Personal presentation is all about marketing YOU, the brand that is you. What others see you do and hear you say will influence their opinion of you – so personal presentation is about painting yourself in as positive a light as possible – always.
Organisations spend a lot of time and money working on their image, developing their brand and producing as many positive signals as possible. Staff in organisations should know that everything they do is marketing for the organisation, every email they send, every phone call they take, every time they interact with a client or customer. Organisations also spend a lot of time and money recruiting and training the right kind of people to project the right kind of image.
This section of SkillsYouNeed is designed to help you gain more confidence and expertise in presenting yourself positively. Although personal presentation is key in one-to-one situations such as a conversation, in a group situation such as a meeting, or when giving a presentation such as a talk or speech it is also important in less formal situations, when socialising with friends, for example. How people perceive you is important to communication and you should always aim to be viewed as positively and confidently as possible.
Effective Communication
Personal presentation is about you and how you present yourself in everyday situations. However, personal presentation always involves at least two people - the person presenting themselves (you) and the person receiving the presentation. It can therefore be described as an interaction.
Personal presentation is concerned with conveying appropriate signals for the situation and for the other individuals involved. People who lack self-esteem and confidence may fail to convey their message effectively or fully utilise their skills and abilities because of the way they present themselves. By improving your personal presentation you improve your communication skills and reduce barriers to understanding. Everybody presents themselves differently and most can improve their personal presentation.
Personal presentation is about learning about yourself, being inner-directed and accepting of who you are, your positives and your negatives, and being comfortable with yourself. Personal presentation is not about being self-conscious or overly concerned with what others think about you.
Effective Speaking
Your voice says a lot about you and learning how to use it more effectively has many benefits. Our Effective Speaking page examines aspects of your voice, accent, tone, pitch, volume and encourages you to learn more about your voice and how you use it to its full potential. Learn to communicate more dynamically, fluently and with passion and enthusiasm.
Personal Appearance
The way you dress and take care of your general appearance are important factors in personal presentation, what messages does the way you dress send to others? Your personal appearance also includes the body language, gestures and other non-verbal messages that you use. By being aware of positive and negative non-verbal signals you can improve your image and the way people perceive you.
Time Management:
If you don't manage your time wisely you are less likely to be able to get everything done effectively. You are also more likely to be disorganised and run late for meetings or other appointments. Poor time management has an effect on how you are perceived by others. Learn some simple techniques to help you improve your time management skills, get more done and avoid being late.
Resource: skillsyouneed.com
Thứ Tư, 24 tháng 8, 2016
Thứ Ba, 23 tháng 8, 2016
Emotional Intelligence
Many of us are aware of IQ (Intelligence Quotient). Designed to measure intellectual intelligence, it gives a score from a series of tests. Higher IQs indicate better cognitive abilities, or the ability to learn and understand. People with higher IQs are more likely to do well academically without exerting the same amount of mental effort as those with lower IQ scores.
A logical assumption, therefore, is that people with higher IQs will be more successful at work and through life. This assumption has been proven incorrect – there is more to success than simply being ‘clever’.
Benefits of Higher Emotional Intelligence
People with higher emotional intelligence find it easier to form and maintain interpersonal relationships and to ‘fit in’ to group situations.
People with higher emotional intelligence are also better at understanding their own psychological state, which can include managing stress effectively and being less likely to suffer from depression.
There is no correlation between IQ and EI scores.
In other words, academic aptitude (IQ) has no connection with how people understand and deal with their emotions and the emotions of others (EI). This makes perfect sense: we’ve all met very clever people who nonetheless had no idea about how to deal with people, and the reverse.
Some people have high IQs and low emotional intelligence and vice versa, while some people score highly on both and some do not.
IQ and emotional intelligence attempt to measure different forms of human intelligence; along with personality, these measures make up an individual’s psyche.
Emotional intelligence is the one part of the human psyche that we can develop and improve by learning and practising new skills. You can learn more about these skills from the many pages here at SkillsYouNeed. IQ and personality are more static measures and likely to stay reasonably constant throughout life (although you can develop your ability to complete IQ tests very successfully).
For more about personality types, you may be interested in our pages on Myers-Briggs Type Indicators (MBTI) and MBTI in Practice.
You can find many different tests to help you measure your IQ, EI and personality online and in books. Emotional intelligence tests require that the person taking the test answers questions honestly and it is therefore a lot easier to ‘cheat’ at an EI test than it is an IQ test.
Ultimately emotional intelligence can only be measured by how an individual progresses through life - developing meaningful relationships with others, their interpersonal skills and understanding, their ability to manage their own emotions, and their personal skills.
Elements of Emotional Intelligence
Daniel Goleman divided Emotional Intelligence into ‘Personal’ and ‘Social’ competences, which broadly split between personal and interpersonal skills on SkillsYouNeed. Within each of these sections are a range of skills which are the elements of emotional intelligence.
Personal Skills or Competences
There are three areas of personal skills or competences in emotional intelligence.
1. Self-awareness
Self-awareness encompasses:
Emotional awareness
Accurate self-assessment
Self-confidence
Self-awareness is the skill of being aware of and understanding your emotions as they occur and as they evolve. It is wrong to think of emotions as either positive or negative. Instead, you should think of them as appropriate or inappropriate.
For example, anger is usually associated with being a negative emotion. However, it can be a completely reasonable and appropriate emotion in certain circumstances – emotional intelligence allows us to recognise our anger and understand why this emotion has occurred.
Effective self-assessment of feelings and emotions will help to improve your confidence and self-esteem.
See our pages on Self-Awareness and Confidence for more.
2. Self-regulation or Self-management
Self-regulation includes:
Self-control
Trustworthiness
Conscientiousness
Adaptability
Innovation
Having learned to be aware of your emotions, the skill of self-regulation relates to managing them appropriately and proportionately.
Self-management skills relate to the emotions you are feeling at any given time or in any given circumstance and how well you manage them. Self-control is a fundamental part of this, but other aspects relate to what you then do: whether you behave in a way which is recognised as ‘good’ or ‘virtuous’ or not.
See our page on Self-Regulation for more.
Motivation
The final personal skills aspect of emotional intelligence is Motivation.
Self-motivation includes our personal drive to improve and achieve, commitment to our goals, initiative, or readiness to act on opportunities, and optimism and resilience.
Self-motivation and personal time management are key skills in this area. Do not make unreasonable demands on yourself, learn to be assertive rather than just saying, ‘Yes’ to the demands of others.
See our pages on Self-Motivation and Time Management for guidance and best practice.
Social or Interpersonal Skills or Competences
Interpersonal skills are the skills we use to interact with other people. They enable us to communicate appropriately and build stronger, more meaningful relationships. Emotional intelligence includes how we understand others and their emotions, and our actions and behaviours towards them.
There are two key aspects.
1. Empathy
Empathy is an awareness of the needs and feelings of others both individually and in groups, and being able to see things from the point of view of others.
Empathy helps us to develop a stronger understanding of other people’s situations.
It includes understanding others, developing others, having a service orientation, leveraging diversity, and political awareness.
Empathy can often be difficult to achieve. Learn to listen effectively to both the verbal and non-verbal messages of others, including body movements, gestures and physical signs of emotion. Use questions to find out more about other people and what they are feeling, and feedback to clarify that you have correctly understood their feelings. Acknowledge and respect the feelings of others even if you disagree, and avoid making comments or statements that are judgemental, belittling, rejecting or undermining.
See our page on Empathy for more.
2. Social Skills
Social skills encompasses a wide range of relationship and interpersonal skills. These range from leadership through to influencing and persuading, and managing conflict, as well as working in a team.
The term ‘social skills’ covers a wide variety of skills and competencies, many of which are rooted in self-esteem and personal confidence. By developing your social skills, being easy to talk to, being a good listener, being sharing and trustworthy, you also become more charismatic and attractive to others.
This in turn improves self-esteem and confidence which makes it easier for positive personal dialogue and a greater understanding and acceptance of your own emotions.
Resource: skillsyouneed.com
A logical assumption, therefore, is that people with higher IQs will be more successful at work and through life. This assumption has been proven incorrect – there is more to success than simply being ‘clever’.
Benefits of Higher Emotional Intelligence
People with higher emotional intelligence find it easier to form and maintain interpersonal relationships and to ‘fit in’ to group situations.
People with higher emotional intelligence are also better at understanding their own psychological state, which can include managing stress effectively and being less likely to suffer from depression.
There is no correlation between IQ and EI scores.
In other words, academic aptitude (IQ) has no connection with how people understand and deal with their emotions and the emotions of others (EI). This makes perfect sense: we’ve all met very clever people who nonetheless had no idea about how to deal with people, and the reverse.
Some people have high IQs and low emotional intelligence and vice versa, while some people score highly on both and some do not.
IQ and emotional intelligence attempt to measure different forms of human intelligence; along with personality, these measures make up an individual’s psyche.
Emotional intelligence is the one part of the human psyche that we can develop and improve by learning and practising new skills. You can learn more about these skills from the many pages here at SkillsYouNeed. IQ and personality are more static measures and likely to stay reasonably constant throughout life (although you can develop your ability to complete IQ tests very successfully).
For more about personality types, you may be interested in our pages on Myers-Briggs Type Indicators (MBTI) and MBTI in Practice.
You can find many different tests to help you measure your IQ, EI and personality online and in books. Emotional intelligence tests require that the person taking the test answers questions honestly and it is therefore a lot easier to ‘cheat’ at an EI test than it is an IQ test.
Ultimately emotional intelligence can only be measured by how an individual progresses through life - developing meaningful relationships with others, their interpersonal skills and understanding, their ability to manage their own emotions, and their personal skills.
Elements of Emotional Intelligence
Daniel Goleman divided Emotional Intelligence into ‘Personal’ and ‘Social’ competences, which broadly split between personal and interpersonal skills on SkillsYouNeed. Within each of these sections are a range of skills which are the elements of emotional intelligence.
Personal Skills or Competences
There are three areas of personal skills or competences in emotional intelligence.
1. Self-awareness
Self-awareness encompasses:
Emotional awareness
Accurate self-assessment
Self-confidence
Self-awareness is the skill of being aware of and understanding your emotions as they occur and as they evolve. It is wrong to think of emotions as either positive or negative. Instead, you should think of them as appropriate or inappropriate.
For example, anger is usually associated with being a negative emotion. However, it can be a completely reasonable and appropriate emotion in certain circumstances – emotional intelligence allows us to recognise our anger and understand why this emotion has occurred.
Effective self-assessment of feelings and emotions will help to improve your confidence and self-esteem.
See our pages on Self-Awareness and Confidence for more.
2. Self-regulation or Self-management
Self-regulation includes:
Self-control
Trustworthiness
Conscientiousness
Adaptability
Innovation
Having learned to be aware of your emotions, the skill of self-regulation relates to managing them appropriately and proportionately.
Self-management skills relate to the emotions you are feeling at any given time or in any given circumstance and how well you manage them. Self-control is a fundamental part of this, but other aspects relate to what you then do: whether you behave in a way which is recognised as ‘good’ or ‘virtuous’ or not.
See our page on Self-Regulation for more.
Motivation
The final personal skills aspect of emotional intelligence is Motivation.
Self-motivation includes our personal drive to improve and achieve, commitment to our goals, initiative, or readiness to act on opportunities, and optimism and resilience.
Self-motivation and personal time management are key skills in this area. Do not make unreasonable demands on yourself, learn to be assertive rather than just saying, ‘Yes’ to the demands of others.
See our pages on Self-Motivation and Time Management for guidance and best practice.
Social or Interpersonal Skills or Competences
Interpersonal skills are the skills we use to interact with other people. They enable us to communicate appropriately and build stronger, more meaningful relationships. Emotional intelligence includes how we understand others and their emotions, and our actions and behaviours towards them.
There are two key aspects.
1. Empathy
Empathy is an awareness of the needs and feelings of others both individually and in groups, and being able to see things from the point of view of others.
Empathy helps us to develop a stronger understanding of other people’s situations.
It includes understanding others, developing others, having a service orientation, leveraging diversity, and political awareness.
Empathy can often be difficult to achieve. Learn to listen effectively to both the verbal and non-verbal messages of others, including body movements, gestures and physical signs of emotion. Use questions to find out more about other people and what they are feeling, and feedback to clarify that you have correctly understood their feelings. Acknowledge and respect the feelings of others even if you disagree, and avoid making comments or statements that are judgemental, belittling, rejecting or undermining.
See our page on Empathy for more.
2. Social Skills
Social skills encompasses a wide range of relationship and interpersonal skills. These range from leadership through to influencing and persuading, and managing conflict, as well as working in a team.
The term ‘social skills’ covers a wide variety of skills and competencies, many of which are rooted in self-esteem and personal confidence. By developing your social skills, being easy to talk to, being a good listener, being sharing and trustworthy, you also become more charismatic and attractive to others.
This in turn improves self-esteem and confidence which makes it easier for positive personal dialogue and a greater understanding and acceptance of your own emotions.
Resource: skillsyouneed.com
Introducing Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)
What is Neuro-Linguistic Programming?
Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP, provides practical ways in which you can change the way that you think, view past events, and approach your life.
Neuro-Linguistic Programming shows you how to take control of your mind, and therefore your life. Unlike psychoanalysis, which focuses on the ‘why’, NLP is very practical and focuses on the ‘how’.
Taking Control of Your Mind: The Principle Behind NLP
NLP works from the starting point that you may not control much in your life, but that you can always take control of what goes on in your head.
Your thoughts, feelings and emotions are not things that are, or that you have, but things that you do. Their causes can often be very complicated, involving, for instance, comments or beliefs from your parents or teachers, or events that you have experienced.
NLP shows you how you can take control of these beliefs and influences. Using mind techniques such as visualisation, you can change the way that you think and feel about past events, fears and even phobias.
What is Neuro-Linguistic Programming?
Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP, provides practical ways in which you can change the way that you think, view past events, and approach your life.
Neuro-Linguistic Programming shows you how to take control of your mind, and therefore your life. Unlike psychoanalysis, which focuses on the ‘why’, NLP is very practical and focuses on the ‘how’.
How NLP Began
NLP was co-created by Richard Bandler, who noticed that conventional psychotherapy techniques didn’t always work and was interested in trying different ways. He worked closely with a very successful therapist called Virginia Satir, and NLP was born from the techniques that really worked with patients and others.
Richard Bandler has written many books about NLP. One of the most helpful as a basic introduction is probably: How to Take Charge of Your Life: The User’s Guide to NLP, by Richard Bandler, Alessio Roberti and Owen Fitzpatrick.
Taking Control of Your Mind: The Principle Behind NLP
NLP works from the starting point that you may not control much in your life, but that you can always take control of what goes on in your head.
Your thoughts, feelings and emotions are not things that are, or that you have, but things that you do. Their causes can often be very complicated, involving, for instance, comments or beliefs from your parents or teachers, or events that you have experienced.
NLP shows you how you can take control of these beliefs and influences. Using mind techniques such as visualisation, you can change the way that you think and feel about past events, fears and even phobias.
You can’t always control what happens, but you can always control how you deal with it
Richard Bandler, Alessio Roberti and Owen Fitzpatrick, How to Take Charge of Your Life: The User’s Guide to NLP
The Power of Belief
What you believe can be extremely powerful.
If you believe you’re ill and that you’re going to die, you probably will: witch doctors have been using this technique for centuries.
Likewise, if you believe that you have been given something that will make you better, you often do get better. This ‘placebo effect’ is well-documented in clinical trials.
What this boils down to is that if you believe you can do something, you probably can. But you can also challenge limiting beliefs, and change whether you believe you can do something by asking yourself questions like:
How do I know I can’t do that?
Who said that to me? Might they have been wrong?
Goal Setting
We’re all familiar with the principles of goal-setting, but NLP suggests some interesting new insights, focusing on satisfaction, not dissatisfaction.
For example, it’s helpful to make your goals positive; focus on what you want to have, not what you’d like to lose or not have. You should also think about what it is that you really want. For example, you don’t actually want to buy your dream house, you want to live in it. It’s much easier to get motivated about a goal that really satisfies you.
The Power of Questions
Bandler suggests that our minds actively look for answers to questions.
So if you ask yourself ‘Why do I feel so bad?’, your mind will find lots of answers and you will feel worse. With NLP the key is to ask the right questions, for example:
Why do I want to change?
What will life be like when I have changed?
What do I need to do more/less of in order to change?
Questions like these naturally lead to a more positive outlook.
ome Tools and Techniques from NLP
There are many tools and techniques used in NLP and this section gives a brief introduction to a few.
To find out more, you could go on a reputable NLP course, or read one of Richard Bandler’s books.
Moving images
Imagine an image of someone who annoys you. Concentrate on how the picture appears in your mind.
Make the image smaller, put it in black and white, and imagine it moving away from you. Notice how this makes you feel.
Imagine a picture of something that makes you feel good. Make it bigger and brighter, and move it closer to you. Notice how this makes you feel.
The idea behind this thought process is that it helps you see how people or events affect you and understand the way you feel about them.
By manipulating images in this way, you are teaching your brain to magnify good feelings and make bad feelings weaker.
Resource: skillsyouneed.com
Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP, provides practical ways in which you can change the way that you think, view past events, and approach your life.
Neuro-Linguistic Programming shows you how to take control of your mind, and therefore your life. Unlike psychoanalysis, which focuses on the ‘why’, NLP is very practical and focuses on the ‘how’.
Taking Control of Your Mind: The Principle Behind NLP
NLP works from the starting point that you may not control much in your life, but that you can always take control of what goes on in your head.
Your thoughts, feelings and emotions are not things that are, or that you have, but things that you do. Their causes can often be very complicated, involving, for instance, comments or beliefs from your parents or teachers, or events that you have experienced.
NLP shows you how you can take control of these beliefs and influences. Using mind techniques such as visualisation, you can change the way that you think and feel about past events, fears and even phobias.
What is Neuro-Linguistic Programming?
Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP, provides practical ways in which you can change the way that you think, view past events, and approach your life.
Neuro-Linguistic Programming shows you how to take control of your mind, and therefore your life. Unlike psychoanalysis, which focuses on the ‘why’, NLP is very practical and focuses on the ‘how’.
How NLP Began
NLP was co-created by Richard Bandler, who noticed that conventional psychotherapy techniques didn’t always work and was interested in trying different ways. He worked closely with a very successful therapist called Virginia Satir, and NLP was born from the techniques that really worked with patients and others.
Richard Bandler has written many books about NLP. One of the most helpful as a basic introduction is probably: How to Take Charge of Your Life: The User’s Guide to NLP, by Richard Bandler, Alessio Roberti and Owen Fitzpatrick.
Taking Control of Your Mind: The Principle Behind NLP
NLP works from the starting point that you may not control much in your life, but that you can always take control of what goes on in your head.
Your thoughts, feelings and emotions are not things that are, or that you have, but things that you do. Their causes can often be very complicated, involving, for instance, comments or beliefs from your parents or teachers, or events that you have experienced.
NLP shows you how you can take control of these beliefs and influences. Using mind techniques such as visualisation, you can change the way that you think and feel about past events, fears and even phobias.
You can’t always control what happens, but you can always control how you deal with it
Richard Bandler, Alessio Roberti and Owen Fitzpatrick, How to Take Charge of Your Life: The User’s Guide to NLP
The Power of Belief
What you believe can be extremely powerful.
If you believe you’re ill and that you’re going to die, you probably will: witch doctors have been using this technique for centuries.
Likewise, if you believe that you have been given something that will make you better, you often do get better. This ‘placebo effect’ is well-documented in clinical trials.
What this boils down to is that if you believe you can do something, you probably can. But you can also challenge limiting beliefs, and change whether you believe you can do something by asking yourself questions like:
How do I know I can’t do that?
Who said that to me? Might they have been wrong?
Goal Setting
We’re all familiar with the principles of goal-setting, but NLP suggests some interesting new insights, focusing on satisfaction, not dissatisfaction.
For example, it’s helpful to make your goals positive; focus on what you want to have, not what you’d like to lose or not have. You should also think about what it is that you really want. For example, you don’t actually want to buy your dream house, you want to live in it. It’s much easier to get motivated about a goal that really satisfies you.
The Power of Questions
Bandler suggests that our minds actively look for answers to questions.
So if you ask yourself ‘Why do I feel so bad?’, your mind will find lots of answers and you will feel worse. With NLP the key is to ask the right questions, for example:
Why do I want to change?
What will life be like when I have changed?
What do I need to do more/less of in order to change?
Questions like these naturally lead to a more positive outlook.
ome Tools and Techniques from NLP
There are many tools and techniques used in NLP and this section gives a brief introduction to a few.
To find out more, you could go on a reputable NLP course, or read one of Richard Bandler’s books.
Moving images
Imagine an image of someone who annoys you. Concentrate on how the picture appears in your mind.
Make the image smaller, put it in black and white, and imagine it moving away from you. Notice how this makes you feel.
Imagine a picture of something that makes you feel good. Make it bigger and brighter, and move it closer to you. Notice how this makes you feel.
The idea behind this thought process is that it helps you see how people or events affect you and understand the way you feel about them.
By manipulating images in this way, you are teaching your brain to magnify good feelings and make bad feelings weaker.
Resource: skillsyouneed.com
Creative Thinking Skills
How is it that some people always seem to be able to generate new ideas and think creatively, and others seem to struggle to do so?
Regardless of whether you view yourself as a creative type or not, you can learn some useful skills and techniques which will enable you to tap into that creative ‘right brain’ thinking and bring a new perspective to innovation, problem-solving and managing change.
Although at first glance, creative thinking techniques may sometimes look a bit ridiculous, there are good principles behind most of them. However sceptical you may be about their potential, it’s a good idea to approach them with an open mind. You may be surprised by the results.
This page gives information about a few of the many techniques available.
Brainstorming is the often-maligned practice of getting a group of people together and generating ideas.
It’s generally agreed that the rules of brainstorming, at least in the initial stages, include:
Everyone having a say
All ideas being equally valued
No criticism of other people's ideas is allowed
There are at least a couple of different ways that brainstorming sessions can be run:
Everyone follows up an initial idea, feeding off it to generate new ones, until an end point is reached on that idea, at which point the group turns to a new idea and does the same.
Participants are encouraged to come up with more free-flow generation of unconnected ideas that can then be grouped and themed later.
It is also generally agreed that following an initial period of open brainstorming, there needs to be a period of idea evaluation where questions are asked and criticisms are made. This allows for initial ideas to be explored in more detail and accepted for further investigation or discarded.
Many people also use this opportunity to group ideas by theme to make exploration easier since, often, a lot of the ideas will be linked.
The principle behind brainstorming is Linus Pauling’s point that most ideas are not very good. So the best way to have a good idea is to generate lots of ideas, then discard the impractical and inappropriate ideas. The trouble is that there is no scientific formula for the number of ideas you need to generate to find a good one, or even a guarantee that you’ll be able to find a good one at all.
It is important to set aside plenty of time for brainstorming, and to keep exploring even when you think you’ve found a good idea: the first idea is very seldom the best.
Engaging your Right Brain
Much research has been done over the years on the way in which the two sides of the brain work differently.
The left side of the brain is supposedly focused on logic and order.
The right side of the brain focused on the more 'messy', creative and innovative aspects.
Although this is a rather extreme view, there does seem to be evidence that doing physical activities that engage the creative areas of your brain can help you think differently.
One fairly simple way to do this is by drawing or creating something in three dimensions, perhaps using junk-modelling or balloons and post-it notes. This can be an individual or group activity, to aid either your own or everyone’s thinking processes.
Being able to draw is not a prerequisite to this approach. It’s the activity, not the precise form at the end, that’s important.
Role-Play Situations
Role-play situations are probably the 'Marmite' of management development courses: you either love them or you hate them. But love them or hate them, they can have some dramatic results.
‘Role-play’, does not just include the basic ‘pretend I’m your customer’-type role-plays, or even ‘walk around the room trying to channel an animal’-type exercises, which rightly or wrongly are often regarded as something of a waste of time.
Role-play situations also cover other, more radical and powerful ideas such as Richard Olivier’s Mythodrama, which explores leadership through the medium of Shakespeare’s plays. Olivier found using Henry V as a management textbook opens up some interesting ideas, and there is more about his ideas on our page on Leadership Styles.
The term ‘role-play’ also encompasses Business Constellations.
Business Constellations is a technique emerging from family therapy, which allows a group to explore the interrelationships within it by the use of actors or group members to represent particular individuals, not necessarily themselves.
One person starts by placing all the others in the room to show the way that they see the problem.
In turn, each person in the group then moves to where they see themselves fitting best. And of course, as each person moves, it affects the others in the group, who then want to move again.
The end point is reached when everyone is comfortable with their location within the group, and this represents the ‘shape’ of the group and the dynamics within it.
This is a very powerful technique, which can cause emotions to run high, so should only be undertaken with a trained practitioner to facilitate.
Even those qualified to lead this kind of role-play exercise, and who have done so many times, can often be surprised by their outcomes. There is something about pretending to be someone else and channelling someone else’s emotions which is astonishingly freeing and can lead to hugely creative thinking.
Resource: skillsyouneed.com
Regardless of whether you view yourself as a creative type or not, you can learn some useful skills and techniques which will enable you to tap into that creative ‘right brain’ thinking and bring a new perspective to innovation, problem-solving and managing change.
Although at first glance, creative thinking techniques may sometimes look a bit ridiculous, there are good principles behind most of them. However sceptical you may be about their potential, it’s a good idea to approach them with an open mind. You may be surprised by the results.
This page gives information about a few of the many techniques available.
Brainstorming is the often-maligned practice of getting a group of people together and generating ideas.
It’s generally agreed that the rules of brainstorming, at least in the initial stages, include:
Everyone having a say
All ideas being equally valued
No criticism of other people's ideas is allowed
There are at least a couple of different ways that brainstorming sessions can be run:
Everyone follows up an initial idea, feeding off it to generate new ones, until an end point is reached on that idea, at which point the group turns to a new idea and does the same.
Participants are encouraged to come up with more free-flow generation of unconnected ideas that can then be grouped and themed later.
It is also generally agreed that following an initial period of open brainstorming, there needs to be a period of idea evaluation where questions are asked and criticisms are made. This allows for initial ideas to be explored in more detail and accepted for further investigation or discarded.
Many people also use this opportunity to group ideas by theme to make exploration easier since, often, a lot of the ideas will be linked.
The principle behind brainstorming is Linus Pauling’s point that most ideas are not very good. So the best way to have a good idea is to generate lots of ideas, then discard the impractical and inappropriate ideas. The trouble is that there is no scientific formula for the number of ideas you need to generate to find a good one, or even a guarantee that you’ll be able to find a good one at all.
It is important to set aside plenty of time for brainstorming, and to keep exploring even when you think you’ve found a good idea: the first idea is very seldom the best.
Engaging your Right Brain
Much research has been done over the years on the way in which the two sides of the brain work differently.
The left side of the brain is supposedly focused on logic and order.
The right side of the brain focused on the more 'messy', creative and innovative aspects.
Although this is a rather extreme view, there does seem to be evidence that doing physical activities that engage the creative areas of your brain can help you think differently.
One fairly simple way to do this is by drawing or creating something in three dimensions, perhaps using junk-modelling or balloons and post-it notes. This can be an individual or group activity, to aid either your own or everyone’s thinking processes.
Being able to draw is not a prerequisite to this approach. It’s the activity, not the precise form at the end, that’s important.
Role-Play Situations
Role-play situations are probably the 'Marmite' of management development courses: you either love them or you hate them. But love them or hate them, they can have some dramatic results.
‘Role-play’, does not just include the basic ‘pretend I’m your customer’-type role-plays, or even ‘walk around the room trying to channel an animal’-type exercises, which rightly or wrongly are often regarded as something of a waste of time.
Role-play situations also cover other, more radical and powerful ideas such as Richard Olivier’s Mythodrama, which explores leadership through the medium of Shakespeare’s plays. Olivier found using Henry V as a management textbook opens up some interesting ideas, and there is more about his ideas on our page on Leadership Styles.
The term ‘role-play’ also encompasses Business Constellations.
Business Constellations is a technique emerging from family therapy, which allows a group to explore the interrelationships within it by the use of actors or group members to represent particular individuals, not necessarily themselves.
One person starts by placing all the others in the room to show the way that they see the problem.
In turn, each person in the group then moves to where they see themselves fitting best. And of course, as each person moves, it affects the others in the group, who then want to move again.
The end point is reached when everyone is comfortable with their location within the group, and this represents the ‘shape’ of the group and the dynamics within it.
This is a very powerful technique, which can cause emotions to run high, so should only be undertaken with a trained practitioner to facilitate.
Even those qualified to lead this kind of role-play exercise, and who have done so many times, can often be surprised by their outcomes. There is something about pretending to be someone else and channelling someone else’s emotions which is astonishingly freeing and can lead to hugely creative thinking.
Resource: skillsyouneed.com
Critical Thinking Skills
What is Critical Thinking?
Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally, understanding the logical connection between ideas. Critical thinking has been the subject of much debate and thought since the time of early Greek philosophers such as Plato and Socrates and has continued to be a subject of discussion into the modern age.
Critical thinking might be described as the ability to engage in reflective and independent thinking.
In essence, critical thinking requires you to use your ability to reason. It is about being an active learner rather than a passive recipient of information.
Critical thinkers rigorously question ideas and assumptions rather than accepting them at face value. They will always seek to determine whether the ideas, arguments and findings represent the entire picture and are open to finding that they do not.
Critical thinkers will identify, analyse and solve problems systematically rather than by intuition or instinct.
Someone with critical thinking skills can:
Understand the links between ideas.
Determine the importance and relevance of arguments and ideas.
Recognise, build and appraise arguments.
Identify inconsistencies and errors in reasoning.
Approach problems in a consistent and systematic way.
Reflect on the justification of their own assumptions, beliefs and values.
Critical thinking is thinking about things in certain ways so as to arrive at the best possible solution in the circumstances that the thinker is aware of. In more everyday language, it is a way of thinking about whatever is presently occupying your mind so that you come to the best possible conclusion.
The Skills We Need for Critical Thinking
The skills that we need in order to be able to think critically are varied and include observation, analysis, interpretation, reflection, evaluation, inference, explanation, problem solving, and decision making. Specifically we need to be able to:
Think about a topic or issue in an objective and critical way.
Identify the different arguments there are in relation to a particular issue.
Evaluate a point of view to determine how strong or valid it is.
Recognise any weaknesses or negative points that there are in the evidence or argument.
Notice what implications there might be behind a statement or argument.
Provide structured reasoning and support for an argument that we wish to make.
The Critical Thinking Process
You should be aware that none of us think critically all the time.
Sometimes we think in almost any way but critically, for example when our self-control is affected by anger, grief or joy or when we are feeling just plain ‘bloody minded’.
On the other hand, the good news is that, since our critical thinking ability varies according to our current mindset, most of the time we can learn to improve our critical thinking ability by developing certain routine activities and applying them to all problems that present themselves.
Once you understand the theory of critical thinking, improving your critical thinking skills takes persistence and practice.
Try this simple exercise to help you to start thinking critically.
What are you Aiming to Achieve?
One of the most important aspects of critical thinking is to decide what you are aiming to achieve and then make a decision based on a range of possibilities.
Once you have clarified that aim for yourself you should use it as the starting point in all future situations requiring thought and, possibly, further decision making. Where needed, make your workmates, family or those around you aware of your intention to pursue this goal. You must then discipline yourself to keep on track until changing circumstances mean you have to revisit the start of the decision making process.
However, there are things that get in the way of simple decision making. We all carry with us a range of likes and dislikes, learnt behaviours and personal preferences developed throughout our lives; they are the hallmarks of being human. A major contribution to ensuring we think critically is to be aware of these personal characteristics, preferences and biases and make allowance for them when considering possible next steps, whether they are at the pre-action consideration stage or as part of a rethink caused by unexpected or unforeseen impediments to continued progress.
The more clearly we are aware of ourselves, our strengths and weaknesses, the more likely our critical thinking will be productive.
The Benefit of Foresight
Perhaps the most important element of thinking critically is foresight.
Almost all decisions we make and implement don’t prove disastrous if we find reasons to abandon them. However, our decision making will be infinitely better and more likely to lead to success if, when we reach a tentative conclusion, we pause and consider the impact on the people and activities around us.
The elements needing consideration are generally numerous and varied. In many cases, consideration of one element from a different perspective will reveal potential dangers in pursuing our decision.
For instance, moving a business activity to a new location may improve potential output considerably but it may also lead to the loss of skilled workers if the distance moved is too great. Which of these is the more important consideration? Is there some way of lessening the conflict?
These are the sort of problems that may arise from incomplete critical thinking, a demonstration perhaps of the critical importance of good critical thinking.
Resource: skillsyouneed.com
Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally, understanding the logical connection between ideas. Critical thinking has been the subject of much debate and thought since the time of early Greek philosophers such as Plato and Socrates and has continued to be a subject of discussion into the modern age.
Critical thinking might be described as the ability to engage in reflective and independent thinking.
In essence, critical thinking requires you to use your ability to reason. It is about being an active learner rather than a passive recipient of information.
Critical thinkers rigorously question ideas and assumptions rather than accepting them at face value. They will always seek to determine whether the ideas, arguments and findings represent the entire picture and are open to finding that they do not.
Critical thinkers will identify, analyse and solve problems systematically rather than by intuition or instinct.
Someone with critical thinking skills can:
Understand the links between ideas.
Determine the importance and relevance of arguments and ideas.
Recognise, build and appraise arguments.
Identify inconsistencies and errors in reasoning.
Approach problems in a consistent and systematic way.
Reflect on the justification of their own assumptions, beliefs and values.
Critical thinking is thinking about things in certain ways so as to arrive at the best possible solution in the circumstances that the thinker is aware of. In more everyday language, it is a way of thinking about whatever is presently occupying your mind so that you come to the best possible conclusion.
The Skills We Need for Critical Thinking
The skills that we need in order to be able to think critically are varied and include observation, analysis, interpretation, reflection, evaluation, inference, explanation, problem solving, and decision making. Specifically we need to be able to:
Think about a topic or issue in an objective and critical way.
Identify the different arguments there are in relation to a particular issue.
Evaluate a point of view to determine how strong or valid it is.
Recognise any weaknesses or negative points that there are in the evidence or argument.
Notice what implications there might be behind a statement or argument.
Provide structured reasoning and support for an argument that we wish to make.
The Critical Thinking Process
You should be aware that none of us think critically all the time.
Sometimes we think in almost any way but critically, for example when our self-control is affected by anger, grief or joy or when we are feeling just plain ‘bloody minded’.
On the other hand, the good news is that, since our critical thinking ability varies according to our current mindset, most of the time we can learn to improve our critical thinking ability by developing certain routine activities and applying them to all problems that present themselves.
Once you understand the theory of critical thinking, improving your critical thinking skills takes persistence and practice.
Try this simple exercise to help you to start thinking critically.
What are you Aiming to Achieve?
One of the most important aspects of critical thinking is to decide what you are aiming to achieve and then make a decision based on a range of possibilities.
Once you have clarified that aim for yourself you should use it as the starting point in all future situations requiring thought and, possibly, further decision making. Where needed, make your workmates, family or those around you aware of your intention to pursue this goal. You must then discipline yourself to keep on track until changing circumstances mean you have to revisit the start of the decision making process.
However, there are things that get in the way of simple decision making. We all carry with us a range of likes and dislikes, learnt behaviours and personal preferences developed throughout our lives; they are the hallmarks of being human. A major contribution to ensuring we think critically is to be aware of these personal characteristics, preferences and biases and make allowance for them when considering possible next steps, whether they are at the pre-action consideration stage or as part of a rethink caused by unexpected or unforeseen impediments to continued progress.
The more clearly we are aware of ourselves, our strengths and weaknesses, the more likely our critical thinking will be productive.
The Benefit of Foresight
Perhaps the most important element of thinking critically is foresight.
Almost all decisions we make and implement don’t prove disastrous if we find reasons to abandon them. However, our decision making will be infinitely better and more likely to lead to success if, when we reach a tentative conclusion, we pause and consider the impact on the people and activities around us.
The elements needing consideration are generally numerous and varied. In many cases, consideration of one element from a different perspective will reveal potential dangers in pursuing our decision.
For instance, moving a business activity to a new location may improve potential output considerably but it may also lead to the loss of skilled workers if the distance moved is too great. Which of these is the more important consideration? Is there some way of lessening the conflict?
These are the sort of problems that may arise from incomplete critical thinking, a demonstration perhaps of the critical importance of good critical thinking.
Resource: skillsyouneed.com
Thứ Hai, 22 tháng 8, 2016
Memory Skills
Many people complain that their ability to remember things declines with age. But the onset of ‘senior moments’ is not inevitable, as is sometimes suggested.
Being able to remember is a skill that can be improved by practice. It is perhaps more likely that the reason that memory declines with age is that we stop practising.
This page sets out some ideas to help you improve your memory skills, and explains what you can do to develop a better memory.
How Memory Works
The mechanism for memory is unknown, like much of the way the brain works. It does seem clear, however, that there are two types of memory, short-term and long-term.
Short-term memory is generally considered to be your day-to-day memory. Also known as ‘working memory’, it is where you keep information while you are using it, and until you either discard it or transfer it to your long-term memory.
Long-term memory is related to what you did in the past, sometimes going back years. But some of what is stored in your long-term memory may relate to more recent events. It is probably better considered a place where your brain stores information that it wants to keep.
Experts describe three types of long-term memory. These are:
Explicit, requiring conscious thought, which is what most of us have in mind when we talk about memory;
Implicit, relating to learnt activities that have become so natural that we no longer have to think about them; and
Autobiographical, relating to specific parts of our lives, some of which seem to be easier to remember than others.
Keeping Yourself Healthy
Perhaps the most important thing that you can do to maintain your memory is to keep yourself healthy. Nobody can operate at their best if they are feeling tired and rundown.
Areas for attention include:
Eating Well
There are certain foods that have a reputation for helping to improve brain function, but the evidence for this is mixed to say the least.
Eating a healthy and balanced diet will, however, be good for your general health and well-being, and enable you to function at your best.
For more about this, see our pages on Diet and Nutrition.
Sleep
The general consensus among scientists is that adults need about seven to nine hours’ sleep each night.
Of course getting less every now and then will not hurt you, but regular and serious sleep deprivation will seriously impair your mental performance, including your ability to remember important information. Scientists also think that sleep enables our brains to process events and help to turn them into memories, which is another reason why sleep is so important for good memory.
For more about this, see our pages: What is Sleep? and The Importance of Sleep.
Physical Exercise
The third aspect of physical health is getting enough exercise. As our page on Keeping your Mind Healthy explains, neuroscientists believe that exercise is crucial to brain health because of its effect on blood flow.
You may want to read more about the Importance of Exercise.
Alcohol, Smoking and Drug Abuse
It should probably go without saying that using chemicals that affect your mind, and this includes alcohol and nicotine as well as illegal drugs, is going to affect your memory. To keep your memory in good working order, it is as well to avoid excessive use of any such drugs.
Stress
As our pages on stress discuss, a little stress is good for you. But severe, prolonged stress can damage both your physical and mental health.
Exposure to the cocktail of hormones generated by stress will affect your ability to think more generally, never mind to remember. The phrase ‘My mind went blank’ is associated with stressful moments for a reason. Getting stress under control will help you to improve your memory.
There is more about all of these areas in our pages on Caring for Your Body and Keeping your Mind Healthy.
Memory-Specific Activity
Everything that we have mentioned so far could be said to improve your general health, both mental and physical.
But there are also specific activities that you can do to improve your memory and, perhaps more specifically, your ability to recall information
if you can’t remember something, you have not learned it.
They suggest that learning is more durable if it is harder. If you have to work hard to learn a new skill, it will stay with you for longer.
It seems likely that the brain is more prepared to retain something that has taken a lot of effort and energy.
The book contains some useful tips for improving your memory:
Retrieval: practise remembering the information or skill.
For example, when studying, a simple way to do this is to shut your eyes, and try to recite your notes or ideas, not simply read them over again.
Forcing ourselves to retrieve the information makes it easier to remember, because it is harder than simply reading it. It also strengthens the neural pathways associated with the concept.
Elaboration: expanding on what you know, and making connections.
Our brains really like connections between ideas. It makes them much easier to remember. This is one reason why it is easier to remember something that is related to a topic that you already know about, than a completely new idea.
It is therefore helpful to try to explain new ideas in your own words and/or describe how they relate to your existing knowledge.
Interleaving: working on various different subjects at the same time.
Thinking about different subjects, spending perhaps half an hour on each at a time, helps you to remember each better. This may be because it gives your brain a bit of a rest from each one, allowing your subconscious to work on it while you are thinking about something else. The authors of Make It Stick suggest that it goes back to our prehistoric past, and the need to assess a problem before you can find a solution.
Generation: working out the answer as you go.
Otherwise known as ‘thinking out loud’ or ‘making it up on the spot’, depending on your point of view, working things out from first principles helps you to remember them.
Reflection: review what happened.
Our page on Reflective Practice explains the benefits of thinking about and reviewing events more generally. But it seems that reflecting also helps you to fix the lessons from an experience in your mind.
Mnemonics: using tricks to trigger memory.
Mnemonics are phrases and tricks designed to trigger your memory. They include acronyms, such as ‘Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain’ to remember the colours of the rainbow or HOMES to remember the names of the Great Lakes.
Mnemonics can also be more complicated, such as making lists linked to images to assist recall.
Calibration: finding out what you don't know.
Calibration is a necessary part of learning. It is extremely difficult to learn anything if you don’t understand that you need to know it. Ways of calibrating include seeking out feedback, and taking tests.
You Don’t Need to Remember Everything!
Of course it is a good idea to improve your memory and recall, and the ideas on this page will help you to do so.
But it is as important to remember that you don’t have to remember everything in your head. Writing things down, for example, in ‘To Do’ lists, will free up your mind to remember the big things, and allow your memory to prioritise the most important.
Resource: skillsyouneed.com
Being able to remember is a skill that can be improved by practice. It is perhaps more likely that the reason that memory declines with age is that we stop practising.
This page sets out some ideas to help you improve your memory skills, and explains what you can do to develop a better memory.
How Memory Works
The mechanism for memory is unknown, like much of the way the brain works. It does seem clear, however, that there are two types of memory, short-term and long-term.
Short-term memory is generally considered to be your day-to-day memory. Also known as ‘working memory’, it is where you keep information while you are using it, and until you either discard it or transfer it to your long-term memory.
Long-term memory is related to what you did in the past, sometimes going back years. But some of what is stored in your long-term memory may relate to more recent events. It is probably better considered a place where your brain stores information that it wants to keep.
Experts describe three types of long-term memory. These are:
Explicit, requiring conscious thought, which is what most of us have in mind when we talk about memory;
Implicit, relating to learnt activities that have become so natural that we no longer have to think about them; and
Autobiographical, relating to specific parts of our lives, some of which seem to be easier to remember than others.
Keeping Yourself Healthy
Perhaps the most important thing that you can do to maintain your memory is to keep yourself healthy. Nobody can operate at their best if they are feeling tired and rundown.
Areas for attention include:
Eating Well
There are certain foods that have a reputation for helping to improve brain function, but the evidence for this is mixed to say the least.
Eating a healthy and balanced diet will, however, be good for your general health and well-being, and enable you to function at your best.
For more about this, see our pages on Diet and Nutrition.
Sleep
The general consensus among scientists is that adults need about seven to nine hours’ sleep each night.
Of course getting less every now and then will not hurt you, but regular and serious sleep deprivation will seriously impair your mental performance, including your ability to remember important information. Scientists also think that sleep enables our brains to process events and help to turn them into memories, which is another reason why sleep is so important for good memory.
For more about this, see our pages: What is Sleep? and The Importance of Sleep.
Physical Exercise
The third aspect of physical health is getting enough exercise. As our page on Keeping your Mind Healthy explains, neuroscientists believe that exercise is crucial to brain health because of its effect on blood flow.
You may want to read more about the Importance of Exercise.
Alcohol, Smoking and Drug Abuse
It should probably go without saying that using chemicals that affect your mind, and this includes alcohol and nicotine as well as illegal drugs, is going to affect your memory. To keep your memory in good working order, it is as well to avoid excessive use of any such drugs.
Stress
As our pages on stress discuss, a little stress is good for you. But severe, prolonged stress can damage both your physical and mental health.
Exposure to the cocktail of hormones generated by stress will affect your ability to think more generally, never mind to remember. The phrase ‘My mind went blank’ is associated with stressful moments for a reason. Getting stress under control will help you to improve your memory.
There is more about all of these areas in our pages on Caring for Your Body and Keeping your Mind Healthy.
Memory-Specific Activity
Everything that we have mentioned so far could be said to improve your general health, both mental and physical.
But there are also specific activities that you can do to improve your memory and, perhaps more specifically, your ability to recall information
if you can’t remember something, you have not learned it.
They suggest that learning is more durable if it is harder. If you have to work hard to learn a new skill, it will stay with you for longer.
It seems likely that the brain is more prepared to retain something that has taken a lot of effort and energy.
The book contains some useful tips for improving your memory:
Retrieval: practise remembering the information or skill.
For example, when studying, a simple way to do this is to shut your eyes, and try to recite your notes or ideas, not simply read them over again.
Forcing ourselves to retrieve the information makes it easier to remember, because it is harder than simply reading it. It also strengthens the neural pathways associated with the concept.
Elaboration: expanding on what you know, and making connections.
Our brains really like connections between ideas. It makes them much easier to remember. This is one reason why it is easier to remember something that is related to a topic that you already know about, than a completely new idea.
It is therefore helpful to try to explain new ideas in your own words and/or describe how they relate to your existing knowledge.
Interleaving: working on various different subjects at the same time.
Thinking about different subjects, spending perhaps half an hour on each at a time, helps you to remember each better. This may be because it gives your brain a bit of a rest from each one, allowing your subconscious to work on it while you are thinking about something else. The authors of Make It Stick suggest that it goes back to our prehistoric past, and the need to assess a problem before you can find a solution.
Generation: working out the answer as you go.
Otherwise known as ‘thinking out loud’ or ‘making it up on the spot’, depending on your point of view, working things out from first principles helps you to remember them.
Reflection: review what happened.
Our page on Reflective Practice explains the benefits of thinking about and reviewing events more generally. But it seems that reflecting also helps you to fix the lessons from an experience in your mind.
Mnemonics: using tricks to trigger memory.
Mnemonics are phrases and tricks designed to trigger your memory. They include acronyms, such as ‘Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain’ to remember the colours of the rainbow or HOMES to remember the names of the Great Lakes.
Mnemonics can also be more complicated, such as making lists linked to images to assist recall.
Calibration: finding out what you don't know.
Calibration is a necessary part of learning. It is extremely difficult to learn anything if you don’t understand that you need to know it. Ways of calibrating include seeking out feedback, and taking tests.
You Don’t Need to Remember Everything!
Of course it is a good idea to improve your memory and recall, and the ideas on this page will help you to do so.
But it is as important to remember that you don’t have to remember everything in your head. Writing things down, for example, in ‘To Do’ lists, will free up your mind to remember the big things, and allow your memory to prioritise the most important.
Resource: skillsyouneed.com
Setting Personal Goals
There is a strong correlation between self-motivation, personal goals and achievement.
In order to get properly motivated, and indeed to achieve, it helps to spend some time thinking about your personal goals and what you want to achieve in your life.
We all have an inbuilt desire to achieve.
What we want to achieve, however, is personal to us and may change through life. At school, for example, you may want to achieve good grades, then later you may want to pass your driving test or get a job.
It is important to set yourself clear goals if you wish to achieve your ambitions.
The Relationship between Motivation, Goals and Achievement
People want to know that they have achieved, or have the ability to achieve, something of value, meaning or importance.
Understanding the relationship between self-motivation, personal goal setting and achievement will help you set realistic personal goals, which in turn will allow you to achieve more in the longer term.
Personal goals can provide long-term direction and short-term motivation.
Goals help us to focus on what we want to be or where we want to go with our lives. They can be a way of utilising knowledge, and managing time and resources, so that you can focus on making the most of your life potential.
By setting clearly defined personal goals, you can measure your achievements and keep sight of your progress; if you fail to achieve at one step you can reassess your situation and try new approaches. Keeping your life goals clearly defined and updated as your circumstances change and evolve is one of the most powerful ways to keep yourself motivated throughout life.
Life Goals
It is important to remember, when thinking about what you would like to achieve in your life, that change is inevitable.
Your circumstances and priorities will change through your life. You may realise at the age of 40 that you are never going to be a concert pianist – as you had planned when you were 19. However, there will be other things that you can achieve instead, and you can still continue to improve your piano-playing and get pleasure from it.
See our page on Personal Change Management for more on coping with the inevitable changes in life.
When thinking about your lifetime goals, it is a good idea to make them challenging and exciting. Base them on your strengths but make them relevant to you and ultimately achievable.
It may be useful to categorise life goals:
Academic goals – what knowledge and/or qualifications do you want to achieve?
Career goals – where would you like your career to take you, what level do you want to reach?
Monetary goals – what do you aim to earn at a given point in your life?
Ethical goals – do you want to volunteer some of your time to a good cause or get involved in local events, politics etc.?
Creative goals – how do you want to progress creatively or artistically?
Domestic goals – how would you like your domestic life to be in the future?
Physical goals – do you want to develop your skill in a certain sport or other physical activity?
Once you have thought about your life goals, you can start to plan how best to achieve them. Set yourself smaller goals for the future. In ten years I will be… in five years I will be… etc.
Work out plans of action with smaller and smaller sub-goals until you can arrive at an action plan that you can start working on now.
Making Your Goals SMART:
It can be useful to make your goals and sub-goals fit the SMART criteria.
These are:
S
Specific
Make each goal specific, so you know exactly what it is.
Take some time to clearly define your goals and sub-goals, the more detail about what your goals are and how you intend to achieve them the better.
M
Measurable
Make each goal measurable so you know how you are progressing.
You need to be able to see how you are progressing to reaching your goals. What metrics can you use to measure your progress?
A
Attainable
Don’t set impossible goals, make sure each goal and sub-goal is attainable.
The larger the goal the more impossible it may seem but if you split it down into simple sub-goals then you will find each step is more attainable.
R
Relevant
Make your goals relevant.
Ensure your sub-goals are relevant to your life goals. Try not to set goals that don't ultimately help you to achieve your overall life goals.
T
Timed
Set time-limits or deadlines for each goal and sub-goal.
If you can set and stick to realistic deadlines then you'll avoid too much distraction or procrastination and keep yourself motivated.
Reviewing your Life Goals
As with anything in life, just setting goals is not enough.
You have to review your goals regularly, perhaps every few months, and certainly every year, to make sure that:
The goals are still relevant to what you want to achieve; and
You are on track to achieve them.
If not, you need to revise them, in line with your current situation.
Your goals need to motivate you and excite you
It doesn’t matter if you haven’t had as much time as you would have liked to devote to learning to play the piano; it does matter if you haven’t done anything towards it because you’re really not that bothered about it.
Resource: skillsyouneed.com
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