Extracurricular Activities

Bored? Looking for a new challenge?

You can watch basketball, baseball, track, gymnastics, tennis, aerobics, volleyball, and weight lifting on ESPN, or you can get out and enjoy them by joining your school team. Not into team sports? There's  club, the debating team, chess club, student government, radio, newspaper, yearbook, environmental club, drama, choir, photography, Students Against Destructive Decisions, jazz band,more

So many choices can seem overwhelming, but getting involved in new activities with new people is a fun way to challenge yourself. Here are some basics and benefits of getting involved.

Benefits of Extracurricular Activities

So what's in it for you? You get to explore your physical, creative, social, political, and career interests with like-minded people. You'll find friends: Trying something different may bring you in contact with people you didn't know who share your interests and curiosity.

You can get involved with groups as a way to get support from other students with your background.A club or group also can be a great way to meet people who are different from you. Lots of youth programs bring people together with those who are different as a way to break down the barriers between people. 

Participating in extracurricular activities helps you in other ways, too: It looks good on college and job applications and shows admissions officers and employers you're well-rounded and responsible. Specific activities help with specific goals — if you want to teach language or get a bilingual job, being the president of the Spanish club shows the depth of your commitment.

The most basic reason for joining a club or team is that it gives you something better to do than staring at the wall, wandering the hall, or napping all afternoon. People who are involved and engaged are less likely to become addicted to bad habits, like smoking or drinking.

Each Eye May See Yet Not Observe

Observation skills are something that everyone has, but it doesn’t mean that everyone has mastered the use of their observation skills. Many people require a little bit of training to improve their observations skills. Businesses covet people with excellent observations skills – people with excellent observations skills improve the functionality of the office and can make the work environment a place that is more proficient and efficient.

Having excellent observation skills includes myriad benefits. One of the primary benefits of possessing good observation skills is, of course, found in the fact that it increases one’s employability. Next, good observation skills increase one’s awareness and an increase in awareness improves one’s quality of living. Life is fully experienced, not haphazardly experienced and when someone has good observation skills every moment counts.

Fully observing a situation involves one’s full attention. The individual must be able to listen as well as see what is going on around them. There are a number of methods for improving one’s observation skills and with practice, people can begin to really experience life and become keen observers.

So What is Observation?

While the word observation may at first seem self explanatory, in truth there are various degrees of observation. A person may observe their surroundings on a daily basis and never truly observe it. In other words – there is a big difference between basic observation and intense observation. Intense, deliberate observation is when and individual purposefully engages and interacts with his or her environment, drinking in every moment as it evolves.

       In contrast, there is a state, commonly referred to as automatic pilot, where an individual can fully function but not fully experience. When an individual is undergoing automatic pilot, they are not fully paying attention to everything around them. Sometimes people enter into an automatic pilot state when they are driving a vehicle – it is not uncommon for individuals to daydream as they drive (a dangerous practice indeed!). The point of keen, intense observation is to forego the automatic pilot feature that so many people rely on and to purposefully look at the world in a new way.

Healthy Mind, Healthy Body, Excellent Observations

Meditation:

meditation may seem like a practice that has nothing to do with observation. In truth, meditation helps people to clear the mind, to relax and to leave behind mental obstructions that may otherwise hinder observation skills. Meditation is simple – an individual can sit in a room listening to relaxing music and simply practice clearing his or her mind of random invading thoughts. Over time the practice of meditation becomes easier and soon the individual will find it to be second nature. Meditation is something that can be conducted any time of the day or night but when the practice is first commenced, it is a good idea to do it the same time every day.

Eating Properly

: a healthy diet goes a long way in terms of observation. Some foods like starches and sugars in excess can cause the mind to feel fuzzy – to be observant one’s senses and mind must be sharp. Thus, a careful diet of healthy foods can serve as an excellent way to enhance observation skills.

Vitamins:

It’s important that people have the right balance of vitamins and minerals in their body at all times. A lack of iron for example, can cause fatigue and severe fatigue or chronic fatigue has a detrimental effect on observation skills. A visit to a physician and a consultation can indicate what kind of vitamins one may need to feel their healthiest.

Primary Benefits
• Protects young bodies with the antioxidants vitamin C, vitamin E,
beta-carotene, lycopene, resveratrol, lutein, zeaxanthin, selenium,
and copper.*
• Supports healthy bones by providing calcium and other nutrients
necessary for strong, healthy bones.*
• Promotes healthy immune function.*
• Provides key vitamins and minerals important for young growing
bodies.*
• Includes 90 tablets in every bottle, making it easy to deliver
optimal nutrition to every child at every stage of development.

Water:

Having enough water to drink on a daily basis cannot be overrated. Dehydration can affect the sharpness of one’s senses and can diminish the quality of observation skills.

Exercise:

The body should be exercised regularly so that it is in peak performance. If an individual doesn’t feel healthy, their mind won’t feel sharp and it can have a baneful affect on one’s observation skills. Exercise not only helps to keep the body fit, but it helps the body in ridding itself of toxins – toxins that can reduce one’s ability to work and function at top performance.

Practice Makes Perfect

It may take some practice to get observation skills working at their best. Sometimes it helps to use a picture and to note everything that is seen in the image to get observation skills working. Every object, color, and item should be described in great length and the description can be written down on paper. Practicing with photos or pictures, especially with pictures that have a lot of imagery can help to improve observation skills. Collages work excellent for the latter exercise and the practice can be done just about anywhere at anytime that is convenient.

Another way to practice using observation skills can be conducted while watching a film or watching television. When watching a show or movie the individual can study the background images to see what they notice along with what’s going on in the film. In fact, sometimes the background has some interesting symbolism that is often overlooked! Other people make a practice of looking for errors in the continuity of a film or looking for film errors in general – this too, can enhance observation skills.

Experiencing nature is an effective way to enhance observation skills. When attempting to improve observation skills, a person can go for a walk or hike, bring along a notebook or journal and document the landscape and scenery. The key is to pay attention to the smallest details including what is seen with the eyes, what is heard, what is smelled, what is touched, and what is felt emotionally.

Improving Observation Skills and Patience

Improving observations skills requires diligence and patience. Improvements will not occur overnight – people need to train themselves to really listen, to really see, to really feel and to sense what is going on around them. Being patient is part of being observant – being able to settle down and watch something and to absorb the images, feelings and sensations takes time. The reason why many people have poor observation skills is that they are impatient or they are in a rush to make it through the day!

Observation Skills and Benefits

The benefits of having good observation skills are many:

1. Improved Employment Options
• Better observation skills means better jobs for many individuals.
2. Improved Life Experiences
• Life experiences are more intensified for the aware individual and a life is therefore more fulfilling.
3. Improved Communication
• Clarity of thought equates to better communication in any situation.
4. Thought Clarity
• Having a clear head can make life less stressful.
5. Improved Mathematical Understanding
• Clear thoughts minimize distractions and improve analytical thinking.
6. Improved Reading Comprehension
• Better observation skills means that the individual absorbs more through the act of reading – more absorption means more assimilation of knowledge.
7. Lifestyle improvements lead to feelings of well being
8. Feelings of well being lead the individual to maintain the status as a productive member of society
• Self confidence improvement
• Self awareness improves
• Self image improves
• Social interactions improve
• Familial benefits – a happier individual means more pleasing interactions with the family.
9. Improvements in observational learning endeavors
10. People with excellent observation skills are people that become excellent problem solvers
11. Being able to see a situation completely allows for innovate thinking and positive solutions
12. People with excellent observation skills are strong leaders
13. Faster on the job training