The Thinker: An Overview

Thinkers are both indirect and guarded. They are concerned with analytical processes and are persistent, systematic problem-solvers. They can also be seen as aloof, picky and critical. Thinkers are very security-conscious and have a high need to be right, leading them to an overreliance on data collection. In their quest for data, they tend to ask many questions about specifics. Their actions and decisions tend to be slow and extremely cautious, but they will rarely miss a deadline. Although they are great problem-solvers, Thinkers could be better decision-makers.

Thinkers tend to be perfectionists, serious, and orderly. They focus on the details and the process of work, and become irritated by surprises and “glitches.” Their theme is, “Notice my efficiency,” and their emphasis is on compliance and working within existing guidelines to promote quality in products or service.

Thinkers like organization and structure and dislike too much involvement with other people. They work slowly and precisely by themselves, are time-disciplined, and prefer an intellectual work environment. Thinkers tend to be critical of their own performance. They tend to be skeptical and like to see things in writing.

Thinkers’ primary strengths are their accuracy, dependability, independence, follow-through and organization. Their primary weaknesses are their procrastination and conservative natures, which promote their tendency to be picky and over-cautious. Occupations that they tend to gravitate toward are accounting, engineering, computer programming, the hard sciences (chemistry, physics, math), systems analysis and architecture.

The greatest irritation for Thinkers is disorganized, illogical people. In business environments, they want others to be credible, professional, and courteous. In social environments, they like others to be pleasant and sincere.

Environmental clues include highly organized desks with clear tops. Their office walls contain their favorite types of artwork: charts, graphs, exhibits or pictures pertaining to the job. Thinkers are non-contact people who prefer the formality of distance. This preference is reflected in the functional but uninviting arrangement of their desks and chairs. They are not fond of huggers and touchers, and prefer a cool handshake or a brief phone call.

To improve their balance and behavioral flexibility, Thinkers need to: openly show concern and appreciation of others; try shortcuts and time-savers occasionally; adjust more readily to change and disorganization; improve timely decision-making and initiation of new projects; compromise with the opposition; state unpopular decisions; and use policies more as guidelines than hard and fast laws.

THINKER STYLE

• Cautious actions and decisions
• Likes organization and structure
• Dislikes involvement
• Asks many questions about specific details
• Prefers objective, task-oriented, intellectual work environment
• Wants to be right, so can be overly reliant on data collection
• Works slowly and precisely alone
• Good problem solving skills

UNDER STRESS, THINKERS: WILL WITHDRAW

EXAMPLE of Typical response to stressful situation:
"I can't help you any further. Do what you want."

MAY APPEAR

• Over-reliant on data and documentation
• Resistant to change
• Slow to act
• Slow to begin work
• Unable to meet deadlines
• Unimaginative
• Withdrawn
• Resentful

NEED

• Guarantees that they're right
• Understanding of principles and details
• Slow pace for "processing" information
• Accuracy

To Increase Behavioral Adaptability, Thinkers Need To...

Openly show concern and appreciation of others

Occasionally try short cuts and timesavers

Adjust more readily to change and disorganization

Work on timely decision making

Initiate new projects

Compromise with the opposition

State unpopular decisions

Use policies as guidelines, rather than laws

Taylor Swift - You Belong With Me

Taylor Swift - You Belong With Me

You’re on the phone with your girlfriend, shes upset
Shes going off about something that you said
Cause she doesn’t get your humor like I do
I’m in my room, it’s a typical Tuesday night
I’m listening to the kind of music she doesn’t like
And she’ll never know your story like I do

But she wears short skirts, I wear T-shirts
She’s cheer captain and I’m on the bleachers
Dreaming about the day when you wake up
And find what you’re looking for has been here the whole time

If you could see that I’m the one who understands you
Been here all along so why can’t you see
You belong with me, you belong with me

Walkin’ the streets with you and your worn-out jeans
I can’t help thinking this is how it ought to be
Laughing on a park bench, thinking to myself
Hey isn’t this easy

And you’ve got a smile that could light up this whole town
I haven’t seen it in a while since she brought you down
You say you’re fine, I know you better then that
Hey whatcha doing with a girl like that

She wears high heels, I wear sneakers
Shes cheer captain and I’m on the bleachers
Dreaming about the day when you wake up and find
That what you’re looking for has been here the whole time

If you could see that I’m the one who understands you
Been here all along so why can’t you see
You belong with me
Standing by and waiting at your back door
All this time how could you not know baby
You belong with me, you belong with me

Oh, I remember you drivin’ to my house in the middle of the night
I’m the one who makes you laugh, when you know you’re ’bout to cry
And I know your favorite songs and you tell me ’bout your dreams
Think I know where you belong, think I know it’s with me

Can’t you see that I’m the one who understands you
Been here all along, so why can’t you see
You belong with me
Standing by and waiting at your back door
All this time How could you not know
Baby you belong with me, you belong with me
You belong with me
Have you ever thought just maybe you belong with me
You belong with me

Lighten Our Burdens

With God's tutelage and a lot of nudging, I've been through so far in life make me realize that the only way to lighten my burden is to share it with others. For examples, your friends, your family, people who I could trust, get along well with, or feel comfortable with. There are several times in life when I really did wanna give up or run away and ignore everything since I was sick and tired but in that moment of despair, my heart would not let me do as I wished for. Somehow, it would affect my attitude towards others but my friends and family would know that I was not myself. In the hopelessness, I always ask the Lord, "Why do you treat me so badly?" and I think He gives me the answer. He wants me to learn how to share my joy and sorrow. Joy shared is doubled; sorrow shared is halved. God sends us people to share our burdens too, but if our eyes are turned inward or looking at the ground, we will never see them. Look around to see whom God has sent you - either to halve your sorrow or double your joy.

Strong Meteor Shower Expected Tonight

The annual Perseid meteor shower is expected to put on a good show this week for those willing to get up in the wee hours of the morning and wait patiently for the shooting stars.

In North America, the best time to watch will be between midnight to 5 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 12, but late Tuesday night and also Wednesday night could prove fruitful, weather permitting.

The Perseids are always reliable, and sometimes rather spectacular. The only things that puts a damper on the August show are bad weather or bright moonlight. Unfortunately this week, as the Perseids reach their peak Tuesday and Wednesday nights, the moon will be high in the sky, outshining the fainter meteors.

Still, skywatchers around the globe will have a good chance of spotting the brighter meteors. Some already are enjoying the show.

Already underway

The Perseids are bits of debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle, which has laid down several streams of debris, each in a slightly different location, over the centuries as it orbits the sun. Every August, Earth passes through these debris streams, which spread out over time.

"They are typically fast, bright and occasionally leave persistent trains," says Joe Rao, SPACE.com's Skywatching Columnist. "And every once in a while, a Perseid fireball will blaze forth, bright enough to be quite spectacular and more than capable to attract attention even in bright moonlight."

Low numbers of Perseids, including some bright fireballs, have already been reported as Earth began entering the stream in late July. Seasoned observers have counted up to 25 per hour already, or nearly one every two minutes.

Most meteors are no bigger than a pea. They vaporize as they enter Earth's atmosphere, creating bright streaks across the sky.

The Perseids appear to emanate from the constellation Perseus, which rises high in the sky around midnight and is nearly overhead by dawn. Like most meteor showers, the hours between midnight and daybreak are typically the best time to watch, because that's when the side of Earth you are on is rotating into the direction of Earth's travels through space, so meteors are "scooped up" by the atmosphere at higher rates, much like a car's windshield ends the lives of more bugs than does the rear bumper.

Astronomers expect up to 200 meteors per hour in short bursts of up to 15 minutes or so. But many of the fainter meteors will simply not be visible due to moonlight, and rates will go down even more for those in urban areas. More likely a typical observer under reasonably dark skies might hope to see a meteor every couple minutes when the bursts come, and fewer during lulls.

When to watch

The best time to watch is between midnight and dawn Wednesday. Forecasters say the best stretch could come between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. ET (1-2 a.m. PT), which would be after daybreak in Europe. Some Perseids might be visible late Tuesday night, and Wednesday night into Thursday morning could prove worthwhile, too.

Meteor forecasting is still in its infancy, however, so the best bet for anyone truly hungry to spot shooting stars is to get in as much observing time as possible from around 11 p.m. Tuesday night until dawn Wednesday, and if you miss that show, try the same time frame Wednesday evening into Thursday morning.

Meteors should be visible in the pre-dawn hours, weather permitting, all around the Northern Hemisphere.

"Earth passes through the densest part of the debris stream sometime on Aug. 12," said Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. "Then, you could see dozens of meteors per hour."

Viewing tips

The best location is far from city and suburban lights. Ideally, find a structure, mountain or tree to block the moon. Then scan as much of the sky as possible. The meteors can appear anywhere, heading in any direction. If you trace their paths backward, they'll all point to the constellation Perseus.

People in locations where any chill might occur should dress warmer than they think necessary to allow for prolonged viewing.

Seasoned skywatchers advise using a blanket or lounge chair for comfort, so you can lie back and look up for long periods. Allow at least 15 minutes for your eyes to fully adjust to the darkness. Then expect meteors to be sporadic: You might see two in a row, or several minutes could go by between shooting stars.

Avid meteor watchers might want to try scanning the northeastern horizon from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. local time (your local time, wherever you are) for Perseids that graze the horizon.

"Earthgrazers are meteors that approach from the horizon and skim the atmosphere overhead like a stone skipping across the surface of a pond," Cooke explained. "They are long, slow and colorful – among the most beautiful of meteors." He notes that an hour of watching may net only a few of these at most, but seeing even one can make the whole night worthwhile.

Everything's changing

I would turn 21 since today is my birthday. I feel like everything is changing, I get older each year, I gain more experience, I become wiser, I could deal with even harder problem in life and in my studies, I make more friends, and hopefully keep advancing in my progress to be a useful citizen of planet earth.

Somehow I just miss the time when people said thanks to me. I feel really happy when I could help people with my ability. I still remember when I thought my friends in the library, they said that I was a genius because I taught them so well even people like them could understand math. Every time I share my knowledge, I have more friends. Some people said that they just used me but I replied I would like to make a world a better place.

If I think about it, more successful people would make the world a better place. For example, what rich people do? They invest their money, they share their money with others for good. Smart people somehow affect the society where they live in.

A few days ago, I have a question in my head. The question is 'am I lying to myself?' When I see other people having some problems and I'm sure I could help them but I always think of excuses, I think about what will happen and then I come to the conclusion that I'm right not to interfere other people business. I know I am lying to myself and probably I know that better than anyone. So far, I always think that if people don't ask means they don't need the information or help.

Love VS Emotional Attachment

Most of us engage in a desperate search for someone to love us, but we confuse the issue by saying that we need someone to love. We say we want someone to share with, someone we can love, but what we are really saying is that we need someone to love us, someone who will make us feel important and keep us from feeling lonely. This is not love, but emotional attachment, which leads us into dependency.

We believe that we need this person to be happy, to be content, to be fulfilled. So our loving becomes distorted by our emotional needs. When they don't love us back, we feel miserable and unloved. When they aren't around, we feel lonely. We all have a remarkable, unlimited capacity to love one another. There is a wide range of expression of our love, from brotherly and sisterly love to romantic, sexual love. But as long as we continue to confuse love and emotional attachment, we will continue to be lonely, even when we have someone to love.