The Anti-Awesome List

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I have heard that Awesome is the most overused word in our language.
Not sure that is true, but I love the list of alternate words that ragan.com have come up with. Here are a few of their suggestions:

Awe-inspiring, Awe-struck, Beyond the call, Breathtaking, Brilliant, Clever, Dazzling, Exciting, Exceptional, Great, Heart-stopping, Humbling, Incredible, Ingenious, Magnificent, Majestic, Marvelous, Mind-blowing, Momentous, Moving, Out of this world, Outstanding, Overwhelming, Remarkable, Righteous, Shazam, Simply divine, Spectacular, Staggering, Striking, Stunning, Stupendous, Un-freakin believable, Wonderful, Wondrous and You rock.

I particularly like Shazam. Check out the rest of the list here.

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The Criticism Filter

Therese Borchard writes a mental health blog for BeliefNet titled Beyond Blue. Recently she posted about not taking criticism personally where she quotes don Miguel Ruiz saying:

“Even when a situation seems so personal, even if others insult you directly, it has nothing to do with you. What they say, what they do, and the opinions they give are according to the agreements in their own minds.”

This quote is packed with wisdom and is so healthy - not that it is easy to do. Yet I find that it is so important in life to really filter what people say to me. Often I can be so sensitive and take things the wrong way. And when my filter is out of order I can blow comments way out of proportion because I have believed and owned what they have said.

And about that criticism filter - one of the holes in it is insecurity and another is fear. I am not as insecure or fearful as I once was but I still struggle on occasion. And when I struggle I react to criticisms differently than when my filter is fully functional. So for me, a bad reaction to criticism helps me to examine my filter and find out why it is not working.

What kind of holes do you have in your criticism filter?

Chutzpah

The definition given in this image comes across as a bit strange to me. I guess that I have never thought of chutzpah in this light.. but I am from New York City. When I think about the word I think about a person standing their ground and not being intimidated.

What do you think when you hear it?
Unmitigated gall or great fortitude?

What is an Evangelist?

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I think that many agree with this poster and embrace this strange idea about what a Christian evangelist is. In a sense the image is the exact opposite of what one is.

In my thinking a true evangelist is a person gifted in building relations with people. An evangelist is a good listener and wants to know what a person thinks.

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