Monday, September 17, 2012

તમારી પર્સનાલિટી તમારી ઓળખ છે!

Sep 02, 2012


Grooming
કેવી રીતે વાત કરવીકેવી રીતે બોલવુંકેવી રીતના હાવભાવ હોવા જોઈએ. એ બધી જ બાબતોનું ધ્યાન રાખવું જરૂરી છે. આપણી નમ્રતાથી આપણા વ્યક્તિત્વની સારી કે ખરાબ છબિ ઊભી થાય છે.
આપણે જ્યારે કોઈ બિઝનેસ સંસ્થા અથવા કોઈ કોર્પોરેટ જગ્યાએ મિટિંગ માટે જતાં હોઈએ છીએ ત્યારે આપણે કેવી રીતે વાત કરીએ છીએ એ મહત્વનું છે. એ સિવાય તમારા વ્યક્ત્વિનો પ્રભાવ પણ અગત્યની ભૂમિકા ભજવે છે. કેવી રીતે વાત કરવી, કેવી રીતે બોલવું, કેવી રીતના હાવભાવ હોવા જોઈએ બધી જ બાબતોનું ધ્યાન રાખવું જરૂરી છે. આપણા હાવભાવ અને અવાજની નમ્રતાથી આપણા વ્યક્તિત્વની સારી કે ખરાબ છબિ ઊભી થાય છે, તો જાણીએ કેવા હોવા જોઈએ આપણા હાવભાવ અને વ્યવહાર...
હેર સ્ટાઇલ
તમારા વ્યક્તિત્વમાં તમારી હેર સ્ટાઇલ અગત્યની ભૂમિકા ભજવે છે. તમારી હેર સ્ટાઇલ કેવી હોવી જોઈએ તેની સમજ હોવી જરૂરી છે. તેમજ તમે જ્યાં જાવ છો એ જગ્યા અનુસાર તમારી હેર સ્ટાઇલ કરો. કોઈ સોશિયલ મીટિંગ માટે જાવ અને તમારી હેર સ્ટાઇલ વધુ પડતી ટ્રેન્ડી હશે તો એ તમારી ખરાબ છબિ ઊભી કરશે. માટે સમય અનુસાર હેર સ્ટાઇલ કરવી જોઈએ. ફંકી હેર સ્ટાઇલ એ ઓફિસમાં સારી બાબત નથી.
વોકિંગ સ્ટાઇલ
તમારી વોકિંગ સ્ટાઇલ સીધી અને સિમ્પલ હોવી જોઈએ. વોકિંગ સ્ટાઇલમાં ક્યારેય લટકામટકા ન હોવા જોઈએ. વોકિંગ સ્ટાઇલને ક્યારેય સ્ટાઇલિસ્ટ બનાવવાની કોશિશ ન કરો. તેમજ જ્યારે તમે વોક કરતા હોવ તો તમારાં જૂતાં કે ચંપલનો અવાજ ન થાય તેનું ધ્યાન રાખવું જોઈએ. તમારાં જૂતાં કે ચંપલ તમારી વોકિંગ સ્ટાઇલમાં બહુ અગત્યની ભૂમિકા ભજવે છે, માટે તેની પસંદગી કરતી વખતે તમને કમ્ફર્ટેબલ લાગે તેની જ પસંદગી કરવી જોઈએ. ઓફિસમાં હંમેશા શૂઝ (બુટ) પહેરવાનો આગ્રહ રાખો.
 ડ્રેસિંગ સ્ટાઇલ
તમારાં વસ્ત્રો તમારા વ્યક્તિત્વનો અરીસો છે. તમારી ડ્રેસિંગ સ્ટાઇલથી લોકો તમને અને તમારા વ્યક્તિત્વને ઓળખી લેતા હોય છે, માટે કપડાં એવાં હોવાં જોઈએ જે તમને અને તમારા વ્યક્તિત્વને સાચી રીતે રજૂ કરે. ક્યારેય પણ એવાં કપડાંની પસંદગી ન કરવી જે તમારા વ્યક્તિત્વને અનુરૂપ ન હોય. તમે જ્યારે કપડાંની પસંદગી કરતા હોવ ત્યારે ઓફિસ અને કોર્પોરેટ વર્લ્ડને ધ્યાનમાં રાખવું જોઇએ. વધારે પડતા ભપકા કલરના કપડા ઓફિસમાં પહેરવા યોગ્ય નથી.
એસેસરીઝ
જ્યારે તમે કોઈ પણ પ્રકારની એસેસરીઝની ખરીદી કરવા જાવ છો ત્યારે મનમાં એ નક્કી કરી લો કે તમે શેના માટે ખરીદી કરી રહ્યા છો. ઓફિસને અનુરૂપ ખરીદી કરતી વખતે તમારે એ ધ્યાન રાખવું જોઇએ કે તે વધુ પડતું ફેશનેબલ તો નથી ને. મોબાઇલ, બેગ, સનગ્લાસિસ, શૂઝ, વોચ અને જ્વેલરી આ તમામ વસ્તુઓ તમારા વ્યક્તિત્વનો ભાગ છે, જે લોકો સમક્ષ તમારી સારી અથવા ખરાબ છબિ દર્શાવે છે.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Increase Happiness: Can Happiness be Trained like a Muscle?


increase happiness Increase Happiness: Can Happiness be Trained like a Muscle?
What if instead of working out in the gym we dedicated 10-15 minutes a day to increase our happiness? Would it not be great to train your mind and notice yourself becoming more positive, more satisfied with your life and eventually more successful?
It actually works in this exact order. Only now have the bright minds of positive psychology likeShawn Achor started to burst the bubble of “I need to work harder to be more successful, so that I can become happier.”
Many of us still live by this formula waiting for happiness to come. “I need to work harder on my relationships, to become a better parent, a better spouse, a better friend and, eventually, everyone will love and appreciate me”, “I need to work harder to get promoted and then I will be happy with my career”, “I need to work harder to make more money and then I will be able to retire, buy a beautiful beach home and live the life of my dreams”.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that we should not work harder. I am saying that we should change the formula to
I need to work harder to increase my happiness right now”.
Because while we continue to think that our happiness depends on our achievements, we are doomed. Capital ‘D’.
Every time we achieve one goal, our brain simply raises the bar higher and re-frames our expectations. So this state of absolute bliss, unexplainable joy and overpowering positivity never lasts long enough for us to consider our life truly “happy”.
Psychologists, however, noticed that being happier actually makes us more successful. When we enter a positive state of mind our productivity and creativity automatically get a boost, we are more fun to be around, we learn faster and perform better.
Another thing they proved is that by doing a number of “exercises” for only 21 days, we can actually become happier and even create long-lasting positive changes in our lives.

5 Exercises That Increase Happiness and Positivity

When I first found out about Positive Psychology, I realized that I have been intuitively doing many of these exercises for years now. Maybe you are already doing some of them too.
But in any case, I suggest that you check the list and add some of these happiness exercises to your daily routine, because they really work
3 Gratitudes.
Make it a habit to write down 3 NEW things that you are grateful for very day. In the beginning it may be a little challenging, but practicing this exercise will help your mind to scan every situation for the positive information first and not dwell on the negative.
I started doing this a long time ago and I would say that it took me longer than 21 days to fully re-wire my thinking pattern, but it was well worth the effort. One interesting change I’ve noticed is that I’ve become less sensitive to negativity and critique. I no longer take it personally.
Journaling.
Write down every positive emotion, everyday achievements or kindness that people have demonstrated to you. This is a great way to re-live positive experiences and keep your mind focused on your blessings. I personally don’t do it, but I do write for the blog. So I guess, it counts.
Exercise.
Who would imagine that by exercising our body we can actually raise our happiness level? But regular workouts do affect our sense of happiness on several levels.
On the physical level it triggers the release of the feel-good hormone – dopamine. On the energy level regular exercise helps to combat fatigue and apathy. And on the mental level exercise teaches our brain that our behavior matters. By pushing your body a little further, you are actually boosting your self-confidence, sense of achievement.
Meditation.
There are many benefits of meditation and an increased sense of happiness is one of them. Meditation helps to calm anxiety, stop the flow of negative thinking and learn the one skill indispensable for staying happy – being able to stay focused on the present moment and savor it.
Random acts of kindness.
Acts of kindness not only create ripples of positivity, they also contribute to our own happiness. You have probably noticed how giving a gift is often a lot more satisfying than receiving it or how making a person laugh feels better than just reading the joke.
Neurologists have noticed that when we engage in activities that help others, our brain releases endorphins, which induce a feeling of well-being. It has also been suggested that the regular release of endorphins is linked to increased longevity.
It seems that doing random acts of kindness not only helps us to stay happier, but to live longer… so that we could help even more people. Makes sense, doesn’t it?

Thursday, September 6, 2012

22 THINGS TO KEEP

You are what you eat -and what you don't eat. Similarly, life depends on what you keep and what you don't keep. There are many things in life that people may keep, but only a few are truly worth keeping. Here is a list of what to keep (and how) for a brighter, happier and more  fulfilling life.

1) 
Keep calm. Life can be unnerving and if you don't make an effort to keep collected and focused, you could easily lose your cool. Take regular, conscious deep breaths to calm and center yourself.

2) 
Keep your chin up. Not only is it good for your posture and diminishes your double chin, it also helps you maintain an "I can handle it" attitude. By keeping your chin up, you can keep your head above water.

3) 
Keep your spirits high. Always maintain a positive and joyful attitude. Remember that no one can perk you up like yourself. Keep your spirits high when the going gets rough by focusing on your dreams and counting your blessings.

4) 
Keep your word. The true measure of a man is if he keeps his word. Honorable and trustworthy is the man who stands by what he says and promises. It is important to think well before speaking because once a word is uttered and released into the universe, its vibrations could no longer be erased.

5) 
Keep in time with your inner drummer. Don't be swayed by others into following the confusing beat of their drums. Although it is sometimes necessary to adjust to the pace of others, it is best to keep in step with your personal rhythm and to dance to your own music.

6) 
Keep in touch with the child in youThe source of creativity in your life is that little child within you. He questions, he marvels, he imagines and invents. Stay in touch with him, and be young and creative for life!

7) 
Keep abreast of the times. The world is moving so fast. Know what's happening, what's in style, what's au courant, what's relevant, what's important. Learn the hottest trends and the latest in technology. Don't be caught in a time warp or you'll be left behind.

8) 
Keep in shape. Your shape shows your state of health. Your body is the vessel that you journey through life in. Keep it healthy and strong. Don't be one of those people who say, "I'm in shape; round is a shape!"

9) 
Keep your mouth shut. People talk too much. We language ourselves to our own destruction and defeat. Know when to talk and when to shut up. Avoid being too verbose. Oftentimes, silence speaks more eloquently than words.

10) 
Keep good friends. Good friends are hard to find. Nurture friendships that make your plight through life easier, more wonderful and meaningful. Truly poor is the man who has no good friends.

11) 
Keep great memories, not heavy objects. In the very end, good memories of life are what we will be left with, not jewels and riches that we can't bring when we finally go. Live each moment beautifully. Linked together, these magical moments create a magnificent life.

12) 
Keep a diary. Writing a journal is therapeutic. Record the important events in your life, your dreams and aspirations, even your failures and disappointments. When you trace back events in your life, you are bound to learn lessons from them as well as find great inspiration and strength.

13) 
Keep saying grace and thanks. Blessed is he who says grace before he eats and gives thanks for all  the gifts he receives daily. Maintain a thankful attitude and focus on your blessings instead of disappointments.

14) 
Keep on moving forward. The universe moves forward in time. Don't get stuck in yesterday; make an effort to move ahead to a better life. Drop those unnecessary pieces of material and emotional baggage that weigh you down and keep you from flying to your loftiest dreams.

15) 
Keep out of danger. He who exposes himself to danger finds it. Don't court danger; avoid it. As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Look out for number one (that's you!), and always stay safe and sound.

16) 
Keep up the good work. Success is built upon success. The more you do, the more you achieve; the more you achieve, the better you get at doing it. Make success a habit by keeping up the good work.

17) 
Keep young. Do everything in your power to stay strong, supple and youthful. Think young; feel young. A wise man once said "It is never too late to be what you might have been." Remember that age is a number and that youth is an attitude.

18)
 Keep on dancing. Life is a dance through space and time. Embellish whatever music life plays for you with your own fresh orchestration and creative choreography. Be excited in your heart and keep your feet light with happiness.

19) 
Keep on loving. Love is the reason we were created. Love diminishes when hoarded but multiplies when shared. Give it and feel it overflow in your heart. Love cures all sadness, pain and sorrow. Lonely is he who does not give love away and therefore gets none in return.

20) 
Keep on dreaming. Most men, even if they are young, are dead - that is, if they can no longer dream. Our dreams are what keep us young and alive; they give us that sparkle in our eyes. Our dreams keep us going even while everything around us says, "Stop."

21) 
Keep on hoping. Never lose hope. Tomorrow will be another day that will bring new hope and greater blessings. Keep faith in the abundance of the universe and the mystery and perfection of life. Hope for nothing but the best and that's what you will be granted.

22) 
Keep on believing. Belief is the mother of reality. What you believe becomes your truth. Believe in yourself, believe in the magic of the universe, believe in the power of your dreams. And most of all, believe you can do it, so you can have all your heart's desires!

These You Must Not Keep
1) 
Don't keep up with the Joneses. Just because your neighbor bought a red Ferrari, you, too, must get  one. Don't join the bandwagon and keep away from the "herd mentality." Too much unhappiness in this world is caused by comparisons - comparing yourself and trying to measure up to other people. There is really no need to live up to others' expectations if it would just bring you  inconvenience and misery.

2) 
Don't keep issues and grudges. The reason most of us stay miserable is because we keep issues, grudges, and problems. Detox yourself of complaints and issues that keep you from being the best that you could be. Try to solve all problems that beset you; never leave anything unresolved. The questions and puzzles of life are what make it challenging and exciting.

3) 
Don't keep resentments and memories of painful experiences. Life is not a bed of roses so you must learn to let go of negative feelings and memories of painful experiences. It's hard to go on living  with a heavy heart. Pardon, forgive, forget if you can, and move on.

Monday, September 3, 2012

10 Ways to Communicate Better at Work


Communication is arguably one of the most important business skills, no matter what your industry. Yet so many of us haven't been trained in how to communicate with co-workers and clients. Here are some tips to help you become a better communicator:

1. Listen.
Most of us are terrible listeners. Instead of truly listening to what the person is saying, we interrupt, prepare our response, or think we already know what the speaker is going to say next. It's impossible to understand what someone needs or wants if we don't give them our undivided attention.



2. Pay attention to body language.
Body language can tell you just as much as what a person says, if not more. Observe how they act when they talk. Is your co-worker saying she can meet a deadline, but wringing her hands while she says it? She might be afraid to tell you it will be hard to make the due date



3. Consider communication preference.
Not everyone likes to communicate the same way. Email works for some, but others would rather pick up the phone and talk, text, or even use social media or instant messaging to relay something. Respect the person you're trying to contact and use the method she seems to prefer. If you've called a client several times and always get her voicemail, but she's always quick to respond to email, switch to email instead


4. Consider your tone.
The problem with email and social media is that it can be difficult to determine the tone. You may mean something as a joke, but if it comes  off pushy or angry, you could cause an unintended reaction from the recipient. Make sure your language is clear, and if you are angry, take a  few minutes to cool down before you type. Better yet, meet in person so nothing is misconstrued.


5. Don't be too casual.
Getting along with your work colleagues can help you do your job better, but don't take it too far in your communication on the job. Keep the cursing for after hours, and make sure your emails, meetings, and phone calls are professional. Being too casual on the job may make others feel uncomfortable


6. Check your grammar
Spell check is your best friend on the job. Always proofread anything you type--be it an email, Tweet, or letter. If you're not great at catching  errors, ask someone else to proof it for you.


7. Keep criticism constructive.
If you manage others, you want them to do their best. Work to ensure your comments aren't emotionally charged, and that the person you're speaking with grasps what you're trying to say when giving feedback. Provide positive reinforcement when a job is well-done, and find ways to add in tips for improvement without being "that boss."
8. Restate what you hear.
Rephrasing what your co-worker or boss says to you by repeating the important points shows you are listening and understand what you were told. It gives both parties a chance to clarify if there is any confusion, and by repeating it, you'll remember


9. Get a little personal.
People let their guards down when you talk about their lives outside of work. Ask about a co-worker's kid's soccer tournament. Find ways to interact on a personal level without going too far. You'll go a long way toward building trust


10. Never stop improving.

Effective communication is a skill you must practice. Observe how others respond to your communication to clue you in on areas for improvement.
 
  CNN: How to Communicate Better at Work

Life Coach Valorie Burton, author of Where Will You Go from Here? talks about how to communicate effectively in the busy workplace
communite
http://www.nidokidos.org/threads/174497-CNN-How-to-Communicate-Better-at-Work

How to Develop Analytical Skills



In our day to day life whether official, personal or social, we have to deal with complications. Some situations are easy to handle with but other are complex which snatch the peace of mind because our brain gets stuck on how best to handle such state of affair. This is where our Analytical Skills help us.


 The prime purpose for the Analysis of any given situation is to get to know the root cause(s) of the issue, to forecast the impact & to plan corrective/preventive actions strategy. So basically analytical skill is to visualize a given situation, task, project or issue from several angles in order to breakdown it into smaller steps.

Below are different situations where our analytical skills are required. I shall give advices in each category accordingly:

1) When Summarizing Large Amount of Data: In this situation, I highly recommend using Pivot Tables feature of MS Excel in order to generate reports. The Pivot Reports feature allows us playing with the data in several ways to generate multi dimensional reports. We can breakdown large amount of data in different sheets to apply Pivot Reports separately as well. Youtube is a very good source of videos for learning this skill. Pivot table can also generate reports for Trends & Forecast in two to three dimensions.

2) When Resolving Conflicts in Office: In this case, listen to all parties which are having difference of opinion. List down the positive & negative input factors & after-effects based on feedback from individuals. Make it in tabular format & review this with your manager to see which one is the best option to go for. Then call for a meeting to elaborate the overall picture based on your fair analysis & convince personnel for the option which is in the best interest of the company.

3) When Being Assigned a large project: in this case you need to make a high level agenda (High Level Project Deliverables) & then start working on WBS (Work Breakdown Structure) & then assign each task to relevant resource. While making WBS you can have a meeting with your Team Leads & other stake holders. You can consider Fishbone diagram to analyze the inputs of any task.

4) When Resolving a Technical issue: The advice here is to consult the product guide to see the possible root causes, consult the SME (Subject Matter Expert) for opinion or consult the Lesson Learnt Register. For all kind of issues resolutions, I always recommend two things. First is to take corrective action to fix the issue, Second to take Preventive Action (fix the root cause permanently) so that the issues does not keep on popping. Six Sigma's DMAIC is recommended way for analyzing & improving. You want to learn Six Sigma, get an introduction from Google.

5) When purchasing something: Let us take the example of mobile phone. When you want to purchase a new mobile you need to ask yourself: do I need touch screen, do I need wifi, do I really need to purchase new mobile, what is my budget? Do I need 5MP camera, do I need iphone or Android, and do I need 4 inch screen or less? What other specs do I need to consider. So basically you are analyzing your demands to come up with the right mobile which is to be purchased.

6) When handling family conflicts: Being a sensitive subject, this is something where you need much more than analytical skills; For each family member involved in the conflict, you have to have sense of feelings, emotions study, stress absorption power, age factor, relationship level & convincing power so in my opinion this is the most difficult part of practicing your analytical skills. You have to consistently guide everyone about 'forgive & forget' policy. You have to calmly listen to each party & take adequate time to analyze all aspects (as mentioned a couple of lines back) vigilantly before concluding something on the brawl.

Conclusion: Analytical skills can make your life easier in almost all aspects of decision making or problem solving; however, it's not only the matter of considering all the options & the inputs, its matter of considering the weight of each option as well. For example, for a given situation you have two options having equal number of advantages or disadvantages so in order to conclude in such situation you have to consider the weight of each option. While doing your analysis you might want to consider the difference between Urgent & Important things.

Develop & sharpen your analytical skills to take steps for reducing stress in your life consequently to ensure peace of mind. - FA
 
 

Analytical Skills Development