productivity – Page 14 – Empowering Your Mind

Avoid “Hardening of the Attitudes”

September 23, 2011 Linda-Ann Stewart

I know that many books on success and mindset suggest you avoid negative people. It’s true that it’s so much easier to maintain a positive attitude when you’re around people who are also positive. Unfortunately, some people interpret that idea to mean that they should only associate with people who agree with them.

I recently had an experience that illustrated how limiting that could be. I had a short exchange with a businessman who believed that everyone wanted to improve themselves and be better at their jobs. His business was based on that assumption and he worked to improve employees’ skills.

From my experience with clients, I felt that although people might want to be better, they didn’t always want to do what was needed to get there. As soon as I expressed that concept to the gentleman, he ended the discussion. By turning away from a contradictory opinion, he refused to open his mind to different viewpoints. If he had, he might have been able to use them to improve his business.

When you avoid opinions that conflict with yours, it indicates that you’re not really confident of your position. If others’ ideas can affect you that easily, you’re not grounded in your own. Listening to what others think, and why, broadens your understanding so you can modify your ideas and help them grow stronger roots. It can also open the door to inspiration, which will allow you to reach greater heights.

So when you encounter someone with an opposing opinion, listen with an open mind. This is true in business, politics, relationships, and life. Avoid “hardening of the attitudes” and consider what they’re saying. It may change your ideas or strengthen your position. Only by associating with people who have varying opinions and experiences can you have a broader and deeper perspective.

Abundant Reasons To Release Clutter In Storage

March 28, 2011 Linda-Ann Stewart

by Linda-Ann Stewart

Recently, Jeff and I worked to consolidate my two storage units into one. The unit I was cleaning out was created when I sold my mother’s house, the other one was inherited from my mother. I brought several boxes home, went through some of them, and have a small hill of items to be donated to Goodwill.

Organizers say eliminating clutter and outdated things helps to lighten the mental load and clear the mind. According to them, you take less time to look through the clutter for things you want. I did find several items that I’ve spent hours looking for in the house. I didn’t realize they were in boxes in storage.

A feng shui practitioner once told me that going through piles of stuff released stuck energy. She said this stagnant energy could create difficulty in life, obstruct advancement in your career, and block money flow. Releasing that energy creates more of a flow in your life.

In spiritual circles, it’s said that if you want more good in your life, go through your attic, basement and closets and eliminate what you don’t use anymore. By releasing possessions you no longer need or want, you create a vacuum to draw more of what you want to you.

Whatever the reason, I’m glad to have been able to eliminate one storage unit. I still have a lot to go through in the unit I still have. But one great advantage of doing this is that it will definitely be nice to have a smaller payment each month.

“Personal Development Tips: Why It’s Good For Business”

March 15, 2011 Linda-Ann Stewart

By Stuart Tan

I took a trip to Japan recently and was all the rave about the culture and the people there. I’d been asking myself why there was such a difference between Japanese culture and other parts of the world. I’ve been to Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Hong Kong, Australia and the US.

While many of my friends tend to complain about service in most of these countries, I was personally pleasantly surprised by the level of service especially so in Japan. The level of patience and “wow” service was quite amazing. For example, since it was the first time my family and I were in Japan, we had to ask for directions at the train station. For a beginner, the train network was quite confusing, with multiple providers and multiple stations. We had kind of sorted out where to go, when the officer at the station told us there was a faster way, and promptly refunded all our money and pointed us in the right direction.

Yes, these were competing train line providers. Yet, the focus was on the convenience of the visitor. Did this train line (Tokyo subway) lose out to the JR line? Well, not really. They did provide a great impression and also they created a positive for Japan overall.

Let’s draw a lesson from this: sometimes, providing good service helps the overall industry to win, not just the company alone. It would be really sad that an industry is avoided simply because of the bad press of a few companies cutting and slashing at each other.

It boils back down to the leaders within the organizations involved to be able to develop their people to think a little broader, beyond just the immediate term solution. In fact, the main thing is if you are constantly focused on the next 5 minutes, you won’t be able to proceed to create wins in the broader scheme of things.

Interestingly enough, Singapore’s Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, was quoted yesterday as encouraging a middle path amid the looming foreign currency war as part of the G20 Summit in Seoul. This takes into account the fact that economically stronger nations could support weaker economies by strengthening their currencies a little where they could afford. I think this was quite interesting because it not only demonstrates the ability to avoid the black and white thinking approach, but also create wins all around.

We all expect certain things to happen in our mental models of the world. So unless we are taught to take a different approach or a more creative stance, it is highly likely we will fall flat in our pursuit of excellence. In customer service, for example, we expect waiters to attend to us immediately. Brian Tracy goes on a fake tirade during his presentations and says “the reason why we are in the restaurant is because we’re hungry you assholes!”(and of course the audience responded with laughter) I’m certain the restaurant never gets the point because in many circumstances, they are a victim of their own success. The more popular they are, the more customers they get and the lower the quality of their food!

Once again, it points to the idea that we have to constantly upgrade and change in order to become better. Every level of success will present for itself an additional level of challenge.

Back to Japan, I had a surprise also when we walked into a tempura bar. This bar is the kind where they will cook your order when you place it right in front of you, and was quite a novel experience. They got us to hang our jackets (we were experiencing 50 degrees Fahrenheit at night) and take off our shoes, which we placed in a shoe rack before getting to the bar. I’d personally already forgotten that there was a shoe rack in the first place, because I was enjoying my dinner. So when it was time to foot the bill, something strange happened. The shoes had automatically appeared out of nowhere, laid out in front of us at the foot of the place where we had left them. Of course, I processed it and thought ‘shoes don’t move on their own’. It was the attendant who had memorized what shoes we were wearing, and laid it out for us when we were leaving. I’m sure they had a system for remembering or else they wouldn’t have been able to handle the dozens of customers who were in their restaurant that night. Another point scored for Japan.

No matter where you are: a Prime minister in a G20 summit, a train station officer, a restaurant attendant or a public speaker running an event, we all need to strive for surprise – the ability to find a path that is more innovative to engage their audience/customers/suppliers.

Finally, shopping for shoes. My sister-in-law has tiny feet, so it’s impossible to find shoes anywhere in the world for her other than custom-made shoes. The problem for her is that she has had hers made and many of the shoes may look pretty but are not comfortable at all. Lo and behold, we chanced upon a shop that had SS sized shoes – size 20.5 to 22 (cm). These are the kind of shoes that your young teenage daughter might have at the kid’s department store. the only difference was the shoes were comfortable and good looking. Problem – each of them were over $200 a pair, a far cry from the traditional $20 Charles and Keith shopping mall sales. But, she went in to see how well the shoes fit anyway. Pair after pair, the attendant patiently brought suitable selections, in spite of a problem with language. Eventually, after going through almost 40 pairs of shoes, my sister bought five pairs. To be honest, I think we didn’t pay for the shoes, really. 90% of the cost of the shoes would easily have been attributed to the pleasant natured lady who attended to her, and it was worth it. Strangely, this seems to be a culture in Japan. Yet, in Singapore, we’re just scratching the surface of this, praising people who have GEMS programs in their company for ‘going the extra mile’. Wow. And here in Japan, they don’t mind going the extra few hundred miles… with a smile.

I figure this: attitude is something that we can never tell someone to have. I couldn’t go to an employee and say “improve your attitude” and it magically happens. But what can be done is to empower the organizational culture so that such behaviors and attitudes continue to shine. It’s therefore imperative that businesses constantly focus on bringing out the best in their employees through any form of training, coaching and mentoring. After all, one employee in the above case, could spend just under an hour to help the company earn over $1000 in shoe sales. Go ahead and crunch the numbers. Is that not proof of a decent return on investment?

Stuart Tan is a trainer of personal development and business process excellence. He has trained in various countries all over the world over the last 15 years and continues to impact people through his podcasts and articles. For more information about his training programs, visit him at Facebook.StuartTan.com.

Use Gratitude Lists To Increase Your Optimism

February 9, 2011 Linda-Ann Stewart

Remember how you were always told to count your blessings? It was to get you to focus on what positive things were in your life, rather that dwell on the negative.

Listing three or more things that you’re grateful for each day is one of the best ways to begin to become more positive and optimistic. It doesn’t make the difficulties go away, but by focusing your attention on better things, you feel better and are able to deal with challenges easier.

Studies are now finding that using this simple technique for just three weeks actually still affects a person positively six months later. The mind has been trained to look for good in the world. Not only does this increase happiness, but it also can help those with depression.

When things look darkest, look for some good in your life. Use it in your personal and professional life. Practice it when you feel down, stressed or pressured. You’ll be training your brain to work at more positive outcomes.

The original source for this article was Want to Boost Your Office Optimism? Try the Tetris Effect at Psychology Today.

Exercise Is Effective To Combat Depression, Anxiety, and Stress

January 25, 2011 Linda-Ann Stewart

Many years ago, I was depressed from a relationship breakup. I knew that exercise would help my mood, so I forced myself to go for a walk. After 30 minutes, on the last quarter-mile to my house, I checked in on my mood and found it had improved by 80%.

In the years since, many studies have validated my experience. Exercise is considered almost magic in what it can do for depression and anxiety disorders. I know it felt like magic for me.

Yet another study has come out verifying how amazing exercise can be for these mental conditions. Exercise reduces depression, anxiety, and stress, increased energy, and re-establishes positive behaviors.

Until my walk, I hadn’t been able to plan or work on a project that needed my attention. Afterwards, I had the energy and ability to focus on what I needed to do.

Drugs and medications take weeks, if not months, to start working and give people a light at the end of the tunnel. Exercise is effective within 25 minutes. Imagine taking a pill, and a half-hour later feeling significantly better.

Yes, it’s hard to drag yourself out to do it, but keep the end result in mind. In a half-hour, you could feel better if you exercise, or you could feel the same as you do now because you sat on the couch. Which do you prefer?

To read more about this current study, visit Sports Are 80 Percent Mental: Is Exercise The Cure For Depression?

“Don’t Wait To Feel Worthy To Succeed”

December 31, 2010 Linda-Ann Stewart

by Linda-Ann Stewart

A while back, I read an article that talked about your readiness to accept abundance. The author mentioned that you sometimes don’t receive the good you desire because you don’t feel worthy. His advice was to get over it. Though your feelings of worthiness tend to contribute to the good you can accept, or the lack thereof, it isn’t the whole picture. I’m sure you know successful people who don’t feel worthy. Why else would there be an epidemic of addictions in the towers of success? Alcoholism, workaholism, addiction to prescription and non-prescription drugs just to make it through life.

Successful people have opened themselves up to succeed in business. They’ve accepted all that goes into it. They’ve removed their beliefs in failure, they’ve changed their attitude about their business, their financial situation, and their lives to create the right atmosphere for their success. They may have been motivated by feelings of unworthiness, a need to prove themselves to someone, a need to fill the empty place within them with success, or some other motivation. They have achieved abundance, and they’ve worked hard for it, but they still don’t feel worthy of their own success.

On the other hand, I’ve known many good, talented, hardworking people who struggled all of their lives, but never achieve success in business. They deserved to succeed, just as much as anybody else, but they didn’t. And they probably felt just as worthy, or unworthy, as the successful person. They blamed bad luck, or the economy, or something else for not succeeding when in reality it is their own belief systems that held them back.

When you feel bad about yourself, you might bounce checks as a way of verifying your bad opinion of yourself. Or you might turn down opportunities because you don’t feel you’ve suffered enough. That was one of my patterns. I was told by people who’d worked hard and ended up with nothing but an empty pinata that I didn’t deserve what good I’d manifested. For a long time, I believed them. I couldn’t allow myself to be successful until I’d struggled as much as the talented people who’d never achieved their potential.

The article I read reminded me that you don’t get what you deserve. You get what you expect, and what you’ve identified with. The Universe rewards your consciousness. If you have a consciousness of failure, that’s what you get. If you have a consciousness of health, that’s what you receive. Whatever your consciousness, that is what you get to experience.

Do you identify with life flowing smoothly, and everything working out, no matter what the appearance? Then so be it. Do you identify with a statement like, “I can’t do anything about my job or my finances?” If so, then you get to wallow in that. Your consciousness attracts conditions in the outer world to fulfill your inner beliefs. The conditions of your life are a direct reflection of your consciousness.

Instead of waiting until you feel worthy of abundance, health, or good relationships, why don’t you begin to identify with it now? Rather than reaching outwardly for your goal, begin to pray for the consciousness of it. Raising your consciousness to accept what you desire will adjust any old, restrictive attitudes. When you have the consciousness of your desire and have identified with your good, then your goal will show up in your life. Whether you feel you deserve it or not.

self improvement, self help, personal growth, personal development, motivation