Subscribe
AWESOME!
October 28th, 2010 by francesca | Featured BloggerSo how many times a day do you complain about all the readings you have to catch up on? Or how the TTC is delayed (yet again)? Or how you just can’t figure out what type of jacket to wear because the weather keeps changing from hot to cold to warm to windy in a matter of just a few hours?
Yes, we all do it. We all complain and groan about how “life isn’t fair” or just how “things just suck”. I probably complained about 10 times today just on the topic of school! But that’s the problem, OUR problem. We tend to focus SO much of our time on the negativity all around us that we forget to stop and smell the flowers. We often overlook the little pleasures of life because we’re just so incredibly consumed in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. One book however, takes the little (universal) pleasures of life and shows you that “life ain’t that bad”.
This book is called “The Book of Awesome”. It’s filled with all the little pleasures of life that we completely forget about. Don’t believe me? I dare you to head to the bookstore and flip through a few pages, tell me you don’t laugh at how true everything is. I’ll give you a little preview, one of the pleasures in the book (and in life) is “Finding your keys after looking forever”. Tell me you don’t have that sense of accomplishment when you find them hidden at the bottom of your bag.
The best thing about this book is that whenever you’re having a bad day (or even a bad streak) you can open any page, read a few lines and instantly remind yourself of how awesome life is!
This book was actually based on (the author) Neil Pasricha’s blog 1000awesomethings.com. He started it to remind himself about how amazing the little things in life are and how happy you can become after acknowledging these little pleasures. In fact Neil Pasricha was in town for the TEDxToronto, to have a talk about his book. Fact: he was born and raised in Toronto (AWESOME!). So fellow students I urge, beg, and plead you to go out and buy or borrow and read this book! I promise you that it WILL brighten up your seemingly bleak and miserable day!
Here’s a clip from Neil Pasricha’s talk for TEDxToronto, please take 18 minutes of your life to watch it, I promise it’s worth it. You’ll even feel a bit happier and motivated yourself.
![1850 [explored]](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4132/5052651330_0f074cf69d_s.jpg)
October 29th, 2010 at 11:28 am
you – and those who read such books – have a miserable life to begin with. the fact that you have to go buy and read a book about stuff that helps remind yourself of the “little pleasures in life” is ample evidence for the aforementioned claim. honestly the article is pathetic and reeks of the shallowness one comes across only in beauty magazines, popular tv and lady gaga.
as a general guide for writing, please do not use sweeping generalizations as “we” to shove all of humanity in the wrecked boat that you sail in. making yourself better just by assuming that everyone else feels the same way is also not a good way to make yourself feel better. did mr. neil mention this in the book?
get a life not a degree.
October 29th, 2010 at 9:35 pm
Wow, hb. That was a really fantastic way to shoot down a positive post. Great job on that…do you piss on everyone’s sunshine like that on a day to day basis? I don’t understand what your problem is and what’s up with all your negativity. Or why I’m even legitimizing it with a response actually. But anyway, this post was just a nice little note to remind us of the simple pleasures in life that we often forget about when we’re in the midst of all the chaos of midterms, essays, etc. And YES I am “shoving all of humanity in the wrecked boat that WE sail in” because we all feel this way when we’re stressed out and when we’re going through some sort of crisis. And if you don’t? Then you’re superhuman. Congratulations. Five gold stars for you, you superstar. Too bad you don’t seem to be a happy person because of it.
Be critical, don’t be an asshole.
October 30th, 2010 at 3:33 am
I apologize to the author for expressing my thoughts in an extremely uncouth manner. I’m cringing as I read certain lines of my post. Sincere apologies once again. This is not the way to discuss an issue.
To Justine Abigail, I express no sympathy at all, as not only has she demonstrated her capability to spew venom in a similar way but she also sticks up for the “positive post” poppycock.
I never said I was a superstar. Everybody gets upset sometimes which is natural and so do I. However to shroud our worries and sorrows with what Cornell West calls a “cheap american optimism” is self-illusory and harmful. How many times do we come across a post on such a blog that traces our states as individual beings in the larger context of what society has become? How many times do we come across a post that actually attempts to answer – despite the fact that we study in one of the top colleges in the world, have plenty to eat and drink – still feel miserable? How many times does a post try to make sense of a tragic situation where humans have to search within books to help them realize the small and beautiful things in life? There is something seriously wrong about the world at present and if you fail to address those issues, then there is something wrong there too. “Positivity crap” is chit chat fodder fit for popular tv, not enlightened minds at U of T. It does however deeply sadden me that our academic institutions are failing to inculcate critical thought.
My concern was not directed at the author per se (who btw conveys a general malaise about life rather than just stressful periods) but to people who try to be “positive” and in doing so risk discovering the most important truths about human life and existence. It’s good to be optimistic. However I think Gramscis on to something much more substantial when he refers to the optimism of the will and pessimism of the intellect. This I believe is a better way to live a life. However you are welcome to disagree.
So Justine please take those gold stars back. You may need them one day to feel positive about yourself.