Monthly Archives: July 2014

Passing on Your Left

"Passing on Your Left"

                                   JH 7/10/14

 

I was walking alone in quiet contemplation on the rail trail, when a bicyclist hurdled past me at top speed with no warning, on my left, with barely inches to spare. I was startled, and my ancient brain was thrust into fight or flight mode, a state that either produces fear or anger. Neither feel good, and both are uninspiring.

 

On the very same trail the next day, I was once again in sweet reverie as I enjoyed my quiet morning exercise. A soft but noticeable bicycle bell awakened me from my inner world, gently alerting me that a rider was approaching on my left. And just as my visceral senses perceived the coming motion, an utterly delightful little voice proclaimed with a musical lilt, "Passing on your left." That triggered a very different response in me than the aforementioned experience and I was instantly inspired to reply, "Thank you" using the same light notes the young forewarner fairly sang. And that in turn had the mom bike rider pulling the child laugh softly; all this in about five seconds. It doesn’t take much to inspire or uninspire.

 

How do you enter someone else’s space at work or home? Abruptly? Gently? Consciously? On automatic? We all stimulate responses in others, and most of us quite regularly. What a great opportunity to notice our effect on people and tweak our approach for the most positive outcome possible. And we both win. Nice!

 

 

Jim Hornickel

Director of Training & Development

Bold New Directions

1-800-501-1245

Source url :
https://boldnewdirections.com

The Whiteboard

Another inspiring piece written by our co-founder, Jim Hornickel…

"The Whiteboard"

 

Please imagine the brain to be

A whiteboard on your wall

That life will write your story lines

Your hand not used at all

 

Yes once twas thought that permanent

Were the markers used to scribe

What you saw was what you got

Your version set for life

 

But neuroscience went to bat

To find another truth

Erasable the markers are

Good news for me and you

 

Though wiping clean the former slate

It not an easy task

With will and clear direction

Rewrite more sordid past

 

The who and how and why of life

In each and every hour

So set your course deliberately

It’s all within your power

 

If what you write, fails to serve

Erase and write again

And write and swipe till you are pleased It’s you who crafts your then

Source url :
https://boldnewdirections.com

“Hands in the Clay”

An inspiring piece written by Bold New Directions co-founder Jim Hornickel…

"Hands in the Clay"

 

We all are part of the quantum field

In fact we are the hosts.

We play in the land of

Macro mechanics,

But all that is made

If from what we can’t see.

 

So we have the double advantage

(Macro and micro)

Of being clay-masters

Of our lives.

 

If you know that you shape:

Your life

Your year

Your day

Your moments…

Well, what could be more powerful?

 

If you think that others

(Bosses, governments, parents, spouses…) Are shaping your clay…

What could be less powerful?

 

What kinds of clay

Are you choosing?

How are you directing

Your hands

In your clay?

 

I celebrate the power

Of our crafting.

How to use it

Ever more wisely!

 

Source url :
https://boldnewdirections.com

Tips to Reducing Stress in the Workplace

Emotional Intelligence is one of the topics we provide training on…the concept has far reaching benefits to both our personal and professional lives.  Here is a way to reduce stress in the workplace by acting with EQ.

Reduce job stress by improving emotional intelligence

Even if you’re in a job where the environment has grown increasingly stressful, you can retain a large measure of self-control and self-confidence by understanding and practicing emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is the ability to manage and use your emotions in positive and constructive ways. When it comes to satisfaction and success at work, emotional intelligence matters just as much as intellectual ability. Emotional intelligence is about communicating with others in ways that draw people to you, overcome differences, repair wounded feelings, and defuse tension and stress.

Emotional intelligence in the workplace:

Emotional intelligence in the workplace has four major components:

  • Self-awareness – The ability to recognize your emotions and their impact while using gut feelings to guide your decisions.
  • Self-management – The ability to control your emotions and behavior and adapt to changing circumstances.
  • Social awareness – The ability to sense, understand, and react to other’s emotions and feel comfortable socially.
  • Relationship management – The ability to inspire, influence, and connect to others and manage conflict.

The five key skills of emotional intelligence

There are five key skills that you need to master in order to raise your emotional intelligence and manage stress at work.

  • Realize when you’re stressed, recognize your particular stress response, and become familiar with sensual cues that can rapidly calm and energize you. The best way to reduce stress quickly is through the senses: through sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. But each person responds differently to sensory input, so you need to find things that are soothing to you.
  • Stay connected to your internal emotional experience so you can appropriately manage your own emotions. Your moment-to-moment emotions influence your thoughts and actions, so pay attention to your feelings and factor them into your decision making at work. If you ignore your emotions you won’t be able to fully understand your own motivations and needs, or to communicate effectively with others.
  • Recognize and effectively use nonverbal cues and body language. In many cases, what we say is less important than how we say it or the other nonverbal signals we send out, such as eye contact, facial expression, tone of voice, posture, gesture and touch. Your nonverbal messages can either produce a sense of interest, trust, and desire for connection–or they can generate confusion, distrust, and stress. You also need to be able to accurately read and respond to the nonverbal cues that other people send you at work.
  • Develop the capacity to meet challenges with humor. There is no better stress buster than a hearty laugh and nothing reduces stress quicker in the workplace than mutually shared humor. But, if the laugh is at someone else’s expense, you may end up with more rather than less stress.
  • Resolve conflict positively. Resolving conflict in healthy, constructive ways can strengthen trust between people and relieve workplace stress and tension. When handling emotionally-charged situations, stay focused in the present by disregarding old hurts and resentments, connect with your emotions, and hear both the words and the nonverbal cues being used. If a conflict can’t be resolved, choose to end the argument, even if you still disagree.

Source url :
http://www.resiliencetraininginstitute.com

9 Things Emotionally Intelligent People Won’t Do – Part 2

In part 2 of 2, take a look at the remaing 5 things that Emotionally Intelligent People won’t do…

They Won’t Live in the Past

Failure can erode your self-confidence and make it hard to believe you’ll achieve a better outcome in the future. Most of the time, failure results from taking risks and trying to achieve something that isn’t easy. Emotionally intelligent people know that success lies in their ability to rise in the face of failure, and they can’t do this when they’re living in the past. Anything worth achieving is going to require you to take some risks, and you can’t allow failure to stop you from believing in your ability to succeed. When you live in the past, that is exactly what happens, and your past becomes your present, preventing you from moving forward.

They Won’t Dwell on Problems

Where you focus your attention determines your emotional state. When you fixate on the problems that you’re facing, you create and prolong negative emotions and stress, which hinders performance. When you focus on actions to better yourself and your circumstances, you create a sense of personal efficacy that produces positive emotions and improves performance. Emotionally intelligent people won’t dwell on problems because they know they’re most effective when they focus on solutions.

They Won’t Hang Around Negative People

Complainers are bad news because they wallow in their problems and fail to focus on solutions. They want people to join their pity party so that they can feel better about themselves. People often feel pressure to listen to complainers because they don’t want to be seen as callous or rude, but there’s a fine line between lending a sympathetic ear and getting sucked into their negative emotional spiral. You can avoid getting drawn in only by setting limits and distancing yourself when necessary. Think of it this way: if a person were smoking, would you sit there all afternoon inhaling the second-hand smoke? You’d distance yourself, and you should do the same with complainers. A great way to set limits is to ask complainers how they intend to fix a problem. The complainer will then either quiet down or redirect the conversation in a productive direction.

They Won’t Hold Grudges

The negative emotions that come with holding onto a grudge are actually a stress response. Just thinking about the event involved sends your body into fight-or-flight mode. When a threat is imminent, this reaction is essential to your survival, but when a threat is ancient history, holding onto that stress wreaks havoc on your body and can have devastating health consequences over time. In fact, researchers at Emory University have shown that holding onto stress contributes to high blood pressure and heart disease. Holding onto a grudge means you’re holding onto stress, and emotionally intelligent people know to avoid this at all costs. Learning to let go of a grudge will not only make you feel better now but can also improve your health.

They Won’t Say Yes Unless They Really Want To

Research conducted at the University of California in San Francisco shows that the more difficulty that you have saying no, the more likely you are to experience stress, burnout, and even depression. Saying no is indeed a major challenge for most people. “No” is a powerful word that you should not be afraid to wield. When it’s time to say no, emotionally intelligent people avoid phrases like “I don’t think I can” or “I’m not certain.” Saying no to a new commitment honors your existing commitments and gives you the opportunity to successfully fulfill them.

Source url :
https://boldnewdirections.com