I learned not to roll my eyes at the tender age of 8:

Seth’s Mother: “Seth, go clean your room.”
8 Year-old Seth: *rolls eyes* “Oookay.”
Seth’s Mother: “Don’t roll your eyes. It’s disrespectful.”
8 Year-old Seth: “What if there was a mosquito flying in circles and I wasn’t rolling my eyes at all?”
Seth’s Mother: “Then I suggest you get the mosquito to help you clean your room.”

So it is with no little trepidation that I proceed to share with you what amounts to an admission that I didn’t learn that lesson from my mother. I still roll my eyes. I roll them vigorously at the following:

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Are you participating in social media with the same joy as when you first realized that people in Japan would comment on what type of breakfast cereal you prefer? From recent observations, my guess would be that you’ve lost your original spark.

I’ve noted the biggest changes in people who fall into three categories:

1. Monetizers – You don’t have to be currently making money through social media to fall into this category. You simply need to want it. If you find yourself talking about, “Crushing trust agents with transparent authenticity.” chances are good that you’re not having as much fun as you might otherwise.

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Are you conscious of the way you behave around new people?

Since moving to Mississippi, I have developed a fascination with the way people react to each other within the first few moments of meeting.

In New England, the typical first interaction between strangers involves contact of some sort and the trading of names. Shaking hands and giving at least a first name is par for the course.

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Have you become a lazy writer?

You may want to reconsider the way you use contractions in your writing.

My reasoning is simple:

The “out of sight, out of mind” rule applies to words as much as it does to other things. As such, when you “hide” words by contracting them, you push a part of your writing out of sight. Banning contractions from your writing, if only for the sake of this simple exercise, will give you a fresh look at the way you put words into sentences.

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Are you responsible for your obesity or is placing the Windows 7 Whopper in your mouth the result of a Microsoft and Burger King plot to destroy your health?

Are you responsible for murder or is pulling the trigger just a tiny step after a long line of corporate maneuvers designed to coerce you into buying and using a gun against your will?

Are you responsible for the environmental impacts of your consumer choices or is atmospheric pollution something ExxonMobil should be expected to take care of because they failed to offer you a better energy solution?

Complacency is a vicious beast best fed by an overwhelming quantity of information.

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