Professional Development Archives - Page 3 of 20

Changing The Way We Look At Things

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” This quote is from the famous motivational speaker and self-help author Dr. Wayne Dyer. Think about what he said for a moment.

It is along the same line as the half-empty/half-full concept. In both theories, it points out the power of having a positive mindset. There are positives in everything; sometimes you just must look harder to find them over the more apparent negatives.

We all make choices in life; some of us choose to be negative about everything, while other people experiencing the same situation see nothing but the positives. How can that be? Two people experiencing the same thing but emotionally feeling what they experience at opposite ends of the spectrum. It is almost as if each is wearing a set of glasses that filter the experience differently. Remember Dr. Dyer’s quote: “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

Why change the way you look at things?

Before we get into the “how” of changing your mindset, let’s first look at why it is beneficial to see the positives in everything. The mind is a powerful thing in that it controls all parts of your body. Researchers have found in multiple studies that having a positive outlook produces some very beneficial health benefits. For one, they found it increases the immune system. It is a proven fact that positive people are generally healthier both mentally and physically.

And positive people have a lower stress level because they are able to effectively deal with stress better. As a result, they have less cortisol caressing through their body, a known hormone responsible for weight gain, so they are able to control their weight better.

Beside having an improved immune system and better weight control, having a positive mindset also:

lowers the risk of a cardiovascular event
lower rates of depression
and surprisingly live a longer life

How to change your mindset to one more positive

While there are several things one can do to improve their mindset, here are some that provide the most benefits:

Start your day with a positive affirmation – how you start the morning sets the tone for the rest of the day. Many people like to write down their affirmation in a notebook or journal. Writing it down has more effect than just verbalizing it to yourself.
Look for the good in things – We all face situations during our day that can be viewed as either good or bad. For example, if stuck in traffic, view it as an opportunity to listen to your favorite podcast or to your favorite music instead of a waste of time going nowhere.
Change negative self-talk into positive – Instead of saying “I’m so bad at doing this” say “I’ll get better at doing this after I get more practice.”
Focus on the present – The past is yesterday, there is nothing we can do about it; the future is tomorrow and not here yet, so there is little we can do about it; but today is now and we can either choose to experience it either positively or negatively; the choice is yours!
Surround yourself with positive people. Positive people have positive outlook on life, quote positive affirmations and generally say positive things. Over time, these positives rub off on you, sink into your brain and you become a more positive person because of them. However, the opposite is true if you surround yourself with negative people. Again, it is your choice; choose wisely!

The way you view things, could help you see them in a positive way instead of negative. “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” Now go be positive!

Unlock Your Creativity

Whether you have a job that requires you to be creative, or you want to see just how creative you could be, there are many reasons why you might be thinking about unlocking your creative genius. There are several ways that have been shown to help promote creative thinking, but remember that not everything works for everyone and you may have to experiment to find out what works for you.

Have a nap

Taking a nap or just sleeping on it for the night can work wonders on your brain and creativity. Some people spend hours in one day thinking about a problem or considering ways to be more creative with a certain project. By going to sleep, resting your mind and body and then waking up the next day, you can magically unlock some extra creativity and solve your problems.

Talk to other people

This isn’t necessarily stealing other people’s ideas, but just talking to others can help you to think of new and creative ideas. You don’t have to speak to people you spend a lot of time with – in fact, it can be more useful to connect with those you wouldn’t otherwise chat to. At work, spend time in the kitchen during your lunch break trying to chat with other colleagues about their work or the projects they have been working on. Outside of work, chat to others whenever you can – you never know what may spark some creativity!

Read

The more you read, the more you learn. The more you learn, the more your mind will be stimulated and able to think more clearly. You don’t have to read books about creativity in order to promote creative thinking. Even by reading newspapers and magazines, you can find inspiration where you never guessed it.

Keep working

You don’t have to work non-stop all the time, but it’s not such a great idea to stop doing everything altogether. When you’re taking time off work, don’t allow yourself to sit at home doing nothing at all as this can soon stifle your creativity before long.

Stay healthy

Keep yourself hydrated, eat good foods and exercise on a regular basis. Not only will this keep you happy, but you might start to notice yourself becoming more creative or taking on creative projects with more ease. Start small and build your way into a healthier lifestyle.

Your New Year 2019! Your Life!

As we approach 2019 and 12 new chapters wait to be written I wanted to take the opportunity to wish all my connections a very Happy New Year for 2019!

As we head into the New Year take some time over the next few days to think about what sort of life you want in the coming year.

There’s a growing number of people struggling with their work-life balance. A large percentage of people feel that their job demands that they should be available 24/7 since they can check in from anywhere using their smartphone. This type of constant availability takes a toll on both a person’s mental and physical health. Humans need to socialize, relax, and care for themselves to stay happy and healthy.

Here are four simple ways to improve your work-life balance:

Unplug
It’s easier said than done, we know, but avoid checking your phone for work matters after hours. This constant checking may have become a habit you wish you’d never started, and if you are honest, practically all work-related matters can wait until the next day. It’s key to unplug from work when you get home each evening and on the weekends. Let your coworkers know you won’t be returning emails, calls, or texts regarding work after hours so that they can prepare for this change.

Work Smarter
If you can’t seem to get all of your work done within the allotted 40 hours, you aren’t alone. An alarming number of Americans work more than 50 hours a week, every week. Before you go to your boss to ask for a reduction in your workload, take a careful look at how you are spending your time. Track it for a few days and see what’s causing you to stay late each night and come in early each morning. You will no doubt be surprised by the ways you can change or eliminate distractions and other time-wasters.

Take a Stay-Cation
Another vital way to get your work-life balance in order is to make use of all of your vacation days. A large number of US workers lose essential time with their family or with themselves because they don’t take all of their vacation days, or in worst cases, don’t have any vacation days at all. If you feel uncomfortable about using all your holiday in one long vacation, schedule the occasional day off here and there to enjoy “stay-cations.” Breaking it up like this will give you the mental health days you need while ensuring you don’t come back to an overwhelming mountain of work.
Train Your People
Many of us grew up hearing, “If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.” Unfortunately, this gets ingrained to the point where we feel we can’t delegate any tasks lest they end up back in our laps in worse shape than before. If you have employees you manage or freelancers you outsource to, take the time to train them well. Make sure they know exactly how to do things. Of course, this will take time upfront. But, once they understand your requirements, you’ll be able to hand off more work and give yourself some slack.

As we head into the New Year take some time over the next few days to think about what sort of life you want in the coming year.

Here are four simple ways to improve your work-life balance:

Unplug
It’s easier said than done, we know, but avoid checking your phone for work matters after hours. This constant checking may have become a habit you wish you’d never started, and if you are honest, practically all work-related matters can wait until the next day. It’s key to unplug from work when you get home each evening and on the weekends. Let your coworkers know you won’t be returning emails, calls, or texts regarding work after hours so that they can prepare for this change.

Work Smarter

If you can’t seem to get all of your work done within the allotted 40 hours, you aren’t alone. An alarming number of Americans work more than 50 hours a week, every week. Before you go to your boss to ask for a reduction in your workload, take a careful look at how you are spending your time. Track it for a few days and see what’s causing you to stay late each night and come in early each morning. You will no doubt be surprised by the ways you can change or eliminate distractions and other time-wasters.

Take a Stay-Cation

Another vital way to get your work-life balance in order is to make use of all of your vacation days. A large number of US workers lose essential time with their family or with themselves because they don’t take all of their vacation days, or in worst cases, don’t have any vacation days at all. If you feel uncomfortable about using all your holiday in one long vacation, schedule the occasional day off here and there to enjoy “stay-cations.” Breaking it up like this will give you the mental health days you need while ensuring you don’t come back to an overwhelming mountain of work.

Develop Your People

Many of us grew up hearing, “If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.” Unfortunately, this gets ingrained to the point where we feel we can’t delegate any tasks lest they end up back in our laps in worse shape than before. If you have employees you manage or freelancers you outsource to, take the time to develop them well. Make sure they know exactly how to do things. Of course, this will take time upfront. But, once they understand your requirements, you’ll be able to hand off more work and give yourself some slack.

Learning To Reflect

At this time of year we all tend to be a little more reflective as we think back over the year that has gone and ponder what is to come. I know I have certainly found myself reflecting on the experiences, challenges and opportunities that 2018 has presented and am looking forward to hopefully securing a new role as a Learning and Development Manager early in the New Year.

Sometimes when we reflect we can focus on the negatives and that can be worthwhile if we look at the learning from those experiences. However, we also need to ensure that we reflect on the positives as well and again take the learning from them into the year ahead. But how do you become more self-reflective or if this is a new idea for you how do you start?

Being self-reflective simply means that you look inside yourself to find out what you could do differently. When you are more self-reflective, you tend to have strong emotional intelligence, act with integrity always, and be a lot more confident due to that. To become more self-reflective, you may want to do some self-reflective exercises.

Positive Affirmations – It may help to write down as many positive affirmations as you can on strips of paper. Put them in a jar. Whenever you need to think positively about yourself, just pull out one of them and focus on what it says. You don’t really have to write them down, though; you can tell yourself positive affirmations about any situation that is currently happening in order to relax and look inward.
Meditate – The practice of meditation where you sit and empty your mind for a period will help you become more mindful. The act of clearing your mind will bring things to your mind that you need to attend to later. But, for now, when you meditate, take a few minutes to think of nothing and to totally clear your mind of everything but your breathing method.
Create a Vision Board – One way to reflect is to create a vision board about your hopes and dreams. You can even create one after the fact of something that happened, as a way to process the event and work through any issues that occurred.
Ask Yourself Questions – “What could I do better next time?” It doesn’t matter what the situation is, but if you can ask and answer this question, you’re going to give yourself great insight – especially if you remember this when you’re in a similar situation.
Keep a Bullet Journal – A bullet journal is where you write down just words to remember what happened instead of sentences. When you need to reflect on something, you can look back at past entries. When you need to reflect on the future, you can project positive entries.

These exercises can help you look into yourself in a different way. You’ll feel more competent, useful, and grateful in life when you do these self-reflective exercises designed to look inside your mind in a gentle and positive way.

The Importance of Good Self-Care

In my previous post I touched on the importance of good self-care and I want to explore that a little more. The evidence from my research shows that people who have high self-confidence tend to take really good care of themselves.

They are good at self-care and make it a priority in their lives. This can feel strange to some people who weren’t taught that growing up, and it can seem self-centered. But the truth is, it’s not. You have to take care of yourself because honestly, you’re the only one who really can.

Your Happiness Depends on It – You are the only person who truly knows who you are, what you want, and why. Essentially, every single one of us is alone with our own thoughts, morals, and actions. They affect us the most when we put ourselves last. If you want to be happy, you must not just be good to others but be good to yourself too.

Your Health Depends on It – When you are focused on self-care, you’re also focused on being healthy, eating right, exercising, and staying hydrated. Being healthy means that you take care of yourself and put your health needs before the wants of others, or even your own destructive wants. It’s the highest form of self-love.

You Can’t Help Others Unless You Help You First – By now you’ve heard the story that the flight attendant shares if you’ve been on a plane or watched a movie. If the oxygen mask comes down, you must put yours on first before you can take care of someone else’s mask. The reason is that without oxygen you will pass out and you can’t help anyone if you’re not there. If you’re not putting yourself as a priority for the things you need in life, you won’t be good for anyone else.

You Become More Likable – It may seem counter-intuitive but when you practice self-care, people tend to like you more. That’s because you will have a different attitude. You’ll seem well rested, well fed, and relaxed. Plus, when you are happy, it spreads like wildfire and makes others happy too. People like people due to how they feel when they’re around them.

You’re Worth It – The main thing to remember is that you are worth the self-care that you give yourself. You should take care of yourself as well as you would any child, an aging parent, or friend. You’re your best friend and your best advocate, and sometimes the only one who can make the choices.

When you want to be more self-confident, taking care of your needs is the first step. When you are happy, healthy, and less stressed out because you give yourself the time and effort you need, you will simply be happier. When you are happier, you will appear more self-confident and more people will gravitate toward you because of that.