Change

Adapt, cope, remain flexible and foster a positive attitude amidst life's ups and downs.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Twelve Steps to Happiness


STEP 1 - Show gratitude 

(* There's a lot more to gratitude than saying "thank you." Emerging research shows that people who are consistently grateful are happier, more energetic and hopeful, more forgiving and less materialistic. Gratitude needs to be practised daily because it doesn't necessarily come naturally.)


STEP 2 - Cultivate Optimism


STEP 3 - Avoid overthinking and social comparison

(* Many of us believe that when we feel down we should try to focus inwardly to attain self-insight and find solutions to our problems. But numerous studies have shown that overthinking sustains or worsens sadness.)


STEP 4 - Practice kindness


STEP 5 - Nurture social relationships


STEP 6 - Develop coping skills


STEP 7 - Learn to forgive 

(* Forgiveness is not the same thing as reconciliation, pardoning or condoning. Nor is it a denial of your own hurt. Forgiveness is a shift in thinking and something that you do for yourself and not for the person who has harmed you. Research confirms that clinging to bitterness or hate harms you more than the object of your hatred. Forgiving people are less likely to be hostile, depressed, anxious or neurotic.


* Forgive yourself for past wrongs. Recognising that you too can be a transgressor will make you more empathetic to others. )


STEP 8 - Find more flow

(* "Flow" was a phrase coined by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in the 1960s. It means you are totally immersed in what you are doing and unaware of yourself. Happy people have the capacity to enjoy their lives even when their material conditions are lacking and even when many of their goals have not been reached.)


STEP 9 - Savour the day - Be here now.



STEP 10 - Commit to your goals 

(* People who strive for something personally significant, whether it's learning a new craft or changing careers, are far happier than those who don't have strong dreams or aspirations. Working towards a goal is more important to wellbeing than its attainment.)


STEP 11 - Take care of your soul

 (* A growing body of psychological research suggests that religious people are happier, healthier and recover better after traumas than nonreligious people. ...

* Find the sacred in ordinary life ...)

STEP 12 - Take care of your body

"The How of Happiness" Sonja Lyubomirsky - TalkRational



by Sonja Lyubomirsky

link: http://lyubomirsky.socialpsychology.org/




Positive Emotions: Barbara Fredrickson


Purpose



You have -- within you -- the fuel to thrive and to flourish,

and to leave this world in better shape than you found it.
Sometimes you tap into this fuel – other times you don’t.
But the sad fact is that most people have no idea
how to tap into this fuel or even recognize it when they do.
Where is this fuel within you?

You tap into it whenever you feel energized and excited by new ideas.

You tap into it whenever you feel at one with your surroundings, at peace.
You tap into it whenever you feel playful, creative, or silly.
You tap into it whenever you feel your soul stirred by the sheer beauty of existence.
You tap into it whenever you feel connected to others and loved.
In short, you tap into it whenever positive emotions resonate within you.



















Source: http://www.unc.edu/peplab/purpose.html





Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Multiple Sclerosis has no cure but don't let the facts defeat you.

When something of an affliction happens to you, you either let it defeat you, or you defeat it.
- Rousseau


Or you learn to work around the obstacle, if it is an incurable disease like M.S. that is ongoing and causes systematically more disability.


It is important to take an attitude of adapting and thriving in spite of the disease.  

Leave the cure to the scientists and manage your life with the attitude that you can deal with the problems created by the disease. 

You will probably need to give up some activities,like the balance beam (LOL) and other athletic pursuits that require balance, strength or require being on your feet for too long. 


Focus on what you can still do and not on what you have lost.


Sunday, October 21, 2012

My Sustainability mantra

A Vegetarian Diet is good for your and good for the Planet.

Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet. - Albert Einstein

Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world. - Howard Zinn

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed.”
- Mahatma Gandhi

WHEN SPIDERS UNITE, THEY CAN TIE DOWN A LION.
-Ethiopian proverb




Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Mindfulness in how you move your body.


TEDxGranta -- Ross Sargent -- Mindful Movement 


Published on Apr 13, 2012 by
 
Ross Sargent is co-Founder and Chief Instructor of Cambridge Kung Fu Ltd., a not-for-profit social enterprise. His vision is to pass on the fundamental benefits that can be gained through the practice of intelligent martial arts and movement.

License:  Standard YouTube license

....................................................

Blindfold Kung Fu

Published on Apr 12, 2012 by  
Ross Sargent is co-Founder and Chief Instructor of Cambridge Kung Fu Ltd., a not-for-profit social enterprise. His vision is to pass on the fundamental benefits that can be gained through the practice of intelligent martial arts and movement. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

Category:

License:

Standard YouTube License
TEDxGranta -- Ross Sargent -- Blindfold Kung Fu - YouTube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54nTM89tgWI&feature=relmfu




Monday, October 15, 2012

Vanity

Borrowed Plumes Are Soon 
Discovered.



"Fine feathers," Jack thought,
"make fine fowls,
I'll be envied of  bats & of owls." 

But the Peacocks proud eyes
saw through his disguise,
And Jack fled the assembly
of fowls.

Occupy Your Waking Moments Fully


"A Nobel Prize winner once calculated that each day consists of 200,000 waking moments.  The key is to fully occupy each one, and focus on what needs your attention now, rather than obsessing about the mammoth projects or problems looming ahead.  You can always cross that bridge when you come to it."


Source: "The Power of Small - Why Little Things Make All the Difference"
by Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval







Sunday, October 14, 2012

Environmental Philosophy


The Big Old Oak Tree


Derrick Jensen book called What We Leave Behind, is about what we leave behind.  It is a devastating critique of our culture's treatment of the natural world, on which all of life depends.  

What We Leave Behind focuses on our culture's waste products. Until fairly recently in the history of the planet, the waste of one living thing became the food of another living thing; a tree drops its leaves and the dead leaves are broken down by various processes and living creatures to become the nutrient-rich forest floor, a lion kills a gazelle and the scraps are eaten by hyenas ---  a human dies and the body is returned to the earth's natural processes, and all life is better off for it - "healthier, stronger, more resilient, more diverse."

However, we started producing waste products that no living thing can break down, which means they are essentially poisonous. Sea creatures starve to death with their bellies full of plastic.

Jensen writes, "This culture is killing the planet. This culture is killing the planet. This culture is killing the planet."

Jensen is not negative; the culture that he is criticizing is negative. Jensen is angry...

The Big Old Oak Tree quotes the Powhatan-Renape-Lenape man Jack Forbes:


The life of Native American peoples revolves around the concept of sacredness, beauty, power, and relatedness of all forms of existence. In short the "ethics" or moral values of Native people are part and parcel of their cosmology or total world view.
Most Native languages have no word for "religion" and it may be true that a word for religion is never needed until a people no longer have "religion."
As Ohiyesa (Charles Eastman) said,
"Every act of his [the Indian's] life is, in a very real sense, a religious act."... "Religion," is, in reality, "living." Our "religion" is not what we profess, or what we say, or what we proclaim; our "religion" is what we do, what we desire, what we seek, what we dream about, what we fantasize, what we think - all of these things - twenty-four hours a day."
One's religion, then, is one's life, not merely the ideal life but the life as it is actually lived.... Religion is not a prayer, it is not a church, it is not "theistic," it is not "atheistic," it has little to do with what white people call "religion"
It is our every act. If we tromp on a bug, that is our religion. If we experiment on living animal, that is our religion: if we cheat at cards, that is our religion; if we dream of being famous, that is our religion; if we gossip maliciously, that is our religion; if we are rude and aggressive, that is our religion. All that we do, and are, is our religion. (pg. 154)

What would it look like if I did my best to make everything I do an expression of the "sacredness, beauty, power, and relatedness of all forms of existence"?




Update, 3/9/11: Jensen shares authorship with Aric McBay, creator of In the Wake: A Collective Manual-in-progress for Outliving Civilization




Thursday, October 11, 2012

What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?



The Summer Day – Mary Oliver – 1992




Who made the world?

Who made the swan, and the black bear?

Who made the grasshopper?

This grasshopper, I mean—

the one who has flung herself out of the grass,

the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,

who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down—

who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.

Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.

Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.

I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.

I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down

into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,

how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,

which is what I have been doing all day.

Tell me, what else should I have done?

Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?

Tell me, what is it you plan to do

with your one wild and precious life?


Monday, October 8, 2012

Pigeons and other Pictures

Mourning Dove and Ringneck Dove 

 Mourning Dove in flight.

Non-Conformist

Yellow couch:)









Men and Markets Observed: Why Social Networks Won't Kill the Blog

 

7/14/12

Why Social Networks Won't Kill the Blog

Since you are reading this on a blog, it is apparent this writer has committed to blogging for an effective means of communicating with an unknown audience.

Blogging is fun and, agreeing with Elisa C., so are the others.    Next I'm going to go to her blog and maybe see her on twitter ...







Why Social Networks Won't Kill the Blog

 

Elisa Camahort Page is co-founder and COO of BlogHer, Inc., the leading cross-platform media network created by, for and with women social media leaders.

Follow her @ElisaC.



In the last year, users have turned to social sharing platforms like Pinterest, Tumblr, and Instagram to share bite-sized snacks of content, while relying on blogs to enable longer forms of communication and self-expression. In one sense, it’s become the equivalent of a social media full meal.

But, as if on cue, online Cassandras meet this growth in social sites with various visions of social media death. Are these newer tools Twitter-killers? The “next Facebook?” The sign of end-times for blogs? The short answer is no.

When looking at the data about how these new sharing platforms play, particularly with blogs, it’s more accurate to consider them all to be a blogger’s best friend.

Here’s why: For bloggers all of these tools serve as channels — new ways to get their word out to new audiences. Or sometimes to the same audience, but at a different time and place.

Emerging sharing sites join Facebook and Twitter as new, fruitful ways for bloggers to offer an amuse-bouche that entices readers to come to their blog for the full meal.

The move, particularly from text and link-sharing to image-based sharing, has also worked wonders for blogs. In fact, Pinterest is now the number one social traffic referrer to my company — more than Facebook, Twitter, and StumbleUpon combined.

Even with all these great tools, and their growing user bases, comScore Media Metrix shows that blogs have steadily grown their audience 15% year over year for the last two years.

That’s because, from baby showers to brilliant quotes, these social sharing platforms represent self-expression writ small.

And, as these new tools grow, the blog’s role has developed accordingly.

Blogs are now the place for more substantive conversation and more detailed information.

Taking a long view of media, TV didn’t kill radio or the movies. The Internet hasn’t killed TV. Traditional media companies have migrated online, and for that matter even we native online companies have to now migrate to mobile.

I’m not saying it’s an easy business. Business models are being dragged kicking and screaming into this brave, new world, but users are still showing up. And it can be a mutually beneficial relationship. For example, online sites like Twitter and GetGlue are bolstering engagement with traditional broadcast television.

As active social media users across generations have become multi-tasking, multi-screening and ravenous media consumers, adopting each new tool has become second nature, and not a signal that other social tools are being replaced.

That’s because the need to connect; the need to hear and share stories that move us, make us think, and ultimately make us feel less alone. Those human needs are consistent.

We may change where we go to meet those needs; we may change the tools we use; we may occasionally succumb to shiny object syndrome, but ultimately we prioritize and bring order to the chaos.

As the social media universe shifts and expands, online influencers are winning in big ways. 

The blog audience continues to rise; long-form expression is seeing renewed investment from both traditional and online outlets, and blog recommendations now have a prominent position in the purchasing process for online users.

For bloggers, having a plethora of tools to publish, promote, and distribute work has only enhanced the value of their personal corners of the Web.






Why Social Networks Won't Kill the Blog

Link: http://mashable.com/2012/06/21/social-media-blogs-blogher/


Men and Markets Observed: Why Social Networks Won't Kill the Blog

Men and Markets Observed: Knowledge@Wharton

Knowledge@Wharton

 Great new resource to explore.  Including podcast like Nassim Kaleb discussing Black Swans

 http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/podcast_archive.cfm?podcastID=23



Knowledge@Wharton


Men and Markets Observed: Knowledge@Wharton

Rebound from failure rules


Entrepreneur magazine



Five Rules to Rebound from Failure

How to pick up the pieces after a small-business setback.
Failure of any kind can be a setback for entrepreneurs, but it doesn't have to spell disaster. I'm the perfect example. I've been rejected by the Marines and I flunked out of law school. The real kicker came in 1998 when a former business partner at a debt-collection company of mine was convicted of fraud. Even though he admitted to committing the fraud without my knowledge, I was indicted on 57 felony counts and my assets were frozen. While I was cleared of all charges four years later, I wound up filing for bankruptcy protection and lost a personal fortune in business equity to the tune of about $3 billion. My only asset left was my house.
Sounds devastating, right? But despite my failures I have been able to pick up the pieces and come through it all with a strong self-image. I attribute that to having a healthy perspective on what failure should and should not mean to me.
When faced with any setback, here are five rules that have helped me over the years and can help you, too.
Don't pretend it never happened.
People are often so anxious to avoid the stigma of failure that they refuse to admit what happened. Denial usually results in a host of other problems, including internal stress and delaying any effective remedy.

The late Dale Carnegie, a well-regarded lecturer and author of the bestseller "How to Win Friends and Influence People," said that when you're quick to admit that you screwed up, your peers will stop holding your feet to the fire and actually begin to comfort you.













Blogger: Men and Markets Observed - All posts

Sucess is 9 things domne differently...




Nine Things Successful People Do Differently - Heidi Grant Halvorson - Harvard Business Review


Heidi Grant Halvorson

Heidi Grant Halvorson

Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D. is a motivational psychologist and author of the HBR Single Nine Things Successful People Do Differently and the book Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals (Hudson Street Press, 2011). Her personal blog, The Science of Success, can be found at www.heidigranthalvorson.com. Dr. Halvorson is available for speaking and training. Follow her on Twitter @hghalvorson.

Nine Things Successful People Do Differently

Learn more about the science of success with Heidi Grant Halvorson's HBR Single, based on this blog post.
Why have you been so successful in reaching some of your goals, but not others? If you aren't sure, you are far from alone in your confusion. It turns out that even brilliant, highly accomplished people are pretty lousy when it comes to understanding why they succeed or fail. The intuitive answer — that you are born predisposed to certain talents and lacking in others — is really just one small piece of the puzzle. In fact, decades of research on achievement suggests that successful people reach their goals not simply because of who they are, but more often because of what they do.
1. Get specific. When you set yourself a goal, try to be as specific as possible. "Lose 5 pounds" is a better goal than "lose some weight," because it gives you a clear idea of what success looks like. Knowing exactly what you want to achieve keeps you motivated until you get there. Also, think about the specific actions that need to be taken to reach your goal. Just promising you'll "eat less" or "sleep more" is too vague — be clear and precise. "I'll be in bed by 10pm on weeknights" leaves no room for doubt about what you need to do, and whether or not you've actually done it.

2. Seize the moment to act on your goals.
Given how busy most of us are, and how many goals we are juggling at once, it's not surprising that we routinely miss opportunities to act on a goal because we simply fail to notice them. Did you really have no time to work out today? No chance at any point to return that phone call? Achieving your goal means grabbing hold of these opportunities before they slip through your fingers.
To seize the moment, decide when and where you will take each action you want to take, in advance. Again, be as specific as possible (e.g., "If it's Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, I'll work out for 30 minutes before work.") Studies show that this kind of planning will help your brain to detect and seize the opportunity when it arises, increasing your chances of success by roughly 300%.
3. Know exactly how far you have left to go. Achieving any goal also requires honest and regular monitoring of your progress — if not by others, then by you yourself. If you don't know how well you are doing, you can't adjust your behavior or your strategies accordingly. Check your progress frequently — weekly, or even daily, depending on the goal.

4. Be a realistic optimist.
When you are setting a goal, by all means engage in lots of positive thinking about how likely you are to achieve it. Believing in your ability to succeed is enormously helpful for creating and sustaining your motivation. But whatever you do, don't underestimate how difficult it will be to reach your goal. Most goals worth achieving require time, planning, effort, and persistence. Studies show that thinking things will come to you easily and effortlessly leaves you ill-prepared for the journey ahead, and significantly increases the odds of failure.

5. Focus on getting better, rather than being good.
Believing you have the ability to reach your goals is important, but so is believing you can get the ability. Many of us believe that our intelligence, our personality, and our physical aptitudes are fixed — that no matter what we do, we won't improve. As a result, we focus on goals that are all about proving ourselves, rather than developing and acquiring new skills.
Fortunately, decades of research suggest that the belief in fixed ability is completely wrong — abilities of all kinds are profoundly malleable. Embracing the fact that you can change will allow you to make better choices, and reach your fullest potential. People whose goals are about getting better, rather than being good, take difficulty in stride, and appreciate the journey as much as the destination.

6. Have grit.
Grit is a willingness to commit to long-term goals, and to persist in the face of difficulty. Studies show that gritty people obtain more education in their lifetime, and earn higher college GPAs. Grit predicts which cadets will stick out their first grueling year at West Point. In fact, grit even predicts which round contestants will make it to at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
The good news is, if you aren't particularly gritty now, there is something you can do about it. People who lack grit more often than not believe that they just don't have the innate abilities successful people have. If that describes your own thinking .... well, there's no way to put this nicely: you are wrong. As I mentioned earlier, effort, planning, persistence, and good strategies are what it really takes to succeed. Embracing this knowledge will not only help you see yourself and your goals more accurately, but also do wonders for your grit.
7. Build your willpower muscle. Your self-control "muscle" is just like the other muscles in your body — when it doesn't get much exercise, it becomes weaker over time. But when you give it regular workouts by putting it to good use, it will grow stronger and stronger, and better able to help you successfully reach your goals.
To build willpower, take on a challenge that requires you to do something you'd honestly rather not do. Give up high-fat snacks, do 100 sit-ups a day, stand up straight when you catch yourself slouching, try to learn a new skill. When you find yourself wanting to give in, give up, or just not bother — don't. Start with just one activity, and make a plan for how you will deal with troubles when they occur ("If I have a craving for a snack, I will eat one piece of fresh or three pieces of dried fruit.") It will be hard in the beginning, but it will get easier, and that's the whole point. As your strength grows, you can take on more challenges and step-up your self-control workout.
8. Don't tempt fate. No matter how strong your willpower muscle becomes, it's important to always respect the fact that it is limited, and if you overtax it you will temporarily run out of steam. Don't try to take on two challenging tasks at once, if you can help it (like quitting smoking and dieting at the same time). And don't put yourself in harm's way — many people are overly-confident in their ability to resist temptation, and as a result they put themselves in situations where temptations abound. Successful people know not to make reaching a goal harder than it already is.

9. Focus on what you will do, not what you won't do. Do you want to successfully lose weight, quit smoking, or put a lid on your bad temper? Then plan how you will replace bad habits with good ones, rather than focusing only on the bad habits themselves. Research on thought suppression (e.g., "Don't think about white bears!") has shown that trying to avoid a thought makes it even more active in your mind. The same holds true when it comes to behavior — by trying not to engage in a bad habit, our habits get strengthened rather than broken.
If you want to change your ways, ask yourself, What will I do instead? For example, if you are trying to gain control of your temper and stop flying off the handle, you might make a plan like "If I am starting to feel angry, then I will take three deep breaths to calm down." By using deep breathing as a replacement for giving in to your anger, your bad habit will get worn away over time until it disappears completely.
It is my hope that, after reading about the nine things successful people do differently, you have gained some insight into all the things you have been doing right all along. Even more important, I hope are able to identify the mistakes that have derailed you, and use that knowledge to your advantage from now on. Remember, you don't need to become a different person to become a more successful one. It's never what you are, but what you do.
Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D. is a motivational psychologist, and author of the new book Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals (Hudson Street Press, 2011). She is also an expert blogger on motivation and leadership for Fast Company and Psychology Today. Her personal blog, The Science of Success, can be found at www.heidigranthalvorson.com. Follow her on Twitter @hghalvorson








Blogger: Men and Markets Observed - Edit post

Skills To Aquire


Skills To Aquire

Some skills  help you get ahead in the world, and a good instructor makes certain classes worth going back to school for.


 Consider:

Accounting:


It’s absolutely necessary if you want to run your own business or even handle certain aspects of your own financial planning.
 

Writing:

While improving your writing can sometimes just be a matter of practice, it’s very easy to create bad grammatical habits without an instructor’s guidance.

Even a short class with an instructor who can critique your work can make your written communications so much better.



 

A second language:
 
Considering the changing demographics of the North America, knowing a second language can keep you current


Project management:


The skills necessary to complete certain projects, like software development, are often something that can be self-taught.

To a certain extent, you can even teach yourself to plan such projects and get them done.

But a good class exposes you to potential problems and situations that you would never dream up for yourself, dramatically side stepping the trial and error process that most people end up taking.


First aid and other emergency management skills:

There are now entire degrees available in crisis and emergency management — and the folks with those degrees are having an easier time finding jobs right now than other job hunters.

That’s because the ability to respond quickly in any kind of emergency is prized. 


Shop class of any type:

Especially since many school districts have eliminated shop classes entirely, it can be harder to acquire the skills necessary to use tools, fix cars and handle other common situations.

Just being able to skip one visit to the mechanic can often pay for such classes, making it a worthwhile venture.
 









Source:
6 Skills That Might Just Be Worth Going to Classes For


Men and Markets Observed: Skills To Aquire

Nine Things Successful People Do Differently



Why have you been so successful in reaching some of your goals, but not others? 

If you aren't sure, you are far from alone in your confusion. It turns out that even brilliant, highly accomplished people are pretty lousy when it comes to understanding why they succeed or fail. 

The intuitive answer — that you are born predisposed to certain talents and lacking in others — is really just one small piece of the puzzle. 

In fact, decades of research on achievement suggests that:
successful people reach their goals not simply because of who they are, but more often because of what they do.

Nine Things Successful People Do Differently:

 
1. Get specific. When you set yourself a goal, try to be as specific as possible.

"Lose 5 pounds" is a better goal than "lose some weight," because it gives you a clear idea of what success looks like.

Knowing exactly what you want to achieve keeps you motivated until you get there. 

Also, think about the specific actions that need to be taken to reach your goal. 

Just promising you'll "eat less" or "sleep more" is too vague — be clear and precise. "I'll be in bed by 10pm on weeknights" leaves no room for doubt about what you need to do, and whether or not you've actually done it.


2. Seize the moment to act on your goals. Given how busy most of us are, and how many goals we are juggling at once, it's not surprising that we routinely miss opportunities to act on a goal because we simply fail to notice them


Did you really have no time to work out today? No chance at any point to return that phone call? Achieving your goal means grabbing hold of these opportunities before they slip through your fingers.

To seize the moment, decide when and where you will take each action you want to take, in advance. 


Again, be as specific as possible (e.g., "If it's Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, I'll work out for 30 minutes before work.") Studies show that this kind of planning will help your brain to detect and seize the opportunity when it arises, increasing your chances of success by roughly 300%.


3. Know exactly how far you have left to go. Achieving any goal also requires honest and regular monitoring of your progress — if not by others, then by you yourself. 

If you don't know how well you are doing, you can't adjust your behavior or your strategies accordingly.  

Check your progress frequently — weekly, or even daily, depending on the goal.



4. Be a realistic optimist. When you are setting a goal, by all means engage in lots of positive thinking about how likely you are to achieve it.  Believing in your ability to succeed is enormously helpful for creating and sustaining your motivation. 

But whatever you do, 

don't underestimate how difficult it will be to reach your goal. 

Most goals worth achieving require time, planning, effort, and persistence. 

Studies show that thinking things will come to you easily and effortlessly leaves you ill-prepared for the journey ahead, and significantly increases the odds of failure.

5. Focus on getting better, rather than being good. Believing you have the ability to reach your goals is important, but so is believing you can get the ability. 

Many of us believe that our intelligence, our personality, and our physical aptitudes are fixed — that no matter what we do, we won't improve. As a result, we focus on goals that are all about proving ourselves, rather than developing and acquiring new skills.
Fortunately, decades of research suggest that the belief in fixed ability is completely wrong — abilities of all kinds are profoundly malleable. 


Embracing the fact that you can change will allow you to make better choices, and reach your fullest potential. 

People whose goals are about getting better, rather than being good, take difficulty in stride, and appreciate the journey as much as the destination.

6. Have grit. Grit is a willingness to commit to long-term goals, and to persist in the face of difficulty. Studies show that gritty people obtain more education in their lifetime, and earn higher college GPAs. Grit predicts which cadets will stick out their first grueling year at West Point.  In fact, grit even predicts which round contestants will make it to at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

The good news is, if you aren't particularly gritty now, there is something you can do about it.


People who lack grit more often than not believe that they just don't have the innate abilities successful people have. If that describes your own thinking .... well, there's no way to put this nicely: you are wrong. 

As I mentioned earlier, effort, planning, persistence, and good strategies are what it really takes to succeed. 

Embracing this knowledge will not only help you see yourself and your goals more accurately, but also do wonders for your grit.


7. Build your willpower muscle. Your self-control "muscle" is just like the other muscles in your body — when it doesn't get much exercise, it becomes weaker over time. But when you give it regular workouts by putting it to good use, it will grow stronger and stronger, and better able to help you successfully reach your goals.

To build willpower, take on a challenge that requires you to do something you'd honestly rather not do. 

Give up high-fat snacks, do 100 sit-ups a day, stand up straight when you catch yourself slouching, try to learn a new skill. 

When you find yourself wanting to give in, give up, or just not bother — don't. 

Start with just one activity, and make a plan for how you will deal with troubles when they occur ("If I have a craving for a snack, I will eat one piece of fresh or three pieces of dried fruit.") It will be hard in the beginning, but it will get easier, and that's the whole point. 

As your strength grows, you can take on more challenges and step-up your self-control workout.


8. Don't tempt fate.
No matter how strong your willpower muscle becomes, it's important to always respect the fact that it is limited, and if you overtax it you will temporarily run out of steam. 

Don't try to take on two challenging tasks at once, if you can help it (like quitting smoking and dieting at the same time).

And don't put yourself in harm's way — many people are overly-confident in their ability to resist temptation, and as a result they put themselves in situations where temptations abound.


Successful people know not to make reaching a goal harder than it already is.


9. Focus on what you will do, not what you won't do. 


Do you want to successfully lose weight, quit smoking, or put a lid on your bad temper? 

Then plan how you will replace bad habits with good ones, rather than focusing only on the bad habits themselves. 

Research on thought suppression (e.g., "Don't think about white bears!") has shown that trying to avoid a thought makes it even more active in your mind. The same holds true when it comes to behavior — by trying not to engage in a bad habit, our habits get strengthened rather than broken.

If you want to change your ways, ask yourself, What will I do instead? 

For example, if you are trying to gain control of your temper and stop flying off the handle, you might make a plan like "If I am starting to feel angry, then I will take three deep breaths to calm down." By using deep breathing as a replacement for giving in to your anger, your bad habit will get worn away over time until it disappears completely.

 

Remember, you don't need to become a different person to become a more successful one. 

It's never what you are, but what you do.





 




Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D. is a motivational psychologist, and author of the new book Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals (Hudson Street Press, 2011). 

She is also an expert blogger on motivation and leadership for Fast Company and Psychology Today.

Her personal blog, The Science of Success, can be found at www.heidigranthalvorson.com.

Follow her on Twitter @hghalvorson

More blog posts by Heidi Grant Halvorson


More on: Career planning, Managing yourself






Learn more about the science of success with Heidi Grant Halvorson's HBR Single, based on this blog post.


Source:
 
by Heidi Grant Halvorson
Nine Things Successful People Do Differently - Heidi Grant Halvorson - Harvard Business Review






Men and Markets Observed: Focus on a Problem, Not Your Passion - Management Tip of the Day - April 10, 2012 - Harvard Business Review


 

5/14/12

Focus on a Problem, Not Your Passion - Management Tip of the Day - April 10, 2012 - Harvard Business Review

Focus on a Problem, Not Your Passion - Management Tip of the Day - April 10, 2012 - Harvard Business Review


April 10, 2012

Focus on a Problem, Not Your Passion

When it comes to careers, we’re told to follow our passions. 
 
But you might find greater satisfaction if you work on big problems. 
 
Whether it’s an issue in education, health care, climate change, poverty, or technology; figure out how you can contribute to a solution. 
 
Choose a problem that you care about — even personally — and let this dilemma be your compass. 
 
Get out of the office, meet people who are affected by the problem, and connect with those working in this area. 
 
Doing so shifts your attention from yourself to others. By becoming less focused on yourself, you might become happier with your work.








Men and Markets Observed: Focus on a Problem, Not Your Passion - Management Tip of the Day - April 10, 2012 - Harvard Business Review

Men and Markets Observed: Reminder: Red Meat


Reminder: Red Meat



UC San Francisco researcher and vegetarian diet advocate Dr. Dean Ornish said he gleaned a hopeful message from the study ( Red Meat Consumption Increases Risk of Early Death) .


"Something as simple as a meatless Monday can help," he said. "Even small changes can make a difference."

Additionally, Ornish said,

"What's good for you is also good for the planet."

In an editorial that accompanied the study, Ornish wrote that a plant-based diet could help cut annual healthcare costs from chronic diseases in the U.S., which exceed $1 trillion. 
Shrinking the livestock industry could also reduce greenhouse gas emissions and halt the destruction of forests to create pastures, he wrote. 







Men and Markets Observed: Reminder: Red Meat

How-to Write a Great Business Vision Statement - YouTube



Good to begin well, better to end well.
—English proverb
If you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time.
—unknown


How-to Write a Great Business Vision Statement - YouTube



ploaded by alkamae on Feb 27, 2009

Follow these guidelines, and use the vision statement formula to perfectly articulate your dream, your passion, and the direction you envision for your business.
Category:

Howto & Style


Men and Markets Observed: How-to Write a Great Business Vision Statement - YouTube

Webnsite Success


 

3/11/12

Webnsite Success

 

 






Men and Markets Observed: Webnsite Success