What’s new – Melanie Noble

Kindness is a simple choice

Posted on June 20, 2017 by melmel

“Kindness is contagious. It’s an antacid for living in a toxic world.” — M. Bechtle

The power of kindness is great. Of course, it’s tough to be kind when we live in a hectic world filled with injustices and violence. But we need to remember how kindness works. It is an antidote to the negative. It’s about treating other human beings well. It’s about acknowledging that we are all human and have a basic need to be loved and cared for.

As you go about your day today, notice times where you have an opportunity to be kind. You always have a choice. Try being kind and see what happens. Practicing kindness doesn’t need to be complicated. It can be as simple as considering that the driver who cut you off may be having a bad day rather than cursing about how stupid they are. So give it a try, and notice what happens.

The challenges of life: How to approach life when we don’t get what we want

Posted on January 25, 2017January 26, 2017 by melmel

Life is challenging. It’s hard to fit in everything we want to. A constant friction between what we want and what we can have. The quality of your life lies in how you handle the friction. You can be angry, irritated and frustrated, or you can be flexible and open to what the day brings. Some of us fall into the first camp. Others have learned over time how to see things in a more positive light, despite the negatives and setbacks.

So how do we move from one camp to the other? It takes an ongoing desire to be positive, to be grateful, to live the best life you can.

Is there a first step? A simple first step is simply becoming aware of how you feel, how you react when things don’t go your way. The next time something happens pay attention to what you say, do, think, and feel. Are you clenching your fists? Cursing? Feeling like you are being slighted or the world is out to get you? Stop yourself. Breathe. Consider an alternate viewpoint. What if the world isn’t out to get you? What if things just happen? Will whatever happened to you really matter a year from now? How much time do you want to spend on this issue, in the grand scheme of things?

Life is our biggest teacher. Every day we have an opportunity to see things differently. So take a chance and consider an alternate viewpoint. See how it goes. You may find you want to try it more often. Taking the single chance will put you one step closer to a more positive life. Go you!

As the leaves change color, we too can change

Posted on September 13, 2016September 13, 2016 by melmel

noun_594388_cc As the seasons change, we tend to change our habits. Going from wearing shorts and flip flops to wearing long pants and boots. Take the opportunity to make one more change for yourself as we shift seasons. What is one thing you want to do differently? What will that one thing do for you? How will it make you feel? Close your eyes and envision yourself doing this new thing. Now ask yourself, how can I weave the change into my schedule? What can I do this week to get myself closer to my goal?

The Internet of Everything

Posted on July 8, 2015March 18, 2016 by melmel

Connected objects are everywhere. We’ve got smart phones, TVs, Apple TVs, FitBits, and Nest thermostats. More objects are available to us each day. I was considering a new luggage tag that lets you track the location of your suitcase. But I wondered, does this mean I will need to use another app to track this specific object? I already have a number of apps on my phone to track different connected objects. I don’t really want any more apps to do this sort of thing. It would be great if there was an app that covered all of these objects and let me control them from one spot. The problem of having too many apps for lots of connected objects is just going to get bigger unless it gets addressed somehow.

Welcome

Posted on June 20, 2015December 30, 2015 by melmel

My passions are helping young professionals with stress relief and creating amazing user experiences.

With more technology available to us each day, it becomes more important that the tools work for us. We are busy and appreciate when technology anticipates our needs and makes our lives better. Amazing UX (user experience) is about more than just making something easy to use. It’s about delivering on conscious and unconscious needs. It’s about helping us become better versions of ourselves.