How to Improve General Knowledge

Do you ever wonder how certain people can be so good at general knowledge? They seem to have such a vast knowledge on a majority of topics and appear to be able to answer any question you or anyone else throw their way.
Wonder how they obtain that sort of knowledge? Want to improve your general knowledge? Well here's some ways in which you can. 


1. Read 

One of the best ways you can get a broader knowledge upon topics is through  immersing yourself in reading material. Reading is brilliant for gaining knowledge about things you will never experience first-hand or don't have the time to go and see, it's a source of knowledge that is often described in detail. Books, magazines, websites, newspapers, and the like, can all be used to gain a wider general knowledge. The more you read the more you will come to know. Then when a certain topic comes up that you have read about, something will trigger your mind to be able to remember key bits of information.

2. Study and Summarise 

Pick out a certain topic that you would like to study and gather the 'key information' from it. You only want to remember the key points of a topic (unless if you are going to go into real detail) as general knowledge is made up of many topics and it would take too long to go into every topic in huge detail. So when reading up on a certain topic make sure you are also taking note of the main points.

3. Mind Maps

Mind maps when laid out in the right way are brilliant at summarising key information whilst at the same time making it easy to read and remember. Make the mind maps colourful, use curved lines instead of straight, include pictures, and keep points brief. The more your mind map stands out the easier it will be for you to remember it. For a better idea about how to use a mind map, type in 'Tony Buzan mind map' on Youtube. 

4. Media

Media is another thing that offers much information. Whether it be the news, newspapers, media websites, social networking sites, etc. However these are constantly being updated with new stories so make sure you also keep up to date also.

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30 Day Pushup Challenge

After posting the 30 Day Squat Challenge for the ladies, I thought it fair to post one for the men...so here it is: the 30 day pushup challenge.
Depending upon how good you are at pushups will determine which challenge I think you should go for. If you can do 0 - 25 I would suggest trying the beginners 30 day pushup challenge. If you are someone who can do 50 pushups or upwards then I would recommend trying the advanced 30 day pushup challenge. For anyone who falls within the 26 - 49 range I would leave up to you to decide which challenge you should go for, in fact however many pushups you can do it's up to you which challenge you take on - just try to stay realistic about your abilities and don't go so far as to injure yourself.

The challenge is based on a number of reps & sets for you to complete per day. Many people who know about reps and sets won't need this explaining to them but for those of you who don't it's not something that is hard to grasp. Basically a 'rep' stands for a repetition, so if I were to do 10 reps of pushups that would mean that I have done 10 pushups - 10 repetitions.
A set is a group of reps. For example if I were to do 2 sets of 10 pushup reps that would mean I did two lots of 10 pushups. 

Beginners Pushup Challenge (30 - 90 seconds rest in between each set)

The number of sets is displayed first before the number of reps followed by the total of pushups.

Day 1: 2 x 10 (20)

Day 2: 2 x 12 (24)

Day 3: 2 x 14 (28)

Day 4: 2 x16 (32)

Day 5: Rest

Day 6: 2 x 20 (40)

Day 7: 2 x 22 (44)

Day 8: 2 x 24 (48)

Day 9: 2 x 26 (52)

Day 10: Rest

Day 11: 3 x 14 (42)

Day 12: 3 x 16 (48)

Day 13: 3 x 18 (54)

Day 14: 3 x 20 (60)

Day 15: Rest

Day 16: 3 x 22 (66)

Day 17: 3 x 24 (72)

Day 18: 3 x 26 (78)

Day 19: 3 x 28 (84)

Day 20: Rest

Day 21: 4 x 12 (48)

Day 22: 4 x 14 (56)

Day 23: 4 x 16 (62)

Day 24: 4 x 18 (68)

Day 25: Rest

Day 26: 4 x 22 (88)

Day 27: 4 x 24 (96)

Day 28: 4 x 26 (104)

Day 29: 4 x 28 (112)

Day 30: 4x 30 (120)

Total = 1,546

Advanced Pushup Challenge (30 - 90 seconds rest in between each set)

The number of sets is displayed first before the number of reps followed by the total of pushups.

Day 1: 2 x 20 (40)

Day 2: 2 x 24 (48)

Day 3: 2 x 28 (56)

Day 4: 2 x 32 (64)

Day 5: Rest

Day 6: 2 x 40 (80)

Day 7: 2 x 44 (88)

Day 8: 2 x 48 (96)

Day 9: 2 x 52 (104)

Day 10: Rest

Day 11: 3 x 28 (84)

Day 12: 3 x 32 (96)

Day 13: 3 x 36 (108)

Day 14: 3 x 40 (120)

Day 15: Rest

Day 16: 3 x 44 (132)

Day 17: 3 x 48 (144)

Day 18: 3 x 52 (156)

Day 19: 3 x 56 (168)

Day 20: Rest

Day 21: 4 x 24 (96)

Day 22: 4 x 28 (112)

Day 23: 4 x 32 (128)

Day 24: 4 x 36 (144)

Day 25: Rest

Day 26: 4 x 44 (176)

Day 27: 4 x 48 (192)

Day 28: 4 x 52 (208)

Day 29: 4 x 56 (224)

Day 30: 4 x 60 (240)

Total = 3,104

30 Day Squat Challenge

Quite recently there has been a challenge for women floating around the web that has gained much interest. It seems to becoming more and more popular, having Facebook, Tumbler, and other website pages devoted to it. I first heard about this challenge through my sister who decided to take it up, in fact it was yesterday she started. After hearing it from my sister I also found out that 3 female colleagues from work, well actually 2 colleagues as 1 of them has now got another job, so 2 colleagues and 1 ex-colleague has taken up this 30 day squat challenge. 
I hear that it is quite the challenge so prepare for some hard work!
So here is the plan:

Day 1: 50 Squats

Day 2: 55 Squats

Day 3: 60 Squats

Day 4: Rest

Day 5: 70 Squats

Day 6: 75 Squats

Day 7: 80 Squats

Day 8: Rest

Day 9: 100 Squats

Day 10: 105 Squats

Day 11: 110 Squats

Day 12: Rest

Day 13: 130 Squats

Day 14: 135 Squats

Day 15: 140 Squats

Day 16: Rest

Day 17: 150 Squats

Day 18: 155 Squats

Day 19: 160 Squats

Day 20: Rest

Day 21: 180 Squats

Day 22: 185 Squats

Day 23: 190 Squats

Day 24: Rest

Day 25: 220 Squats

Day 26: 225 Squats

Day 27: 230 Squats

Day 28: Rest

Day 29: 240 Squats

Day 30: 250 Squats

A useful motivational and tracking technique you can use to go alongside this would be the 'Don't Break the Chain' technique.
 

No Complaining Challenge Day 1

Recently I posted an article about the 'No Complaining Challenge' and said how I was going to have a go at it myself. I started on Thursday (11/04/13) and it is now a Monday (15/04/13), and yet I am writing about day 1? You may be wondering why I am doing so or maybe for some of you it's not a mystery? Well to put it bluntly: I complained! Argh! I was very disappointed in myself. 

At first it was fine, I was up early and ready to go. I was the only one in the house who was up and so talking was either to myself (thoughts out-loud I suppose) or minor comments to my dog, so complaining was easier to avoid. I spent the time getting ready for work. Once at work I noticed that not complaining became harder, mostly I think because of being around complacent colleagues, but still not complaining was manageable. After work I went to the gym and was fine throughout my workout, it was after whilst in the changing rooms that I made the complaint. I had bought some milk before heading to the gym as I had gotten a text from a family member requesting that I buy some while I was out. In the changing room the milk dropped out of my locker when I removed my bag and split...which lead to it leaking...which covered the changing room floor...which lead to my complaint. 

The next two days of the challenge went much better than the first and were absolutely complaint-free, it was the Sunday (yesterday 14/04/13) when the next complaint was made which would force me to start over. I was walking my dog at the time and was writing in my notebook (which you can read about the benefits of having here: Benefits of Writing a Notebook) when it started to rain causing my pages to get wet and causing my writing to cease, it was then a small complaint was made, and then another complaint a few seconds later about having made the first complaint.

Now today (15/04/13) is the restart of this no complaining challenge and has (so far) been complaint free. :) I think that I will be able to get further this time than previous as my recent failures have caused me to keep the no complaining rule in mind. I now have a much better understanding to how challenging this challenge is...roll on the next 20 days. :)

No Complaining Challenge

Complaining is such an easy and negative thing to do and so I am introducing this challenge, with the hope that you all try out for a learning experience as well as helping you to put off complacency. This challenge is called the 'No Complaining Challenge' and is exactly what you would expect from the title: not to complain. 

I think that whilst it's great getting people (myself included) to stop complaining, it is also a good idea for people to realise how easy it is to complain and how often they do it. I have noticed that as of recent I have been complaining more and is a habit that I am not fond of, therefore this challenge is one that I myself will try to carry out. 

I'm not just talking about those major complaints that you make but also those minor ones too. E.g. "the weathers horrible I hate it"! Also labelling someone with a negative comment such as: "(name not mentioned) is a rubbish singer, I don't want to listen to them" is not allowed. Now these may seem trivial to you but the aim of this challenge isn't to get you to become a mindless robot but to have a better grasp upon the amount of times a complaint is made by you and others - at the end of this challenge I'm hoping that people will think much more about what they're going to say instead of announcing a complaint.

A post that you may find helpful to read before taking on this challenge is: How to Stop Complaining. 

Rules

1. No Complaining

This golden rule to this challenge and is the most important one. Do not complain once, of course it wouldn't be a challenge if this was going to be easy so I expect people to break this one including myself (not on purpose)! If you aren't strict with yourself the only person you will be cheating is yourself and won't gain anything from the experience - so try your very best not to complain eve if it means stopping yourself mid-sentence to avoid doing so.  

Every time you make a single complaint, no matter how far you are into this challenge, you start right from the beginning. This may mean that you have to keep starting over but does an even better job at getting you to be thoughtful with your words. Even if you take a whole year to complete this challenge because of having to keep starting over and over, in the end the results will be good. 

The average amount of time it takes people who take on this challenge is 4 - 8 months!

2. 21 Days

You must keep this challenge up for 21 days, only doing it for 1-2 days won't pose the same challenge or have as big an impact upon the way you think and speak as 21 days will. Take note of the day you start (e.g. marking it on a calendar) and make note of when you finish.

Optional Rules

These are rules that you can either allow yourself to be bound to or not, they are fully optional and depends solely on the individual, you can include as many or as little as you want.

1. Duration

Instead of coping with this challenge for 21 day you can increase the amount of days to make it harder for you or to allow yourself more time to get into this good habit. A good step up I recommend would be to go to 35 days. This is a little over a month and it takes on average a habit 20 - 30 days to become cemented into ones life if practiced every day, so 35 (5 weeks) is perfect for making sure.

Then again hardly anyone completes this in the first 21 days as they normally will have to restart many times making it a lot longer so incorporating this rule is entirely your choice. 

2. Bracelet 

Will Brown is normally quoted as the originator of this technique and is a very simple and surprisingly effective one at that. The idea is to wear a bracelet and when you complain, take it off and place it around your other wrist and start again from day 0. 

3. Elastic Band

I've often heard of this technique when people are trying to break a habit, and that is to place an elastic band (or bands) around your wrist and each time you indulge yourself in this bad habit you in turn pull back and release the elastic band so that it snaps against your wrist. The idea of this isn't to cause yourself pain for the sake of it but that you come to associate this bad habit to the uncomfortable pinging of the elastic band(s).

4. Replace a negative with a positive

If you notice that you are about to complain or are on the verge of complaining then turn it into a positive and say it aloud. For example: "the weather is horrible" could become "we need the rain" etc.

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Consequences of Hasty Words

Hasty words that are carelessly thrown out of your mouth in the heat of a moment can lead to many things, most of which are not good but are (expected you could say,) consequence(s) of your tongue.

1. Lose Friends

Hasty words that are quick to leave your mouth can easily ruin a good friendship. It doesn't take a lot to say regrettable things, and can take a lot longer to get over.
Remember that even though we know that words are just words, we also know the meanings of these words and the power they can have upon impact, otherwise why say them? 

I often hear people say things that they wish they had aired and when apologising say that they never meant any of the things they said...well your words are an indication to what you are thinking so if you don't mean what you say then don't say it - simple. :)
Words can be forgive but not always forgotten.

2. Damage Relationships

This is basically like with losing friends, you can also damage or ruin relationships with others because of a few careless words. Whether this be relationships with family members, partner, work colleagues, etc. 

3. Lose your job

Now this will depend upon your job but is normally true. If you work for a company and you say hasty things to a colleague or customer, if word gets back to your superiors (which in the workplace doesn't take very long) you could very well lose your job. You may not have even thought what you had said was offensive and maybe you was only joking around, but if the person/people on the receiving end don't take it in the same way as you intended it to have been taken, then you could get into some serious trouble.

My Writing

In my last post, it was if I'm honest, focusing on myself. So before I start this post I wanted to quickly apologise to anyone who found that last post a bit boring, however, I will also have to apologise in advance for this post as it's also another one about myself. 
Recently I have decided to start writing a story because I have an interest in writing. I am writing this story on the basis that I enjoy to write and thought that it would be neat if I could actually create myself another world almost with depth and imagination, and with an underlying ambition to hopefully get it published. Of course I realise that the part about getting it published is unlikely to happen, although it's not impossible - really for me that would be a bonus to actually managing to come up with and complete a story. 

Since then it has slowly developed but is still in it's most primitive draft-form...well I don't even know if it's that far yet, it's at the moment consisting of a lot of notes that is managing to convey a possible plot. In my last blog post I was confident that I had a plot that I was going to run with after changing it more than a few times, but I was wrong and in the last couple of days it has shifted towards another direction - one that I am more content with admittedly. 
So now I have added more notes to do with that and I am starting to get a better picture of the basics: a rough idea of the beginning; a rough idea of the middle; and not so much an exact idea of the finish haha. Oh well it's still in the very early stages. 

I've also done some character development to some of the more major characters, the ones that I know for definite are going to be in it. I haven't done any character development for the minor characters as there aren't any at the moment, I'll have to fill them in once I have made some more progress with fitting the story together. This post was really only an update about how my writing is coming along for those of you writers who are interested, for the rest of you I'm sorry. :)

My Writing Passion

I have a few hobbies that have developed over the years, some are more time-consuming and enjoyable than others but I find them all fun. One of my more recent hobbies is writing - something that has kind of surprising for me to find out. I say this because for the vast majority of my life I have always hated writing and found it a bore. In fact I had only recently started to get a taste for writing just before starting this blog, and as a result is one of the main initial reasons that spurred me to start this blog. 
Since the beginning of this blog my 'discovered' passion for writing has become more apparent to me and has been further heightened.

However, even though I have found that writing is a hobby of mine, the only time that I do write is when I write for this blog. This has always been fine for me but now I'm wanting to expand what I write about and am wanting to dive deeper into the writing world. With this in mind I have decided that I am going to attempt to write my own story and hopefully aim for it to be published. I know that this is an ambitious goal as I know it's a tough process to go through in most cases in order to get your book published. 
I have got to work on character-development and on a plot, and am seeing some progress, but I know it's going to be a long arduous journey in order to even get it near completion, but it is something that I am enjoying doing and hope that one day it may get published. :)