Archive for the ‘Motivation’ Category

«

How to Deal Powerfully with Crappy Circumstances

May 2nd, 2012 by Jane

Have you ever wondered why some people are able to deal so well with terrible life circumstances and grow from them, whilst others are heavily weighed down by their problems to the point where they can’t even get out of bed in the morning?

Life can be tough and certainly isn’t perfect for many of us. Whether you have a sick relative, are struggling with your work or feel lonely, each of us is dealing with our own unique challenges.

Unless you’ve lived a completely sheltered life, it’s highly likely that you’ve had moments when you received some challenging news that knocked you about a bit.

No matter how positive and upbeat you usually are, bad news can send you into a state of paralysis where all you want to do is lay in bed.

Unfortunately, worrying in bed all day doesn’t result in much getting done. In fact, usually it only makes matters worse.

So how does one remain powerful in the face of crappy circumstances?

I believe asking yourself the following question can make a huge difference-

“What’s the smallest action step I can take to move my situation forward?”

For example, if you’re laying in bed you may decide that you need to have a shower, but that may still seem like a mammoth task. Too hard. Too overwhelming. No thanks.

If this is the case, break the task down into even smaller action steps. For example, say to yourself –

“Just lift your head off the pillow”.

Then you want to be like a broken record. Just keep asking yourself the question all day long – “What is the next little action step I can take?”

This strategy works a treat. When I recently received some crappy news, I asked myself this question over and over.

What was the result?

Phone calls were made. Emails were sent. My desk got tidied.

Sure, my crappy circumstances didn’t miraculously disappear, but at least I was in action and as a result, I felt much better about things.

As Eric Jenson states –

“One cannot always choose every aspect of their circumstances, job, relationships or family. What we can choose, every single waking moment of our lives, is our RESPONSE to those things. And it is our response that determines the quality of life, not our circumstances.”

So next time your life dishes you up something not so flash, you have a choice – you can stay in bed and worry all day or you can take the next little action step. It’s up to you. But whatever you decide will influence how your day and life plays out.

permalink | trackback

Posted by Jane Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Lifestyle, Motivation | 1 Comment »


Can you afford not to exercise?

April 22nd, 2012 by Jane

I was never particularly sporty at school. I was usually the last person to be picked for the team in sports class and I hated competition, so naturally I developed an aversion to physical activity.

I thought exercise was for other students (i.e. the popular guys and girls), but it certainly wasn’t for me. I looked down on exercise with a “who needs it!” attitude.

But then one day I realised that I was missing out on something quite special.

Somehow after studying for hours on end and not getting anywhere, my mum convinced me to take a break and attend a local boxercise class (if you’re not familiar with boxercise, it’s a boxing aerobics class).

To my amazement, boxercise was nothing like school sports class. I wasn’t being graded on executing the perfect punch and there was no pressure to win. What a relief!

1 hour of upper cuts, jabs and hook punches cleared my mind and left me feeling energised and refreshed.

I was hooked (no pun intended). Regular exercise became my way to a clearer and calmer mind as well as boosted grades and performance.

As Dr Atkinsons states –

“Exercise is the closest thing we’ll ever get to the miracle pill that everyone is seeking. It brings weight loss, appetite control, improved mood and self-esteem, an energy kick and longer life by decreasing the risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, osteoporosis and chronic disabilities”

Engaging in regular exercise is not just a great investment in your body, but also in your studies and work. Research shows that exercise helps us to learn more effectively, stimulates neuron growth, improves our thinking skills and enhances our motivation.

A study by Shephard and Lavaellee at the University of Toronto took two groups of students – a control and experimental group. The experimental group had 1 extra hour of physical education each day. Despite the fact that the control group had 13-14% more time studying than the other group, the researchers found that the experimental group were outperforming the control group in academic achievement after one year.

It’s clear – if you’re more physically active then you can think more clearly and focus on what you need to do (as opposed to feeling tired, less alert and easily distracted).

We need to start to relate to movement and exercise as an opportunity to sharpen our minds, not as a waste of time or inconvenience.

The goods news is that to experience the full benefits of exercise you don’t need to spend hours at the gym each day. Engaging in 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity on most (if not all) days of the week is all you need.

The key is to find as many ways as possible to be active in your day. For instance: take the stairs instead of the elevator, instead of watching TV after dinner go for a walk, and if you want to play a video game choose the Wii Fit instead (sure, it’s not the same as engaging in actual exercise but it’s better than nothing).

So next time you find yourself feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work you need to do, consider getting active and going out for a walk, run, bike ride or swim. As a poster at my old gym states –

The question isn’t “Can I afford to exercise?” but “Can I afford not to exercise?”


References

Shephard RJ, Lavallee H, Volle M, La Barre R, C B. Academic skills and required physical education: The Trois Rivieres Experience. Canadian Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation Research Supplements. 1994;1(1):1-12.

permalink | trackback

Posted by Jane Tags: , , ,
Posted in Lifestyle, Motivation | No Comments »


Perfect posture boosts confidence

April 10th, 2012 by Jane

Feeling unmotivated? Lacking confidence? Consider altering your posture.

It’s firmly established that a large number of bodily movements, including posture, can influence one’s personal attitudes, motivation levels and ability to think. Studies have found that sitting slumped in a chair can make one feel less proud of their performance (Stepper & Strack, 1993) and can lead to people giving up more quickly on demanding cognitive tasks (Risking & Gotay, 1982).

More recently a study by Pablo Brinol and his colleagues looked at how an individual’s body posture influenced how confidently he or she held their own thoughts. In this study participants were told to hold a certain posture whilst writing down their best and worst qualities.

Here’s the thing: one group had to sit up straight and push out their chest (confident posture), whilst the other had to sit slouched with a curved back (doubtful posture).

What did they find?

When participants sat up straight with their chests pushed out they tended to hold their thoughts with more confidence.

Why was this the case?

It’s believed that certain postures can trigger particular states such as feeling confident or doubtful. Brinol and his colleagues state –

“the confidence (or doubt) that emerges from postures can magnify (or attenuate) the effect of anything that is currently available in people’s minds.”

So if in doubt, pull your shoulders back and sit up straight! Easier said than done, right?

For many of us, it takes a lot of work and energy to stand tall or sit up straight. Perhaps you may even feel a little strange in such a posture. There are however simple things you can do to help you improve your posture.

Like anything the key thing is practice.

Take newsreaders for instance. Have you ever seen a newsreader who was slouched as they read the news? I doubt it. Newsreaders are exemplars of perfect posture!

On the television show “Making Australia Happy” (a show that took eight unhappy Australians and gave them techniques and tools to become happier), Physiotherapist Anna-Louise Bouvier made the show’s participants practice adopting “postures of confidence”. How she did this was really simple – she took them into the ABC studio newsroom and made them read the news like a newsreader. Slouched shoulders would not cut it.

So next time your watching the news, try copying the posture of the newsreader.

It’s really not all that hard to adopt a posture of confidence. As Chiropractor Dr Natalie Cordova explains in her Youtube video “How to get good posture” the key part of having good posture is to keep your shoulders pulled back and down (the first minute of her video explains this well).

Don’t think you have a problem with your posture?

Get someone to take a photo of you next time you’re sitting in front of the computer. This may be your wake up call as it was for me. It wasn’t until I saw photos of myself slouched at a party that I realised that my mum had been right all these years – I was a hunchback waiting to happen! It was worrying for a number of reasons – firstly it was a terrible look but secondly, (and more importantly) I thought -

“What impact is my bad posture having on my confidence and general mental health?”

I decided it was time to make a change.

Looking like you lack confidence due to having bad posture is one thing. But knowing that there is a bigger and deeper impact (i.e. your actual confidence levels and motivation may be suffering) is another thing altogether.

So next time you’re feeling in a flat mood or you’re doubting your ability to do something, stop for a moment and take note of your posture – are you slouched? Slumped forward? Stand proud. Life is too short for you not to feel your best.

References

  • Brinol, P., Petty, R.E., & Wagner, B. Body posture effects on self evaluation: a self validation approach. European Journal of Social Psychology, 39, 1053-1064.
  • Riskind, J. H., & Gotay, C. C. (1982). Physical posture: could it have regulatory or feedback effects on motivation and emotion?
    Motivation and Emotion, 6, 273–298.
  • Stepper, S., & Strack, F. (1993). Propioceptive determinants of emotional and nonemotional feelings. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 211–220

    • permalink | trackback

    Posted by Jane Tags: , , ,
    Posted in Motivation | No Comments »


    It’s all in the mind: Turning work into play

    March 20th, 2012 by Jane

    When I mention the word “work” or “study”, what immediately jumps to mind?

    Many of us can’t help but think of pressure, deadlines, the possibility of failure, fatigue, discomfort and a lack of choice.

    The word “play” on the other hand conjures up a whole other world. Relaxation, having fun, feeling energised and not being worried about achieving a certain outcome are all images that may spring to mind.

    In my talks, I often tell students that it’s possible for them to get their work done in significantly less time with the right strategies and mindset. If they focus on doing one task at a time they can create more time for themselves to go and do the things they really enjoy doing.

    Why draw out a painfully boring task by multitasking and faffing around? It’s like getting your legs waxed, pulling off an old band-aid or having a needle. The quicker it’s over and done with, the better I say.

    But perhaps all this time I’ve been a little misguided in my thinking.

    You see, what if there was no distinction between work and play? What if there was a way to make your work feel like play?

    Social psychologist Ellen Langer suggests that it is possible to transform the experience of difficult, tiresome work into play. The only thing you need to change is your mindset.

    Most of us, when we sit down to do our work have to deal with a mindset that is deeply afraid of failure and dislikes having to experience pain and/or discomfort. But as Langer points out in her book “The Power of Mindful Learning” most of the work we need to do is not inherently boring or unpleasant. Many of us come to see it this way simply because we feel like our performance will be judged and evaluated (and not in a positive way).

    For example, let’s say you throw yourself into completing a project. You spend hours researching and writing it. You even stay up until the early hours of the morning thinking about it and refining it.

    Then, your boss or teacher returns your work with the following feedback –

    “This is not up to scratch. My 4 year old child could do better than this. What happened?”

    How would you feel? Most likely you wouldn’t feel great and it would be a blow to your self-esteem.

    So what many students do is they try to protect their self-esteem by distancing themselves from their work. After all, if they never do the work, what can others say about it? Nothing.

    But when you live your life in this way (never putting yourself out there and giving things a decent shot), life becomes boring and predictable very quickly. It’s hardly a satisfying way to live.

    So how can we enjoy the process of working and learning more?

    Developing a mindset of being less attached to achieving particular results is a start. Studies have found that students are able to think and perform better when they are less concerned about their grades and more involved in the process of learning.

    With a little creativity and imagination, you can also bring a piece of work to life and make it enjoyable. Social Psychologist Ellen Langer gives the example of learning anatomy which is typically viewed as a pretty tedious task. But there are several ways it can be transformed into an engaging activity. She states –

    “…what if it [learning anatomy] were a board game or a jigsaw puzzle in which we got to assemble or disassemble people we knew? Or consider the cliché that students of medicine think they have virtually every disease they study. Once you really think you have a disease, learning its symptoms, etiology, and cure may still not be fun, but it certainly isn’t as hard”

    It also appears that merely placing the label “play” on a particular activity influences how much we are able to enjoy the task and focus on it. A study by Sophia Snow and Ellen Langer found that when difficult activities were labelled as ‘play’ as opposed to ‘work’, participants enjoyed the tasks more and their minds seemed to wander less throughout the activity.

    So next time you have a task to do that you’re really dreading, simply take a moment to think about how you’re relating to the task. Are you afraid of failure? Do you think it’s going to be a painful chore? Brainstorm various ways you could make the task more engaging.

    Just remember, no task is inherently boring. It’s our mindset that ultimately determines whether it is or isn’t. Don’t like your current mindset? Change it.

    permalink | trackback

    Posted by Jane Posted in Creativity, Motivation | No Comments »


    Don’t strain your cerebral cortex: The importance of brain warm ups

    March 12th, 2012 by Jane

    My dad is 65 years old and he’s been running marathons for the last 4 years. Before a race he prepares himself mentally and physically by doing the following –

  • Getting a good night sleep (8 hours)
  • Having a healthy low GI breakfast
  • Stretching his muscles with a 500 metre jog

    • As a marathon runner he knows that to perform at his best he needs to prepare himself for the big event. Even with the best training, he knows that to run sleep deprived, in a low mood or without having warmed up would be a recipe for disaster.

    The importance of warming up seems obvious when we think of athletes, but what about for the rest of us? Do you mentally prepare yourself and warm up your brain before you start your work and study?

    Just as my dad and world class athletes prepare themselves for an event, if you have a project that you need to be able to really focus on then you’ll need to prepare yourself mentally and physically for it.

    How can you do this?

    Here is a list of 10 ways you can warm up your brain and mentally prepare for a big day at school or work.

    1. Get a good night sleep

    If you want to be able to concentrate on your work then you need to get a good night’s sleep (8.5 – 9.5 hours for adolescents, a little less for adults).

    If you’re averaging around 6 hours, that’s not enough. It’s highly likely that you will feel tired and sluggish and have great difficulty concentrating on your work.

    2. Drink plenty of water

    When you wake up have a glass of water. Why? Performance coach Harriet Griffey states -

    “Water makes up about 80% of the brain and is an essential element in neurological transmissions”.

    If you want to think better, then drink plenty of water. Often when you can’t concentrate or think properly it’s because you’re dehydrated. Have a bottle of water within arms reach when you work.

    3. Move your body

    Morning exercise can help clear and focus your mind. In addition, it can boost your endorphin levels which lifts your mood (thereby further enhancing your ability to concentrate on your work).

    4. Lift your mood and energy levels

    Think of a time when you felt stressed and irritable – how easy was it for you to concentrate? It’s tough work! On the other hand, when you feel calm and happy it’s significantly easier to concentrate.

    So if you find yourself in a negative mood, you need to find a way to stabilise your mood for the day ahead. Going for a quick 15 – 20 minute jog or taking 5 minutes to meditate may be all it takes.

    5. Do a brain dump

    When you wake up your mind can be full of different thoughts (e.g. “Why didn’t John respond to my text?”, “How am I going to get all my work done by Friday?” and “Must remember to buy milk”). If these thoughts just stay in your head they can often leave you feeling overwhelmed. Overwhelm = stress.

    So what’s the antidote? It’s simple – get the thoughts out of your head and onto paper. Spend 5 minutes writing down whatever thoughts come to mind. The act of writing them down will give you a greater sense of control.

    6. Sit still and focus on your breath for 5 minutes

    Find yourself a quiet place and sit upright. Close your eyes and focus on your breathe for 5 minutes. If a thought comes into your mind, acknowledge it and let it go, returning your focus to your breath.

    This simple exercise allows you to calm your mind and body for the day, helping you to focus and deal more effectively with what the day throws at you.

    7. Have a low GI healthy breakfast

    Low GI breakfasts, such as muesli with chopped fruit and wholemeal toast with baked beans, will give you the energy you need to get through the first part of the day and will allow you to concentrate better on your work.

    8. Spend 5 seconds de-cluttering

    A messy, disorganised environment can result in you being easily distracted from what you need to do. Spend 5 minutes cleaning your desk of anything that you won’t need to do the task at hand. If this means picking up all the papers and dumping them into a box behind you, then so be it. You can deal with them later.

    9. Get clear with lists

    Ask yourself the question -

    “What are the most important things I need to do today?”

    Start a list. Write down all the things, then cull that list back to 3 things to focus your mind on.

    10. Visualise yourself working with focus

    Visualisation is the act of mentally rehearsing something over and over in your minds eye. Athletes use this strategy to help them perfect executing certain moves. I have found this strategy to be particularly effective in helping me to prepare for engaging in work that I have a lot of mental resistance towards.

    An example of this was a 12,000 word essay I had to complete in my final year of studying psychology at university. Every morning I would imagine myself sitting at my laptop and my hands tapping away wildly at the keyboard. As simple as this may sound, this actually made it easier for me to get up and start writing my essay.

    In conclusion, we need to approach our work days as a marathon. In order for the day to go smoothly and effectively, it may help to do a brain warm up before you launch into your work. Without it, you’ll probably still be able to function at a reasonable level, but it may take you longer and be harder to get into the work you need to do. Try combining a few of the suggestions above and let me know how you go.

    permalink | trackback

    Posted by Jane Tags: , ,
    Posted in Lifestyle, Motivation, Study Techniques | 1 Comment »


    Can you Survive the Zombie Apocalypse?

    February 29th, 2012 by Jane

    Motivating yourself to exercise isn’t always easy. When you’ve been at school or work for over 6 – 8 hours, the last thing you probably want to do is go for a run, walk or lift some weights.

    But what if a horde of zombies was chasing after you? Would that motivate you to start running?

    The latest craze in exercise isn’t Zumba, it’s Zombies, run!

    Adrian Hon and Naomi Alderman created and launched the iPhone exercise application, Zombies, Run!, earlier this year.

    How it works is pretty straight forward – you pop your head phones in, press play and you hear instructions in between your usual running track playlist telling you to collect supplies, such as medicines and batteries, as your chased by zombies.

    Every time you go for a run a story unfolds.

    In addition, the application records your distance, time, pace and calories burned of each run.

    The inspiration for Zombies, run! came when Naomi was taking part in an online running training group and she was asked the question, “Why do you want to run?” One participant in the group responded with “to outrun the zombie horde” and the idea was born.

    Naomi states –

    “We want to know that if things go bad we’d be able to rely on our bodies to get us through and keep us safe. And it’s cool to imagine yourself in an action movie – I dorkily do that all the time when I’m on the treadmill”

    Zombies, run! may not be for everyone, but you have to hand it to the creators of this application, it’s a highly original idea!

    Some people may think that the idea of being chased by zombies is too far-fetched and hard to imagine. But I beg to differ. Just look around you. Have you ever noticed that many people seem to be a little zombified these days? Vacant looks on their faces? There are zombies everywhere.

    So if the gym or running bores the pants off you or you simply need to spice up your exercise program, then consider trying Zombies, run!

    permalink | trackback

    Posted by Jane Tags: , , , ,
    Posted in Lifestyle, Motivation | No Comments »


    Think Big in 2012: The Power of New Year’s Resolutions

    January 1st, 2012 by Jane

    Today, at the start of 2012, many of us will take on adopting healthier habits, but in the next breath, or by tomorrow, or the next week, we will have given up and gone back to our old ways.

    A conversation I had with a friend last year nicely illustrates this point. We were discussing the year ahead and he said –

    “This year is going to be better than last. This year I’m going to be fit and healthy. No more smoking!”

    A moment later, he pulled out a cigarette, lit it up and took a puff.

    Naturally, some of us have become cynical about new year’s resolutions. “They don’t work” and “Don’t waste your time with them” I hear my friends and family say.

    But research findings indicate that we may have underestimated the power of new year’s resolutions. A longitudinal study by Norcross, Ratzin and Payne tracked over 200 people and the progress of their new year’s resolutions. They asked themselves the research question “How long would these people last in sticking to their new years resolutions?”

    The results were impressive. Over 77% of participants had kept their main resolutions after 1 week, 55% after 1 month and 40% after 6 months.

    This study also looked at the factors and strategies people used to stick to their new year’s resolutions and examined the effectiveness of each.

    There appeared to be two main factors that predicted people’s success when it came to sticking to their goals. Firstly, people had to be ready to change and take action. Simply having a strong desire to change wasn’t enough. Secondly, they had to believe that they could. Having confidence in their ability to change their behaviour was key.

    We can also look to people who have successfully overcome powerful addictions (e.g. alcoholism and smoking) for insights into how to break bad habits and develop healthier ones.

    The researcher Glasgow and his team followed over 100 people who were trying to quit smoking. Those that managed to do so, used more positive self-talk than those that failed to quit.

    For example, instead of saying positie statements such as “I’ll feel great and be able to breathe more easily”, they’d say “I’ll be a loser if I can’t quit the smokes”. Positive self talk appears to make a huge difference.

    “Stimulus control” and “reinforcement management” are other psychobabble terms that are used to explain strategies that can help you to change your behaviour. According to behavioural psychologists, the surrounding environment shapes human behaviour.

    In other words, if you have an endless supply of chocolates and lollies in your pantry, then most likely you’re going to eat them and may even develop a sugar addiction. Similarly, if your friends and family always offer you cake and chocolate and even praise you for eating these foods (i.e. reinforcement), then it’s highly likely you’re going to develop some bad habits.

    The idea behind stimulus control is really quite simple. Look around and ask yourself “What is triggering me to eat chocolate?” (i.e. what’s the stimulus or trigger of the undesirable behaviour?) It may be the sight of the chocolate on your desk. So then what? Get rid of the chocolate. Throw it in the bin and don’t buy any more. Too easy.

    But what about that big Aunt who always force feeds you her chocolates as a way of expressing her love, and gives you boxes of the stuff for Christmas? Well, according to behavioural psychology you need to manage the stimulus and reinforcer, which means Bye Bye Aunty. Stop seeing her.

    But if you’re like me and you know you just couldn’t do that, this is where the power of impis come in.

    Impis (short for implementation intentions) take the form of “If…then…” statements and allow you to make a desired behaviour automatic. For example, I could set myself the impi of –

    If my aunt offers me chocolates, then I will politely say “No thanks”.

    The beauty of impis is that they are pre-decisions. This means you have made the decision before the situation arises, so the next time you see your aunt you immediately know what you’ll say and do. “No thanks”.

    Here’s the thing, I don’t smoke. I don’t drink alcohol. In fact, I’m pretty fit and healthy but I’m not going to pretend that my life is perfect because it isn’t.

    Like most people, I want 2012 to be better than previous years. There’s room for improvement. I know that I spend more time than I would like on the internet. So I’m resolving to cut back on my internet use. No internet before 10:30am. Checking emails only twice a day.

    In a nutshell, the research is clear – new year’s resolutions can and do work. Now is as good a time as any to establish some healthier habits for a happier year. So what are you setting out to create for the new year? Let me know by posting a comment below.

    permalink | trackback

    Posted by Jane Tags: , , ,
    Posted in Goal setting, Lifestyle, Motivation | 5 Comments »


    How Focusing on Results Limits Success

    September 25th, 2011 by Jane

    “Early education makes us mindless” states social psychologist Ellen Langer.

    In her book “Mindfulness” Langer argues that from a young age we are taught to focus on goals rather than the process by which they are achieved.

    With such an intense focus on achieving goals and high results you may have become locked in a certain way of thinking. “Mindless” is how Langer describes this state.

    Instead of asking “How do I do this?” or “How can I do this?” you find yourself anxiously thinking “Can I do this?” and “What if I fail?”. The joy of learning ceases to exist.

    It can be tough being a student in a highly competitive, results oriented school system. As Author and Educator Allison Zmuda states -

    “In their efforts to do well in school, students have largely become low level bureaucrats who complete the requisite paperwork but suffer from the monotony of the experience”.

    Sadly, this was the case for me. In high school I was a rote learning parrot. Bored out of my brain but extremely driven.

    Did I care about whether I had a deep understanding of my subjects? No, not at all. All I wanted were gold stars, high percentages and the letter A on my work.

    Then almost overnight everything changed.

    I got 1 out of 20 on my first test at Law school.

    That’s right. 1 out of 20. And boy, did that hurt.

    High school had trained me to become a masterful rote learner, capable of churning out hundreds of abstract, sterile facts. But this skill no longer served me well in a system that required you to have a deep understanding of complex ideas.

    In my heartbreak of receiving such a lousy mark, I remember asking myself –

    “What is the point of going through another 5 years of study if it’s only for a piece of paper? Is there any point if I don’t enjoy myself and grow as a person?”

    At that point I let go of my obsession with results. I became fascinated by the process of learning (eg. How does one learn information at a deep level?). For the first time in my life I started to enjoy learning. I mean really enjoy learning. Some subjects gave me such joy and changed my entire outlook on life.

    10 years later, I am now doing my PhD. My uncle would call me a “professional student” but I don’t see it that way. I love learning.

    I spend my days exploring original ideas that fascinate me. It’s common for me to stumble across an idea that makes me want to scream out with joy. I only wish it hadn’t taken me so long to arrive at this point.

    When you shift your focus from results to the process, not only do you experience greater happiness and fulfilment, but you stop comparing yourself to others. I’m sure you’ve had the experience where you compared yourself to another person and subsequently, felt jealous.

    Langer argues that often when we feel jealous of another’s accomplishments it’s because we focus on the end result (not the process the person has gone through).

    When I first started my PhD I would compare myself to a 70 year old accomplished professor. I found myself thinking “He is so smart”, “Look at these articles he has written…I can’t write like this” and “His ideas are so deep…I’m so simple”.

    Here I was embarking on the beginning of my research career comparing myself to a professor who had been developing and thinking about ideas for over 50 years!

    This is indeed a trap that many postgraduate students fall into. Langer states –

    “They begin their dissertations with inordinate anxiety because they have seen other peoples completed and polished work and mistakenly compare it to their own first tentative steps.

    With their noses deep in file cards and half-baked hypotheses, they look in awe at Dr So-and-Sos published book as if it had been born without effort or false starts, directly from brain to printed page.

    By investigating how someone got somewhere, we are more likely to see the achievement as hard won and our own chances as more plausible”.

    In my experience, learning can be a tremendous source of fulfilment and joy. But to experience this takes valuing the process over the end result and not comparing yourself to others.

    The paradox is that when you immerse yourself in the process, you will most likely get a better result and experience far more rewards along the way.

    permalink | trackback

    Posted by Jane Tags: , , ,
    Posted in Goal setting, Lifestyle, Motivation | 1 Comment »


    «
    »
    Next Page »