability testing lets you address your product’s or website’s issues before you spend a ton of money creating something that ends up having a poor design.

For your business, intuitive design boosts customer usage and their results, driving demand for your product.

Examples of What Usability Testing Can Do

Usability testing sounds great in theory, but what value does it provide in practice? Here’s what it can do to actually make a difference for your product (with examples):

1. Identify points of friction in the usability of your product.

As Brian Halligan said at INBOUND 2019, “Dollars flow where friction is low.” This just as true in UX as it is in sales or customer service. The more friction your product has, the more reason your users will have to find something that’s easier to use.

Usability testing can uncover points of friction from customer feedback.

For example: “My process begins in Google Drive. I keep switching between windows and making multiple clicks just to copy and paste from Drive into this interface.”

Even though the product team may have had that task in mind when they created the tool, seeing it in action and hearing the user’s frustration uncovered a use case that the tool didn’t compensate for. It might lead the team to solve for this problem by creating an easy import feature or way to access Drive within the interface to reduce the number of clicks the user needs to make to accomplish their task.

2. Stress test across many environments and use cases.

Our products don’t exist in a vacuum, and sometimes development environments are unable to compensate for all the variables. Getting the product out and tested by users can uncover bugs that you may not have noticed while testing internally.

For example: “The check boxes disappear when I click on them.”

Let’s say that the team investigates why this might be, and they discover that the user is on a browser that’s not commonly used (or a browser version that’s outdated).

If the developers only tested across the browsers used in-house, they may have missed this bug, and it could have resulted in customer frustration.

3. Provide diverse perspectives from your user base.

While individuals in our customer bases have a lot in common (in particular, the things that led them to need and use our products), each individual is unique and brings a different perspective to the table. These perspectives are invaluable in uncovering issues that may not have occurred to your team.

For example: “I can’t find where I’m supposed to click.”

Upon further investigation, it’s possible that this feedback came from a user who is color blind, leading your team to realize that the color choices did not create enough contrast for this user to navigate properly.

Insights from diverse perspectives can lead to design, architectural, copy, and accessibility improvements.

4. Give you clear insights into your product’s strengths and weaknesses.

You likely have competitors in your industry whose products are better than yours in some areas and worse than yours in others. These variations in the market lead to competitive differences and opportunities. User feedback can help you close the gap on critical issues and identify what positioning is working.

For example: “This interface is so much easier to use and more attractive than [competitor product]. I just wish that I could also do [task] with it.”

Two scenarios are possible based on that feedback:

Your product can already accomplish the task the user wants. You just have to make it clear that the feature exists by improving copy or navigation.

You have a really good opportunity to incorporate such a feature in future iterations of the product.

5. Inspire you with potential future additions or enhancements.

Speaking of future iterations, that comes to the next example of how usability testing can make a difference for your product: The feedback that you gather can inspire future improvements to your tool.

It’s not just about rooting out issues but also envisioning where you can go next that will make the most difference for your customers. And who best to ask but your prospective and current customers themselves?

The 9 Phases of a Usability Study

1. Decide which part of your product or website you want to test.

Do you have any pressing questions about how your users will interact with certain parts of your design, like a particular interaction or workflow? Or are you wondering what users will do first when they land on your product page? Gather your thoughts about your product or website’s pros, cons, and areas of improvement, so you can create a solid hypothesis for your study.

2. Pick your study’s tasks.

Your participants’ tasks should be your user’s most common goals when they interact with your product or website, like making a purchase.

3. Set a standard for success.

Once you know what to test and how to test it, make sure to set clear criteria to determine success for each task. For instance, when I was in a usability study for HubSpot’s Content Strategy tool, I had to add a blog post to a cluster and report exactly what I did. Setting a threshold of success and failure for each task lets you determine if your product’s user experience is intuitive enough or not.

4. Write a study plan and script.

At the beginning of your script, you should include the purpose of the study, if you’ll be recording, some background on the product or website, questions to learn about the participants’ current knowledge of the product or website, and, finally, their tasks. To make your study consistent, unbiased, and scientific, moderators should follow the same script in each user session.

5. Delegate roles.

During your usability study, the moderator has to remain neutral, carefully guiding the participants through the tasks while strictly following the script. Whoever on your team is best at staying neutral, not giving into social pressure, and making participants feel comfortable while pushing them to complete the tasks should be your moderator

Note-taking during the study is also just as important. If there’s no recorded data, you can’t extract any insights that’ll prove or disprove your hypothesis. Your team’s most attentive listener should be your note-taker during the study.

6. Find your participants

Screening and recruiting the right participants is the hardest part of usability testing. Most usability experts suggest you should only test five participants during each study, but your participants should also closely resemble your actual user base. With such a small sample size, it’s hard to replicate your actual user base in your study.

To recruit the ideal participants for your study, create the most detailed and specific persona as you possibly can and incentivize them to participate with a gift card or another monetary reward.

Recruiting colleagues from other departments who would potentially use your product is also another option. But you don’t want any of your team members to know the participants because their personal relationship can create bias — since they want to be nice to each other, the researcher might help a user complete a task or the user might not want to constructively criticize the researcher’s product design.

7. Conduct the study.

During the actual study, you should ask your participants to complete one task at a time, without your help or guidance. If the participant asks you how to do something, don’t say anything. You want to see how long it takes users to figure out your interface.

Asking participants to “think out loud” is also an effective tactic — you’ll know what’s going through a user’s head when they interact with your product or website.

After they complete each task, ask for their feedback, like if they expected to see what they just saw, if they would’ve completed the task if it wasn’t a test, if they would recommend your product to a friend, and what they would change about it. This qualitative data can pinpoint more pros and cons of your design.

8. Analyze your data.

You’ll collect a ton of qualitative data after your study. Analyzing it will help you discover patterns of problems, gauge the severity of each usability issue, and provide design recommendations to the engineering team.

When you analyze your data, make sure to pay attention to both the users’ performance and their feelings about the product. It’s not unusual for a participant to quickly and successfully achieve your goal but still feel negatively about the product experience.

9. Report your findings.

After extracting insights from your data, report the main takeaways and lay out the next steps for improving your product or website’s design and the enhancements you expect to see during the next round of testing.

The 3 Most Common Types of Usability Tests

1. Hallway/Guerilla Usability Testing

This is where you set up your study somewhere with a lot of foot traffic. It allows you to ask randomly-selected people who have most likely never even heard of your product or website — like passers-by — to evaluate its user-experience.

2. Remote/Unmoderated Usability Testing

Remote/unmoderated usability testing has two main advantages: it uses third-party software to recruit target participants for your study, so you can spend less time recruiting and more time researching. It also allows your participants to interact with your interface by themselves and in their natural environment — the software can record video and audio of your user completing tasks.

Letting participants interact with your design in their natural environment with no one breathing down their neck can give you more realistic, objective feedback. When you’re in the same room as your participants, it can prompt them to put more effort into completing your tasks since they don’t want to seem incompetent around an expert. Your perceived expertise can also lead to them to please you instead of being honest when you ask for their opinion, skewing your user experience’s reactions and feedback.

3. Moderated Usability Testing

Moderated usability testing also has two main advantages: interacting with participants in person or through a video a call lets you ask them to elaborate on their comments if you don’t understand them, which is impossible to do in an unmoderated usability study. You’ll also be able to help your users understand the task and keep them on track if your instructions don’t initially register with them.

Usability Testing Script & Questions

Following one script or even a template of questions for every one of your usability studies wouldn’t make any sense — each study’s subject matter is different. You’ll need to tailor your questions to the things you want to learn, but most importantly, you’ll need to know how to ask good questions.

1. When you [action], what’s the first thing you do to [goal]?

Questions such as this one give insight into how users are inclined to interact with the tool and what their natural behavior is.

Julie Fischer, one of HubSpot’s Senior UX researchers, gives this advice: “Don’t ask leading questions that insert your own bias or opinion into the participants’ mind. They’ll end up doing what you want them to do instead of what they would do by themselves.”

For example, “Find [x]” is a better than “Are you able to easily find [x]?” The latter inserts connotation that may affect how they use the product or answer the question.

2. How satisfied are you with the [attribute] of [feature]?

Avoid leading the participants by asking questions like “Is this feature too complicated?” Instead, gauge their satisfaction on a Likert scale that provides a number range from highly unsatisfied to highly satisfied. This will provide a less biased result than leading them to a negative answer they may not otherwise have had.

3. How do you use [feature]?

There may be multiple ways to achieve the same goal or utilize the same feature. This question will help uncover how users interact with a specific aspect of the product and what they find valuable.

4. What parts of [the product] do you use the most? Why?

This question is meant to help you understand the strengths of the product and what about it creates raving fans. This will indicate what you should absolutely keep and perhaps even lead to insights into what you can improve for other features.

5. What parts of [the product] do you use the least? Why?

This question is meant to uncover the weaknesses of the product or the friction in its use. That way, you can rectify any issues or plan future improvements to close the gap between user expectations and reality.

6. If you could change one thing about [feature] what would it be?

Because it’s so similar to #5, you may get some of the same answers. However, you’d be surprised about the aspirational things that your users might say here.

7. What do you expect [action/feature] to do?

Here’s another tip from Julie Fischer:

“When participants ask ‘What will this do?’ it’s best to reply with the question ‘What do you expect it do?’ rather than telling them the answer.”

Doing this can uncover user expectation as well as clarity issues with the copy.

Your Work Could Always Use a Fresh Perspective

Letting another person review and possibly criticize your work takes courage — no one wants a bruised ego. But most of the time, when you allow people to constructively criticize or even rip apart your article or product design, especially when your work is intended to help these people, your final result will be better than you could’ve ever imagined.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in August 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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