#ShoppingWhile Black: Georgia State Rep holds press conference to dispute #hatehoax claims she changed story about white man’s “go back to where you came from” attack

Georgia State Rep. Erica Thomas held a press conference at the State Capitol to stand by her story and dispute claims that she has ‘backtracked’ on blaming a white man for telling her to “go back to where she came from.”

—Pregnant Black Georgia lawmaker confronts racist who told her ‘go back where she came from’—

Over the weekend Thomas’ tearful video about a terrifying encounter she had with a Eric Sparkes in Publix went viral. She reported that the man confronted her and called her a bitch in front of her daughter for being in the 10-items-or-less line with 15 items. She says he then told her that she should go back to where she came from.

“Today I’m here to be very clear about what happened Friday: I want to make sure that everyone knows I’m not backtracking on my statement or retracting anything I said,” said Thomas flanked by her attorney Gerald Griggs and others supporting her.

“I was embarrassed. I was scared for my life. He left the grocery store and came back in to tell me a piece of his mind. … I’m fearing for my life about what I’ve seen all over this country,” Thomas said at the press conference.

“I was embarrassed. I was scared for my life. He left the grocery store and came back in to tell me a piece of his mind. … I’m fearing for my life about what I’ve seen all over this country.” #gapol pic.twitter.com/gS674q98nz

— Greg Bluestein (@bluestein) July 22, 2019

Both sides, however, are doubling down on their position of who took matters too far in the checkout line dispute. The man confronted Thomas at a previous press conference and denied saying “go back where you came from” although he admitted on camera that he called the pregnant politician a “lazy b****” in front of her daughter.

Today I was verbally assaulted in the grocery store by a white man who told me I was a lazy SOB and to go back to where I came from bc I had to many items in the express lane. My husband wasn’t there to defend me because he is on Active Duty serving the country I came from USA!

— Erica Thomas (@itsericathomas) July 20, 2019

Although Thomas initially tweeted with certainly that Sparkes told her to “go back to where she came from,” many thought she waivered from that statement, which caused some concern and sparked the hashtag #HateHoax to trend on Twitter.

She previously said about Sparkes, “He said ‘go back,’ you know, those types of words,” she said prompting critics to question the accuracy of her comments. “I don’t want to say he said ‘go back to your country’ or ‘go back to where you came from’ but he was making those types of references is what I remember.”

During the press conference reiterated her sentiments that Sparkes made the racially insensitive statement.

On Monday, Thomas’ attorney Gerald A. Griggs, wrote on Twitter that “it’s time for all the facts to come out.”

“At no point should a Black pregnant mother be called a B in front of her child,” Griggs wrote on social media with the hashtags #IStandWithErica and “Not A #HateHoax.”

At the conference Griggs said he has asked Publix to release the video tape of the confrontation and that there are witnesses willing and ready to corroborate her story.

—The bold way Mahershala Ali snagged Marvel’s ‘Blade’ Reboot—

A Georgia republican has joined the #hatehoax chorus calling for Thomas to resign.

Georgia Republican lawmaker calls on @itsericathomas to resign #gapol https://t.co/qTcpWOezAk

— Greg Bluestein (@bluestein) July 22, 2019

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Michelle Obama posts about diversity after Trump’s racist tweets attacking Democratic Congresswomen

Our Forever First Lady Michelle Obama kept it classy in a tweet on Friday which seemed to indirectly take aim at President Donald Trump’s racist attack against four Democratic congresswomen.

—Donald Trump writes racist tweet about congresswomen of color—

“What truly makes our country great is its diversity,” Obama begins in her tweet, CNN reports.

“I’ve seen that beauty in so many ways over the years. Whether we are born here or seek refuge here, there’s a place for us all. We must remember it’s not my America or your America. It’s our America.”

Obama joins a chorus of politicians who have chimed in to condemn Trump’s racist attacks against Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, telling them to “go back” to their countries.

However, three of the women were born in the US. Only Omar comes from Somalia.

That comment ignited a racist chant by Trump’s supporters at a rally in North Carolina days later as the audience yelled, “Send her back!” about Omar during the president’s speech.

—Cory Booker calls out President Trump as ‘worse than a racist’—

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New leadership for Bernard M. Gordon-MIT Engineering Leadership Program

Olivier de Weck, professor of aeronautics and astronautics and of engineering systems at MIT, has been named the new faculty co-director of the Bernard M. Gordon-MIT Engineering Leadership Program (GEL). He joins Reza Rahaman, who was appointed the Bernard M. Gordon-MIT Engineering Leadership Program industry co-director and senior lecturer on July 1, 2018.

“Professor de Weck has a longstanding commitment to engineering leadership, both as an educator and a researcher. I look forward to working with him and the GEL team as they continue to strengthen their outstanding undergraduate program and develop the new program for graduate students,” says Anantha Chandrakasan, dean of the MIT School of Engineering and the Vannevar Bush Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

A leader in systems engineering, de Weck researches how complex human-made systems such as aircraft, spacecraft, automobiles, and infrastructures are designed, manufactured, and operated. By investigating their lifecycle properties, de Weck and members of his research group have developed a range of novel techniques broadly adopted by industry to maximize the value of these systems over time.

A fellow of the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE), de Weck was honored with their Outstanding Service Award in 2018 for his work as editor-in-chief of Systems Engineering. He is also an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AAIA), where he previously served as associate editor for the Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets and chair of the AIAA Space Logistics Technical Committee. De Weck is a past recipient of the Capers and Marion McDonald Award for Excellence in Mentoring and Advising from the MIT School of Engineering, and the Teaching with Digital Technology Award from the MIT Office of Open Learning.

A member of the MIT faculty since 2001, de Weck earned a BS in industrial engineering at ETH Zurich in 1993 and an MS and PhD in aerospace systems at MIT in 1999 and 2001. He previously served as associate head of the engineering systems division and as executive director of Production in the Innovation Economy (PIE) commission at MIT. He recently returned to campus after a two-year leave of absence at Airbus in Toulouse, France, where he served as senior vice president and was responsible for planning and roadmapping the group’s $1 billion research and technology portfolio.

Since the launch of GEL in 2007, de Weck has taught 16.669/6.914 (Project Engineering) — a popular bootcamp-style class offered during independent activities period. Besides learning how to better plan and execute engineering projects, the class has helped cohorts of students create a sense of community and belonging.

De Weck succeeds Joel Schindall, co-director for GEL since 2007 and the Bernard M. Gordon Professor of the Practice in electrical engineering and computer science. “Drawing on his many years of experience and success in industry, Joel has been an exceptional leader for the GEL program,” Chandrakasan says. “He has instilled the character and the skills that will enable our students to be both the thought leaders and the ‘do leaders’ of the future.”

Reza Rahaman earned a BEng in chemical engineering at Imperial College London in 1984 and an MS in chemical engineering practice and PhD in chemical engineering at MIT in 1985 and 1989.

Rahaman’s career in industry spanned nearly three decades across consumer packaged goods, pharmaceuticals, and agricultural chemicals. Before returning to MIT, he was the vice president of research, development, and innovation at the Clorox Company, where he guided new innovation strategies and coordinated technology roadmaps for 45 percent of the company’s portfolio. Rahaman also serves as vice chair of the board of directors for Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, the largest nonprofit dedicated to LGBTQ workplace equality in the world.

“Reza has deep expertise in leading large, highly matrixed organizations and spearheading complex technical projects to produce category-changing innovation,” says Chandrakasan. “His experience in industry, as well as his technical depth and inclusive leadership style, are a wonderful asset to our students. By imparting his knowledge, and guiding our students’ attitudes and thought processes, he is helping to create the next generation of exemplary leaders.”

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R. Kelly wants access to a computer to finish album while awaiting sex abuse trial

R. Kelly’s apparently got things to do and records to produce and is demanding access to a computer so he can finish his album despite being held in jail on sex abuse and child pornography charges.

—R. Kelly to move to New York to face racketeering charges—

The embattled R&B singer who is on lockdown in solitary confinement at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago believes that he can fly above everyone else with this ridiculous request.

“He [Kelly] wants his computer so he can finish up the record album he has been working on,” his lawyer Steve Greenberg told The Chicago Sun-Times.

“My client needs to make money and he has been precluded from doing so because of his legal situation,” he said.

Greenberg said his client is doing OK while incarcerated.

“However, as disappointed as he [Kelly] was in being put in the hole last week, he has now been placed in a bigger cell in a special housing unit … a better situation in solitary at the Metropolitan Correctional Center,” added Greenberg.

—‘The Wire’ star Sonja Sohn arrested on cocaine and other drug charges—

And he said his string of girlfriends are getting processed so they can pay him a visit and others are trying to send him some gourmet food.

In addition to facing charges in Chicago, R. Kelly was arrested by the NYPD and Homeland Security Investigations in Chicago on July 11 on federal sex crimes charges.

He’s expected to be extradited to New York and charged in a 13-count indictment in Brooklyn federal court.

The singer’s lawyer, Nicole Blank Becker, told TMZ that when she visited him in federal prison, he told her his life would be in grave danger if he was kept with the general population.

The extradition hearing for the singer to be brought to Brooklyn to face the additional charges could reportedly occur sometime on or before Sept. 4, authorities told the New York Post.

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3Q: John Tirman on a new US human rights commission

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has launched a Commission on Unalienable Rights at the State Department. Human rights, he says, are no longer guided by the principles established by America’s founders and are unmooring America from the principles of liberal democracy. A moral foreign policy should be grounded in the definition of unalienable rights, writes Pompeo in an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal. A serious debate on human rights is urgent, Pompeo argues, and compares the commission to the panel Eleanor Roosevelt convened in 1947, which resulted in the “Universal Declaration on Human Rights.”  

John Tirman, executive director and principal research scientist at MIT's Center for International Studies, provides context behind the newly created commission and describes its potential impact on the human rights movement. Tirman is a co-founding director of the new Human Rights and Technology Program at MIT, leads the MIT Persian Gulf Initiative, and is a member of the Inter-University Committee on International Migration. He is author, most recently, of "Dream Chasers: Immigration and the American Backlash" and "The Deaths of Others: The Fate of Civilians in America’s Wars."

Q: What is the political impetus behind Secretary Pompeo’s commission?

A: Most knowledgeable observers see Pompeo’s commission as an attempt to curtail the gradual expansion of human rights that include marginalized groups — LGBT rights, most particularly, but also of indigenous peoples, immigrants, children, workers, and so on. They also see this as a pushback on reproductive rights for women, and abortion rights specifically. Of course, these rights were not envisioned by the founders. By focusing on “unalienable” rights, he signals that this effort is embedded in so-called natural law, which to many people implies religious origin and legitimacy — rights are only endowed by God. The Declaration of Independence is replete with references to natural rights conveyed by the Creator. If rights are a product of religious faith and practice, then the gatekeepers of religion will likely be the arbiters of rights.

The international dimension serves certain specific ends: an opportunity to chastise states that the Trump administration doesn’t like — such as Iran, Cuba, Venezuela — and provide a boost for some friends in troublesome areas — Israel’s 50-year occupation of Palestinian lands, for example. It will brace the U.S. aid policy of denying abortions. A very narrow definition of human rights would also enable the U.S. government to ignore, more than ever, the human-rights abuses of states with which we are friendly. If one doesn’t grant indigenous peoples’ rights to their original lands, to cite one pressing case, then what Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, is doing in the Amazon is not of our concern. Similar indifference can be applied to the Rohingya, Kurds, Shia in Saudi Arabia, and dozens of other cases.

Q: How have human rights evolved throughout history?

A: Human rights has a long history, even if they weren’t always recognized as such. In Europe, and Britain particularly, rights evolved in part to curtail the power of the monarch. Gradually, notions of tolerance and protected dissent became keystones. Documents like the Magna Carta (1215) and the English Bill of Rights (1689) established norms that not only formed Britain’s unwritten constitution, but shaped ours as well. Conservatives have always insisted that such precedents are the root and branch of legitimate political principles and practice. The appeal to “natural law” should be understood in that context. 

This holds some irony in the Trump era. Those English documents insisted on parliamentary rights to keep the sovereign accountable, for example. We see today the White House violating Congress’s subpoena and oversight power, which is hardly consonant with conservative values. That is having deleterious impact on, for example, the rights of asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border. Those early precedents also addressed economic rights. In the last 75 years, beginning with Franklin Roosevelt, economic rights — in the idiom of liberty, “freedom from want” — have been high on the agenda of liberals, and resisted by the right wing. Economic rights as human rights have long been embedded in the most important English precedents, however — the right to inheritance, for example, or to fair taxation. And the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, promulgated at the United Nations in 1948 and cited approvingly by Pompeo, is filled with economic rights, including several demands for equality.  

In the category of “Be careful what you wish for,” this is rich irony indeed.  

Q: What are your chief concerns?

A: At a time when human rights are under siege from authoritarian rulers around the world, pulling back and constraining the definition and applicability of human rights is especially vexing. There is, moreover, a robust discourse about rights in academia and civil society. Hundreds, if not thousands, of nonprofit human-rights organizations are at work, and it is through this work that rights are challenged and redefined. The notion that we need a panel of carefully selected conservative thinkers appointed by the government to reassess rights is almost absurd.  

The assertion that human rights only embody what is articulated in America’s founding documents — particularly the Bill of Rights — is worrisome. Our notions of political, economic, social, and cultural rights and obligations change over time, and this should be readily acknowledged by all parties. The founders did not envision or provision a standing army, yet the prospect of America without a military would be considered quite eccentric. Today, we clearly embrace the idea of women’s equality, even if the means to achieve that are contested. Privacy is nowhere mentioned in the Constitution, yet Americans consider their personal sphere to be inviolable. The human cost of war has prompted the international community — often led by the United States — to recognize rights of non-combatants during wartime, or rights of refugees, or rights of women to protection. Little of this was considered before the 20th century.

There are numerous examples of these rights in the international arena, and nearly always they evolved to give voice and standing to otherwise-powerless and, often, victimized peoples. That is the great moral thrust of the human-rights revolution and one of the most encouraging achievements in the history of international relations.

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Cory Booker calls out President Trump as ‘worse than a racist’

Senator and 2020 hopeful Cory Booker called out President Trump on Sunday for using his presidential platform and power to spread racism.

Booker compared the president in fact to a well-known racist from the era of the Civil Rights Movement — late Alabama Gov. George Wallace, a fervent segregationist, and told CNN, “The reality is this is a guy who is worst than a racist.”

Booker made reference to last week’s comments by the president suggesting that four first-term congresswomen of color go back to where they came from.

Booker continued, “He is actually using racist tropes and racial language for political gains, trying to use this as a weapon to divide our nation against itself.”

Booker compared the video of that scene with others from decades ago as activists attempted to upend Jim Crow segregation and flagrant voter suppression activities.

“I have seen this before — in black and white,” Booker said, an apparent reference to black-and-white television of the civil rights era.

“Now I’m seeing it again, decades later, where I thought our country was beyond this,” he said. “I’m seeing this in full color.”

There was no response from the White House to Booker’s comments by late Monday morning, but there is no love lost between Booker and Trump.

 

 

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Pinterest's New Search Tool Puts Stress Relief in Your Feed

Soon the company will begin placing anxiety-relieving exercises within its search results to help boost your mood.

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South Africa's anti-graft chief Busisiwe Mkwebane 'lied under oath'

Busisiwe Mkwebane is accused of being involved in a dirty-tricks campaign against President Ramaphosa.

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VIDEO: Soldier mom surprising track star daughter at finish line after deployment is everything

A 13-year-old track star in Sacramento, California got an over-the-top surprise from her mother as she raced towards the finish line of a 4X100 meter relay race.

Jada McGee finished her anchor leg of the race and ran right into the arms of her mother, U.S. Army Capt. Erika Woodson, who she hadn’t seen since January, the Daily Mail reported.

The emotional reunion between the pair took place May 14, but was captured on video and shared widely in recent days on social media.

Jada runs for Edward Harris Junior Middle School in Sacramento. Her mother has been undertaking a three-year assignment a long way from home in Anchorage, Alaska. But Woodson was determined to see her daughter compete and flew in the morning of the relay.

“I couldn’t even sit in the chair that was there for me,” she told the Daily Mail. “I needed to be able to jump up and run to the finish line at her lane.”

The video shows Woodson with arms outstretched as Jada runs directly to her.

A friend of Jada’s shot the video.

The teen told the Daily Mail that she noticed her mother about 50 yards out from the stretch.

“It was so exciting,” she said.

And apparently Woodson’s appearance helped the runner with her speed. She said she purposely wore her uniform so her daughter would know it was her from far out.

“From the moment that she knew it was me, she really turned up the heat,” Woodson said. “That moment that she ran into my arms was indescribable.”

 

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Swedish official rebuffs Trump’s attempt to free A$AP Rocky from jail while man who started fight won’t be charged

President Trump‘s attempts to have A$AP Rocky freed from a Swedish jail might result in even more jail time for the rapper.

Rocky, whose given name is Rakim Mayers, has been imprisoned in Stockholm for three weeks after his alleged involvement in a street brawl. Social media posts from his associates have described horrific conditions at the jail.

At the behest of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, Trump reportedly telephoned the Swedish government over the weekend in an attempt to secure the rapper’s release and has said that he and Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven will talk again this week.

But Sweden, apparently, is not being as agreeable as suggested by the president. A spokesperson for Lofven told TMZ after Saturday’s call between the two leaders that no one is permitted to influence criminal justice affairs in their country.

Rocky was jailed after a June 30th dust up that was caught on video. Stockholm District Court approved a request by the prosecutor to keep the rapper behind bars until at least July 25th, while an investigation takes place, the Daily Mail reports. He reportedly believes race isn’t a factor in his arrest.

Trump said last week that he stepped in after multiple people reached out to him to help in the international situation.

“Many, many members of the African-American community have called me, friends of mine, and said, ‘Can you help?’ ” according to the president. “So, I personally don’t know A$AP Rocky, but I can tell you that he has tremendous support from the African-American community in this country — and when I say African-American, I think I can really say from everybody in the country because we’re all one.”

And according to TMZ, the man who attacked A$AP Rocky‘s crew won’t be prosecuted for any crime, despite the fact that he incited the violence and harassed the rapper.

If convicted of aggravated assault the rapper could reportedly face six years in Swedish prison.

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‘The Wire’ star Sonja Sohn arrested on cocaine and other drug charges

Sonja Sohn, the star of “The Chi” was reportedly arrested over the weekend allegedly for cocaine possession and other drug charges.

—Netflix acquires ‘Flying Bird’ starring Andre Holland, Zazie Beetz and Sonja Sohn—

According to TMZ, Sohn was detained in North Carolina for felony possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Celebrated for breakout roles in the acclaimed HBO series The Wire and Showtime’s TheChi, Sohn, 55, was released Sunday morning in Manteo after her bond was set at $1,500.

Sohn will reportedly be arraigned Tuesday.

–‘High Flying Bird’ actress Sonja Sohn: Athletes should “adopt whole neighborhoods”–

In addition to outstanding performances on screen the actress has also been known for her work helping young people in the Baltimore neighborhoods The Wire was based on.

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The bold way Mahershala Ali snagged Marvel’s ‘Blade’ Reboot

Mahershala Ali is the man of the hour who has muscled his way into snagging Marvel’s Blade movie reboot, a role first made famous by Wesley Snipes.

—Mahershala Ali on ‘Green Book’ amidst N-word controversy: ‘It’s a legitimate offering’—

The announcement was made on Sunday at San Diego’s Comic-Con and we’re here for the newest chocolate sensation who has been cast as the kick-ass vampire hunter.

Ali got a rousing standing ovation during the studio’s Hall H presentation, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

But the way he got the role also deserves a round of applause.

“When Mahershala calls, you answer,” said Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige. Feige explained that after Ali won his Oscar for Green Book, he reached out to Marvel in an effort to secure the coveted role. And he outright told Feige that he wanted the part.

And apparently want Oscar-winner Mahershala wants, Mahershala gets.

The movie, which centered around a half-human/half-vampire that hunts the undead and ventures out to rid the world of vampires and to serve up some serious payback since it was a vampire who killed his mother during childbirth.

Blade first released in 1998 and received two spin-offs Blade II in 2002 and Blade: Trinity in 2004.

—West Philadelphia man scales 19-story building to save mom from fire—

Ali has also played in countless other roles in movies like Hidden Figures, Alita: Battle Angel and most recently in the third season of HBO’s drama series True Detective.

This is not Ali’s first time finding himself in the world of Marvel. He received wide praise for his role as Cottonmouth Stokes during the first season of the Netflix series Luke Cage, and most recently he portrayed Prowler in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

A release date for the movie hasn’t been announced.

Just announced in Hall H at #SDCC, Marvel Studios’ BLADE with Mahershala Ali. pic.twitter.com/mtrDBy5OV0

— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) July 21, 2019

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Cardi B flashes new tattoo with husband Offset’s name

Zero Breeze Mark II Portable Air Conditioner Review: A Noisy But Effective Way to Chill Out

The Zero Breeze Mark II is a battery-powered solution for staying comfortable on sweltering camping trips.

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Ethiopia referendum: Dozens killed in Sidama clashes

Activists from the Sidama ethnic group were set to declare their own federal state last week.

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Willpower Woes: How a Rotten Resolve Can Hurt You

Willpower. We all want it. We all need it. But far too many of us just don’t have what it takes to stay resolute and determined when the going gets tough. Indeed, maintaining self-control and self-discipline when facing challenges at work and at home, or when aspiring toward ambitious future goals and objectives, can be among the most difficult life skills to manage and master—but it’s also one of the most impactful.

The significance of having low willpower cannot be overstated since a lack of mental strength and fortitude can adversely affect nearly every aspect of your life and how you are perceived by others. This includes levels of failure and success in the workplace; leadership capabilities relating to career and home/parenting life; maintaining good habits (reliability, promptness, health and otherwise); aptly managing compulsions, impulses, addictions and bad habits; and a myriad of other obstacles, trials and tribulations we’re presented with on a daily basis. Life without willpower paints an ominous picture.

Kanika Tolver

However much desired or well-intended, the process to developing willpower to benefit your professional and personal life can seem impossible, especially when faced with difficult situations, coercion or pressure from others, toxic relationships and certainly addictions of any sort. However, taking the initial steps to develop and maintain a strong will and self-discipline can be life-changing.

With this in mind, I connected with the author of “Life Rehab: Don’t Overdose on Pain, People and Power,” Kanika Tolver—a Certified Professional Coach and thought leader who helps individuals realize career, business, life and spiritual success.  She offered this simple yet insightful 3-step exercise that can help individuals develop better willpower through practice, progression, and patience:

Practice:

• Brainstorm all of your weaknesses—as many as you can think of—and write them down. When you identify your weaknesses on paper, it initiates the process of acknowledgement and acceptance. We all have weaknesses, whether it’s procrastination or being a “pushover” and the like, that are undermining our ability to be happy and successful. However, thinking comprehensively about our shortcomings and confessing them on paper produces a cathartic sense of awareness and urgency. While any scrap of paper will do, it’s best to invest in a simple journal where you can keep an ongoing log of your flaws and faults that are likely working against you at work, at home and in social circles.

• Cultivate a list of adversaries. As with your list of weaknesses above that related to your own personality and character traits, it’s also advisable to identify those people and other aspects of your life that challenge your willpower. This can include specific people in your professional and personal life, your job itself, or things like food, alcohol, television, the gym, etc. Keep a running log of these as well so that you remain mindful of exactly what aspects of life you seek to improve. Even try to put this list from most to least important or impactful, with the areas you need the most work on, and that will impact your life most significantly, at the top.

• Set small, achievable goals for turning your weaknesses into strengths. For each weakness, set small incremental goals. Setting unrealistic goals can lead to disappointment, which often leads to self-sabotage and self-doubt—all of which undercut your efforts to develop stronger willpower. Most of us have spent years repeating a bad habit or suffering a bad relationship. With this exercise, it’s now time to make a conscious choice to make small changes to negate the damage done. A collection of successful small changes will likely lead to big changes, which can lead to life-changing transformations. Reward yourself for even the smallest of victories along the journey. Revel in each achievement, however tiny.

 

Progression:

• Now that you are aware of what about yourself you need to “fix” and in what circumstances, journal your daily progress—both wins, losses and challenges—and your feelings in relation to each. Over time, you will be able to analyze the “data” and discern patterns, including where you fell short, in what circumstances you remained steadfast, and what made you uncomfortable (and which way that ultimately swung). This will expose ways to better apply willpower and manage situations to your benefit. Progression requires transparent hard work and constant self-evaluation. But the prospective payoff is immense.

• Surround yourself with people who have experience and overcame the same struggles you have. Associating with people who can give you good, proven advice that can be validated with personal anecdotes and insights is priceless. One great strategy is to find an “accountability partner,” support group, mentor or professional coach who can provide valuable objective perspectives and help guide and advise you when challenges present.

 

Patience:

• Patience is indeed a virtue because all too few of us have it. But, if you can effectively exercise patience, it can vastly strengthen your willpower. In fact, the two are entirely intertwined. We are a culture of instant gratification, and when the universe does not deliver immediately we tend to get disappointed, which can lead to a “giving up” or “giving in” mentality—either of which are the enemies of willpower.  It’s hard to practice a new habit and continue down the path of progression with an impatient mindset. Know in advance that every day of your journey may not be positive or deliver the result you seek, but practice, progression and patience will ultimately enhance your self-control.

With a big dose of motivation and just a little bit of effort put forth with an exercise such as this, you could be well on your way to winning the willpower game. Cultivating a mental fortitude is not just a life luxury—it’s a mission-critical key to promoting positive change, maintaining favorable habits, and bolstering your drive to achieve in all aspects of life. Carpe diem!

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Summer AileyCamp provides dance training, life skills for children

Of all the mantras Anai Espinoza and her fellow campers recite each morning at AileyCamp, the eighth grader’s favorite is this: “I am in control.”

“It makes me believe I have the power to choose the right thing,” she said.
Anai is one of a thousand students in 10 states this summer attending AileyCamp, a free six-week program for youngsters in financial need or with academic, social or family challenges.

AileyCamp was founded in 1989 in Kansas City, Missouri, by world-renowned dancer, choreographer and director Alvin Ailey, who died later that year. In addition to teaching the students dance, the camp introduces them to the visual arts, creative writing and other communications skills. It also teaches them how to eat well, resolve conflicts and become leaders, according to a description of the program on the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater website.

Atlanta Ballet’s Centre For Dance Education has admitted about 100 students to its camp each summer since 2014. About half of those have some exposure to dance, but very few have professional training, said Atlanta AileyCamp director Diane Caroll Sales.

“The most important thing is to accept campers that are willing to dance — they want to dance — because we are dancing most of the day,” Sales said. “But the core of the program is personal development.”

The Atlanta camp ran this year from May 30 through July 5, concluding with a performance July 6 in the city of Jonesboro, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) south of Atlanta. Sponsors covered the cost of dance training and attire, breakfast and lunch, field trips and classes for creative communication and personal development.

At the end of camp, Atlanta Ballet offers 10 students a full-tuition scholarship for a year of training, which is eligible for renewal, Sales said. One scholarship covers $800-$2,300 worth of dance classes, depending on the placement level.

Kameron Davis attended his first AileyCamp about 10 years ago, when he was in middle school, at The Fox Theatre in Atlanta. He trained for three years after that with the Atlanta Ballet on a scholarship, and later became a dance instructor. Davis said he doesn’t think his mother could have afforded dance classes without the scholarship.

Kids at school teased Davis when he began dancing, but AileyCamp offered a safe haven and confidence boost, he said. He said he enjoys giving back to the program by helping new campers build their confidence.

“It’s an open door to finding new things, doing new things,” Davis said. “When I got to AileyCamp, it just reassured me that, ‘Hey, it’s OK. Everybody is different. You shouldn’t be judged by what you do just because not a lot of people do it.'”

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