Chapter 8 Wehad Al-Kaltham 200901619 Noura Al-Subaie 200900021 Laila Al-Obaid 200900436

Create your Life

This presentation will include these following topics: 1- The definition of designing life and its purpose 2- Fate or freedom: which do you choose? 3- The idea of designing life 4- The difference between a passive and active learner 5- The definition of experience and its main role 6- Facing contradictions and inconsistencies 7- Social Forces, the mass media and our experience 8- implication for the design of your life 9- Conclusion

The definition of “designing life” Designing life: is the process of listing the main goals in your life in a priority order, conducting plans and strategies and then putting these plans into actions.

So, if you design your life: *Most of your goals will be attained *Your failures and unsuccessful attempts will be eliminated *You will live with happiness and satisfaction most of your life

FATE OR FREEDOM: which do you choose? * REMEMBER THAT: life is all about taking advantages over the available opportunities. * NO ONE can control your life

The idea of designing life: The idea of designing one’s life is a product of two insights: * There is a difference between the life we expected to live and the life we actually live. * DON’T limit your thinking. BE CREATIVE, BUT REALISTIC

Be an ACTIVE learner NOT PASSIVE * A passive learner: is a person who establishes constant habits in his\her life with no motivation to change Passive learners’ characteristics: * They face difficulties in solving problems and making right decisions * They tend toward “Stagnation” * For them, designing their lives is a complicated process

Active learners’ characteristics: Cont’d Active learner (critical thinker): A person who is always looking for new thinking habits in his\her life. Active learners’ characteristics: * They are lifelong learners and take charge of their experiences and their learning * They make effective decisions and critically solve their problems * For them, designing their lives is extremely important

The definition of experience and its role in designing our lives Experience: is usually defined as something happened to us in the past, not something we create for ourselves.

The relationship between our experiences and designing our lives: * Experiences give deep insights of your strengths and weaknesses, so that you can set your major goals and design your life in a good manner.

Facing contradictions and inconsistencies: 1) Keep in your mind, significance and quality of your experiences are much more important than the number of experiences you had. 2) NOT all your experiences have positive impacts on your life. 3) Many experiences are more or less charged with irrational meanings such as prejudice, stereotyping and narrow-mindedness which can affect the strength and the effectiveness of your experiences.

Experience evaluation To evaluate the strength and the effectiveness of your experience, you should ask yourself these following questions: 1) What are the raw facts? What is the most neutral description of the situation? 2) What attitudes, desires, or concerns do I bring to the situation? 3) How am I interpreting this experience?

Our experiences and mass media 1) Today, mass media affects our thinking either in a positive or a negative way, which will influence our experiences in return. 2) Mass media influences what we think about many life-related issues. 3) Sometimes, mass media encourages us to consider irrational and unethical meanings.

Implications for the design of your life: If we become committed to designing our lives, we will be able to: 1) Learn more about yourselves and your major goal in life. 2) Have a good plan of your life that focuses on attaining your main goal. 3) Create experiences that help you to develop your thinking and skills.

conclusion “ The development of general ability for independent thinking and judgments should always be placed foremost, not the acquisition of specialized knowledge” -Albert Einstein- Quote

Recommended book The Rules of Life. Think about the world’s happiest moments It’s about the small choices people make every day Things you can do. Things you can change It’s about what they know and you can learn: The Rules of Life. Recommended book

Summary * Creating your life is about unlocking your mind. * The idea of designing your life and listing the main goals. * Passive learner has no motivation to change and active. learner is a critical thinker. * How experience and media affects in designing our lives. * How we can benefit in developing our lives. * The inspirational quotation of Albert Einstein.