Nine Ways to Move up the Career Ladder at Work
http://www.fabulosamentelatina.com/success/work/index.html
Prevent Burnout
Help for Managing your Full Plate
Your burgeoning work load—not to mention the rest of your life—means you have a very full plate. But managing the mountains on your full plate just got easier! You have all the utensils on hand to more effectively handle those competing demands and conflicting priorities!
Read more….
https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=195973563775485
Got Guilt?
It’s amazing how quickly we can feel guilty, even for the most meaningless things in our lives. Many of my clients struggle with guilt but its purpose it simply to let us know when we’ve done something wrong, to help us develop a better sense of our behavior and how it affects ourselves and others. Guilt prompts us to re-examine our behavior so that we don’t end up making the same mistake twice. This article in Treasure Coast Parenting magazine offers 10 tips for busting the guilt. Hope it helps!
http://www.tcparenting.com/0411%20-%20April%20Webzine/index.html
see page 48-49
Coping with “To-Do” Overload
Research continues to show that we considerably perform better and faster when tasks are done sequentially rather than all at once, as in multitasking. Brain function diminishes as we work on projects simultaneously or switch between several different tasks.
Here are some quick tips to better cope with your overloaded to-do list:
- When mistakes matter, avoid multitasking!
- When you must multitask, choose what you want to execute quickly and (possibly) mindlessly rather than be able to absorb or concentrate on it.
- When you want to learn something new, focus on that one item.
- Pair different kinds of tasks rather than tasks that are relatively the same because same types use the same part of the brain and can easily lead to overwhelm or mistakes.
- Match tasks with different modalities, such as listening to music with no lyrics while reading instead of music with lyrics because the brain gets confused with too many words to process at once.
- Focus on each task’s relative importance. For example, rather than just playing a video game, pay attention to specific aspects of the game and then evaluate how well your performance improves in that area.
- Make at least one task routine. As you repeat a task, you increase your competence and confidence at completing it. If you repeat a set of skills over and over in exactly the same way, you are likely to get noticeably better.
Results tend to be worse when you multitask but in some cases, they’re especially compromised.
If the Job Fits…
If you’ve been unemployed, under-employed or just plain dissatisfied with your job, don’t let the feeling of desparation cloud your judgment or impair you from making a wise career decision.
Pay is by far not the only factor in landing a new position! As the economy begins to recover and companies start hiring, those that feel fortunate to have a new job opportunity may ignore the warning signs that the job doesn’t fit their needs.
Don’t let this be you! Before accepting a new position that seems like a dream job, dig deeper to learn more about the company to help you fully assess the fit. Be sure you understand the job. Know yourself as far as your strengths, interests, needs, etc.
Often, by turning down a job offer, you allow yourself the space for the right position to come along. It’s more difficult to leave a new job once you’ve begun working with the company.
Re-Orient your Life Around Values
I am currently working with a successful entrepreneur on establishing Core Values for his Corporation. In doing so, I am reminded of the importance of recognizing your most important values and living your life each and every day based on these ‘rules’. Whether for your business, or for your life, clearly identifying your core values will help you achieve what’s most meaningful with the highest degree of integrity, pride and satisfaction.
Your life can be deeply enhanced when you intertwine your values into your overall framework for life. Aligning your work and life around your personal values will help you achieve the greatest levels of success. Your values help you establish more congruency in your life and increase your capacity for having an abundance of joy and happiness.
Your values are:
- what you are naturally inclined or drawn toward;
- what you are eager to do;
- what brings you fulfillment;
- what you do with little effort;
- your strongest beliefs;
- your internal motivator;
- the only sustainable basis for goal-setting;
- and, your heart and soul
Values are the core of who you are—not who you would like to be or who you think you should be. You are your values—they make up who you are, what you want and how you live. Like you mature, change and grow your values may also change over time. By gaining a better understanding of your values today you can begin incorporating your values into your life and creating a strong foundation which will be able to support you in every other way—including how you bring yourself to your work.
Your values represent your unique and individual essence. When you are engaged in activities aligned with your values, you feel most like yourself—well, connected, excited, glowing and effortless. However, when what you are doing conflicts with what is truly important to you, feelings of unhappiness, dissatisfaction, frustration and stress occur most often because your values are conflicting with your lifestyle and choices.
Values are linked very closely with your integrity. Integrity is when your external behaviors are closely aligned with your inner values; when your actions match your inner belief system, you are operating in integrity and using your values to drive your choices in life.
Your values run deep within you and are often disguised when danger is sensed. Danger in this case is anything that may interfere with or intrude on your values such as: needs, obligations, roles, problems, should’s , tolerations, stress, money, guilt, addictions or adrenaline.
The process of clarifying values is often difficult to do on your own. You can extract your core values based on what is most important to you, your actions, and the things you choose to do and not do in your life. The activities you engage in are usually an observable demonstration of your values; sometimes, though, your values are neglected so it’s harder to identify them. Working with the services of a professional coach, can help you with the process.
For more information, and some tips to help you identify your values, read the ”Live by Your Values” article on my website or contact me to arrange an introductory coaching session. http://www.theprioritypro.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Article-Live-by-your-Values-MBM-7-03.pdf
Habits
A client of mine highly recommended “Mastering Rockefeller Habits“. I just placed my order for it and am looking forward to getting it in a couple of days. We will work together with his leadership team to define their core values, vision, mission and key strategies. This is a key part of strategic planning to help exponentially grow a business.
Build Community
This past Sunday I finally made it to another one of my son’s motocross races. With cheerleading every weekend since September, unfortunately I wasn’t able to be there. I regretted this but was happy that my husband was able to take him and support him in his racing endeavors. The one thing I noticed as soon as I got there was the motocross community they’ve created. There were riders at every experience level and age group, as well as parents of the younger riders who have become a supportive force to each other. When riders get hurt, bikes break, parts are needed or someone is hungry, the community comes together somewhat like a family to help each other out.
This week was no different! When I arrived, my husband had one of my son’s dirt bikes apart because the brakes weren’t functioning properly. Another father of a rider was already helping him with parts and advice. When he couldn’t get the bike fixed prior to the start of the race, my son was able to borrow a similar dirt bike from another rider so that he didn’t miss his race. They had met this rider and her father last Wednesday at the practice track for the first time. When she completed her race (two races before my son’s group was lining up at the starting gate) her dad gassed up her bike and wished my son good luck in his race. My son stopped by the race officials’ tower and received permission to ride a borrowed bike in the race.
Following the race, that father came by where we were parked and offered his help. Together, he and my husband figured out the problem with the brakes and were able to get them working in time for the next race. Of course, this meant another visit to the race official’s tower to notify them of the change in bike again. The rule in motocross racing is that you have to race both motos on the same bike you start out on. With the borrowed bike not properly adjusted for his height, weight and ability we took the chance of having someone else protest his change back to his dirt bike and having my son disqualified. Yet no one complained! (He really was much safer riding his own dirt bike!)
As I reflected about the day, I realized how lucky we are to have a strong community around us and how important having a community is.
Look around you at the activities you and your family are involved in including sports, church, professional associations, work and your neighborhood. Actively build communities in all these areas for fun, support, sharing and connecting with other people in your profession, in your neighborhood, people with whom you share a special common goal or interest, (such as in your place of worship or a special hobby), or, people with similar challenges (like other working parents or unemployed professionals). Having community will help provide you with support and help even when you least expect it! Having multiple communities in your life will contribute to making you feel more whole.
Communities come together in times of need to help each other out. Community creates the structure for belonging. Having a supportive community is an integral part of a high quality life.
Create SUCCESS on your own Terms
Researchers frequently study traits of successful people. I find that it’s important for each individual to first define what success means to him/her. When you know this criterion for yourself, you can track, measure and attain it. Every adult seems to have conflicting demands and multiple priorities these days. Those who endure success despite these ongoing challenges have a few key things in common, they:
- seize opportunities as they present themselves
- avoid regret by making sound decisions in their life and their work
- have positive energy that helps them focus on enjoying the present
When success seems elusive for an individual it is usually due to a mismatch between your core values, needs, goals, beliefs, and strengths—who you are and what you’re trying to achieve. When who you are and what you are doing are not aligned, it creates undue stress, frustration, worry and overwhelm. Also, when you rely too heavily on one or two strengths rather than leveraging a variety of your strengths, you’re less likely to achieve your highest levels of success.
In the 2002 study by Harvard Business School professor Howard Stevenson and his senior research fellow, Laura Nash, they discovered that success that endures stems from four key sources that may seem contradictory but yet are all necessary: achievement, happiness, significance, and a legacy.
Achievement: Do you measure accomplishments against an external goal? Power, wealth, recognition, competition against others.
Happiness: Is there contentment or pleasure with and about your life?
Significance: Do you have a valued impact on others whom you choose?
Legacy: Have you infused your values and your accomplishments into the lives of others to leave something behind?
These four satisfactions are very different from each other, he said. To learn more about Dr. Stevenson’s findings and how they apply to you, click here.
