Word-Of-the-Week #655: Attention
February 23, 2017 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word-Of-the-Week #655: Attention
Attention – observation and awareness of one’s surroundings.
Did you find anything awe inspiring last week? Did it spur you to want to get out and experience nature? Would you believe that the feeling of awe actually has proven health benefits?
This is part 2 of “Feeling Awe May Be the Secret to Health and Happiness” from the Parade article by Paula Spencer Scott. She writes, “For years, only the “big six” emotions (happiness, sadness, fear, anger, disgust, surprise) got much scientific attention. “Awe was thought of as the Gucci of the emotion world—cool if you have it, but a luxury item,” says Arizona State University psychologist Michelle Shiota. “But it’s now thought to be a basic part of being human that we all need.”
Here’s what these “wizards of awe” are discovering:
- Awe binds us together. It’s a likely reason human beings are wired to feel awe, Keltner says: to get us to act in more collaborative ways, ensuring our survival. Facing a great vista—or a starry sky or a cathedral—we realize we’re a small part of something much larger. Our thinking shifts from me to we.
Astronauts feel this in the extreme. They often report an intense, “far out” state of oneness with humanity when looking back at Earth, called the “overview effect,” says David Bryce Yaden, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania. Our pale blue dot “looks small against the vastness of space and yet represents all that we hold meaningful,” he says. Call it a wow of astronomical proportions.
2.5 – Average number of times a week people feel awe.
(Photo Courtesy of long time subscriber and friend Bob McCormick who wrote, “Took attached photo from my front deck a few mornings ago.” How’s that for awesome?)
Awe helps us see things in new ways. Unlike, say, fear or excitement, which trip our “fight-or-flight” response, awe puts on the brakes and keeps us still and attentive, says Shiota. This “stop-and-think” phenomenon makes us more receptive to details and new information. No wonder Albert Einstein described feelings of awe as “the source of all true art and science.”
- Awe makes us nicer—and happier. “Awe causes a kind of Be Here Now that seems to dissolve the self,” says social psychologist Paul Piff of the University of California, Irvine. It makes us act more generously, ethically and fairly.
In one experiment, subjects spent a full minute looking at either an impressive stand of North America’s tallest eucalyptus trees or a plain building. Not surprisingly, the tree-gazers reported higher awe. When a tester “accidentally” dropped pens in front of the subjects, the awestruck ones helped pick up way more than the others.
75% – How much awe is inspired by the natural world.
- Awe alters our bodies. Awe is the positive emotion that most strongly predicts reduced levels of cytokines, a marker of inflammation that’s linked to depression, according to research from University of Toronto’s Jennifer Stellar. That suggests a possible role in health and healing, and may help explain the raft of recent studies that have linked exposure to nature with lower blood pressure, stronger immune systems and more. Researchers even wonder whether a lack of nature and other opportunities for feeling awe might add to the stresses and health damage that come from living in urban blight or poverty.
This week’s focus is paying attention to the awe around you and how it makes you feel. Would you like to be nicer and happier? Would you like to be more receptive to details and new information? Would you like to be as healthy as possible without taking prescription drugs?
Stay tuned – next week 7 Ways to Find Awe in Everyday Life!
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Word-Of-the-Week #654: Awe
February 16, 2017 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word-Of-the-Week #654: Awe
Awe– an overwhelming feeling of wonder; often inspired by something majestic or powerful.
When was the last time you saw something jaw dropping? How often do you spend time outdoors in nature? Do you remember the last time you felt an electrifying emotion?
“Feeling Awe May Be the Secret to Health and Happiness” comes from the Parade article by Paula Spencer Scott. She writes, “The hike, in a narrow box canyon, wasn’t going so well. Stacy Bare and his brother were arguing, for one thing. High sandstone walls hid any view, even from the 6-foot-7 Bare. After a second Army deployment, in Iraq, he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): drinking too much, suicidal and struggling to find his way forward. What am I doing with my life? What does it mean to be at home, a veteran, anyway?
The trail led to a ladder. “We climbed up, still shouting at one another,” recalls Bare. “Then we looked up and wham!”
The towering slabs of Druid Arch rose up, a sunset-hued Stonehenge in the middle of Utah’s Canyonlands National Park. The men’s jaws dropped. They laughed. They hugged. What were we even arguing about? Bare recalls thinking.
They’d been awestruck—altered in an instant by an electrifying emotion that scientists have only recently begun to study. You didn’t see Awe as a character in Pixar’s hit film Inside Out. But new studies show that it’s a dramatic feeling with the power to inspire, heal, change our thinking and bring people together.
WHAT IS AWE, ANYWAY?
“Awe is the feeling of being in the presence of something vast or beyond human scale, that transcends our current understanding of things,” says psychologist Dacher Keltner, who heads the University of California, Berkeley’s Social Interaction Lab. A pioneer in the study of emotions, he helped Facebook create those new “like” button emojis and consulted on Inside Out.
In 2013, Keltner’s lab kicked off Project Awe, a three-year research project funded by the John Templeton Foundation that has spawned more research on the topic than in the previous three decades.
You might recognize awe as that spine-tingling feeling you get gazing at the Milky Way. The dumbstruck wonder you feel as your newborn’s hand curls around your pinkie. Niagara Falls! Cirque du Soleil! Fireworks! The Sistine Chapel! The national anthem sung by someone who knows how!
“People often talk about awe as seeing the Grand Canyon or meeting Nelson Mandela,” Keltner says. “But our studies show it also can be much more accessible—a friend is so generous you’re astounded, or you see a cool pattern of shadows and leaves.”
This week’s focus is finding awe in your life. Do you remember the last time you had an overwhelming feeling of wonder? Have you ever seen the Grand Canyon? Or experienced the beauty of Yosemite? When was the last time you admired a beautiful sunset, a full moon rising, or took time to just look and marvel at the stars?
Stay Tuned…next week Part 2 follow up.
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Word-Of-the-Week #653: Aptitude
February 9, 2017 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word-Of-the-Week #653: Aptitude
Aptitude– an inherent ability; talent.
Are you in a job that utilizes the best use of your talents? Have you been thinking about a career change? Do you have children or grandchildren entering the work force this year?
Career Coach Rachel Loock’s Washing Post article “New job in the New Year? How to make sure it is a fit” is more great New Year insight. Excerpts are as follows, “January is the time for making resolutions and, for many, looking for a new job. Perhaps your current job isn’t challenging enough, or you’ve hit a wall in terms of opportunities for growth and advancement. Maybe boredom has set in, or you’ve had too many bad days at work in 2016. If you feel stuck career-wise, and have resolved to make a career change in 2017, consider the following before making your next career move.
- What am I good at and what do I like to do?
This may seem obvious, but is often overlooked by job seekers. While there are many factors that contribute to career satisfaction, understanding what this truly means to you and where you can apply your skills and interests is the first step in identifying whether a new job is the right fit for you.
One way to gain additional insight is to reflect upon three professional success stories — scenarios where you utilized your strengths and talents and enjoyed what you were doing. Ask yourself these questions: What was the accomplishment, what did you enjoy most, where did you use your strengths and talents and what were you passionate about? Obtaining feedback from your boss and co-workers may help you identify additional scenarios and instances where your skills and talents shined.
- What do I value and what motivates me?
Understanding what your values are and what motivates you is perhaps the most important aspect of whether a job is a good fit. People are motivated by different things and there are no “right” or “wrong” motivators.
Motivators are typically formed in the mid-to-late teen years and remain fixed throughout an individual’s life. Examples of job-related motivators include managing and developing people, intellectual challenge — do you enjoy learning new things and being challenged intellectually — whatever that means to you. Some people are motivated by contributing to a good cause or to the betterment of society. Perhaps you are motivated by the ability to influence and persuade others.
Autonomy can also be a very strong motivator. Do you like a high level of independence and the ability to perform the job in manner you see fit? Is variety in the job important to you? Does the job offer the chance to regularly take on new and different tasks? The opportunity to advance and grow is a motivating factor for many people. Other motivating factors such as financial reward, work/life balance and job security are also important.
- What is my best culture fit?
As important as it is to match your skills, strengths and motivators to a new position, it is equally important to understand the type of culture in which you will thrive for the best career match. Identifying what you like and don’t like about your current organization’s culture can be a starting point to discover the best culture fit for you. A small startup will have a very different culture than a large corporation that has been in business for a long time.
Organizational culture includes factors such whether the focus is on people versus outcomes, or whether there is a high level of risk-taking versus stability. Are innovation and change celebrated, or does progress move at a slow pace? Is the environment collaborative versus competitive? Is teamwork valued or are individual contributors recognized and rewarded more often? Other cultural factors to consider, does the organization incorporate diversity and inclusiveness in its corporate policies?
- Pulling it all together
Identifying your skills, interests and motivators, along with the best culture match, will help you find the best job fit in 2017.
This week’s focus is on aptitude. Have you identified what you are good at and like to do? Do you know what your top three motivators are? What is the most important aspect when it comes to company culture?
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Word-Of-the-Week #652: Capable
February 2, 2017 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word-Of-the-Week #652: Capable
Capable– having the ability to accomplish ones goals.
How successful are you at accomplishing your goals? Has self-doubt ever kept you from starting? Are you looking for the “perfect time” to start?
This week features the final four things you need to do accomplish your goals from Gordon Tredgold’s article “READY, SET, GOAL! Banish common habits that can destroy your plans for this year.”
- Engaging in self-doubt
Most people are not afraid of hard work, but they are afraid of failure. Self-doubt can feed right into that fear, which can then cause us to quit.
The reality is that you are capable of significantly more than you think you are, and you need to work on building your self-confidence, by looking for role models that you know you can emulate and having plans that you believe in.
One of the best ways to banish doubt is to create a recognition board. You can record your previous success or any achievement of which you’re proud. And when you start to have self-doubts, go back and look at the recognition board to give you a confidence boost to help you get back on track.
“Success is a state of mind. If you want success, start thinking of yourself as a success.” — Joyce Brothers
- Thinking there’s a short cut to success
Stop looking for the short cut to success, or a silver bullet solution that’s going to take all of the hard work out of being successful. I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it doesn’t exist. All success is based on hard work and the sooner you accept this, the sooner you can get to work and start making progress toward your goal.
“There is no elevator to success; you have to take the stairs.” — Zig Ziglar
- Procrastinating
This is probably the biggest obstacle that many of you will have to overcome. I say that because I know it’s one of the biggest challenges that friends, clients and I have to overcome.
The best way to fight procrastination is to create a plan, and then be self-disciplined about it and do what needs to be done today. I know this sounds a lot easier than it is, so look to start small. As you see the progress, it will motivate you and help to diminish the procrastination.
“Procrastination is opportunity’s assassin.” — Victor Kiam
- Fretting about the perfect time to start
You will never think you’re completely ready or that now is a perfect time to start things.
But in reality, you are more ready than you know, and it’s better to start sooner rather than later.
When you start now, you will have the full year to make changes and re-evaluate what you need to do. If you wait, you’re just eating the available time that you may need later in the year.
“Action is the foundational key to all success.” — Pablo Picasso
This week’s focus is on being capable. Do you feel confident that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to do? Have you ever created a step-by-step action plan? Do you keep track of all of your accomplishments? Celebrate your victories!
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