Word-Of-the-Week #967: Intuition
February 16, 2023 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word-Of-the-Week #967: Intuition
Intuition – a gut feeling of knowing without ever having any idea why you know it.
Have you ever had a feeling that you knew something but didn’t know how or why? Do you have the courage to follow your heart and your intuition?
This is the follow up to “How To Be Successful In Life: 13 Tips From The World’s Most Successful People.” Kara Heissman has seen over the years how the quality of people’s lives are reduced by their inability to find solutions for certain difficulties in their lives.
There are a lot of tips and strategies out there on how to be successful in life, but I am still a firm believer that there is no better way to succeed than to follow that footsteps of those who have already done so. Here are her other 7 success tips from some of the world’s most successful and renowned people:
- Avoid conflicts.
From Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of America: “The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.”
- Don’t be afraid of introducing new ideas.
From Mark Twain, Famed Author: “A person with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds.”
- Believe in your capacity to succeed.
From Walter Disney, Founder of Walt Disney Company: “If you can dream it, you can do it.”
- Always maintain a positive mental attitude.
From Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of America: “Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.”
- Don’t let discouragement stop you from pressing on.
From Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of America: “Let no feeling of discouragement prey upon you, and in the end you are sure to succeed.”
- Be willing to work hard.
From JC Penny, Founder of JC Penney Inc.: “Unless you are willing to drench yourself in your work beyond the capacity of the average man, you are just not cut out for positions at the top.”
- Be brave enough to follow your intuition.
From Steve Jobs, Co-founder of Apple Inc.: “Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
This week’s focus is on intuition. How often have you had a gut feeling but not sure how or why? How often has it served you well? How would it feel to not question and just follow your gut feelings?
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Word-Of-the-Week #966: Succeed
February 9, 2023 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word-Of-the-Week #966: Succeed
Succeed – to accomplish something desired or intended.
How many times have you accomplished something you desired or intended? How comfortable are you setting BIG lofty goals? How well do you handle failure – freeze up or keep going?
Kara Heissman has seen over the years how the quality of people’s lives are reduced by their inability to find solutions for certain difficulties in their lives. The next 2 WOW’s feature “How To Be Successful In Life: 13 Tips From The World’s Most Successful People.”
“No matter how old you are, where you’re from or what you do for a living, we all share something in common—a desire to be successful. Each person’s definition of success is different, however, as some may define success as being a loving and faithful spouse or a caring and responsible parent, while most people would equate success with wealth, fame, and power.
We all want to achieve success so we could live a comfortable life—have financial freedom, drive a nice car, and live in a beautiful house. However, although success can be achieved, it does not come easy.
There are a lot of tips and strategies out there on how to be successful in life, but I am still a firm believer that there is no better way to succeed than to follow that footsteps of those who have already done so. Here are her first 6 success tips from some of the world’s most successful and renowned people:
- Think big.
From Michelangelo Buonarroti, Great Renaissance Artist: “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.”
- Find what you love to do and do it.
From Oprah Winfrey, Media Mogul:“You know you are on the road to success if you would do your job and not be paid for it.”
- Learn how to balance life.
From Phil Knight, CEO of Nike Inc.: “There is an immutable conflict at work in life and in business, a constant battle between peace and chaos. Neither can be mastered, but both can be influenced. How you go about that is the key to success.”
- Do not be afraid of failure.
From Henry Ford, Founder of Ford Motors: “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.”
- Have an unwavering resolution to succeed.
From Colonel Sanders, Founder of KFC: “I made a resolve then that I was going to amount to something if I could. And no hours, nor amount of labor, nor amount of money would deter me from giving the best that there was in me. And I have done that ever since, and I win by it. I know.”
- Be a man of action.
From Leonardo da Vinci, Renaissance Genius: “It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.”
This week’s focus is helping you to succeed. Do you love the life you have created? Are you able to keep your work and home life balanced? Are you waiting for things to happen or are you making things happen? Will you do whatever it takes to succeed?
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Word-Of-the-Week #965: Ultracrepidarianism
February 2, 2023 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word-Of-the-Week #965: Ultracrepidarianism
Ultracrepidarianism – the habit of giving opinions and advice on matters outside of one’s knowledge or competence.
Are you like me and never heard this word before? Do you know anyone who has expressed an opinion outside the scope of their knowledge or expertise?
This week features excerpts from “The era of the ultracrepidarian” by Daily Journal writer Leo Morris.
“It pains me to confess this, but I am an ultracrepidarian. You might not want to hear it, but there’s a good chance you are one as well.
The word describes people who “express opinions on matters outside the scope of their knowledge or expertise.”
It comes from the Latin for “beyond the sandal or shoe,” adapted from the longer “‘the cobbler should not judge beyond his shoe.” That, according to Pliny the Elder’s Natural History, is what the painter Apelles of Kos replied to criticism from a shoemaker, who had been asked to critique the footwear detailed in a painting, then proceeded to also offer his evaluation of everything else about it.
Once you know to look for ultracrepidarians, you can find them everywhere in our public conversation.
There is the sports columnist who thinks we are also entitled to his political wisdom. The religious leader who presumes to lecture us about economics. The actress who feels qualified to warn us about the dangers of vaccinations. The barely pubescent pop star who dispenses relationship advice. The Twitter blowhard who sneers at everything with absolute certainty.
I’m adept at spotting them because, as I hinted, “It takes one to know one.”
Leo Morris
I spent the vast majority of my working life as an editorial page editor, which allowed me to express authoritative pronouncements on any and all complicated issues that appeared in the news sections. And yet I was an expert in absolutely nothing, except the art of expressing authoritative announcements.
In other words, as I’ve said often over the years, I got paid good money for shooting my mouth off. And the best part was that I didn’t even have to be right.
So let me offer this one piece of advice in the one area I have some competence in: Don’t assume anything about an opinion you hear. It doesn’t have to be right. It doesn’t have to be wrong. Don’t treat it as anything other than what it is, an assertion that should stand or fall based on your best analysis of all the available evidence.”
This week’s focus is ultracrepidarianism. Do you assume anything about an opinion you hear? Do you know anyone who continually dispenses advice that you know is simply not true?
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Word-Of-the-Week #964: Elation
January 26, 2023 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word-Of-the-Week #964: Elation
Elation – being filled with great joy or happiness.
Are you aware of those things in your life that bring you joy and happiness? When was the last time you took a walk in the park or took time to smell the roses?
This week features the second half of Washington Post writer Richard Sima, “Want to feel happier? Try snacking on joy. Learning to find the joy in mundane experiences is a way to cultivate a more meaningful life.
How to find more joy snacks
“Joy is a mind-set and something we can orient toward by being on the lookout for it.
“You can’t produce joy, but you can prepare for it,” Watkins said.
Researchers are studying how people can become more receptive to joyful moments. Taking time each day to recount past episodes of joy may be one way to increase your predisposition for joy in the future, though more work is needed on how best to develop a “lifestyle of joy,” Watkins said.
Cultivating gratitude is another way of cultivating joy. In one study, Watkins and colleagues used questionnaire data to measure participants’ gratitude and joyfulness in the moment and over time. They found that the more grateful a person is, the more likely they were to feel joy in the future. The reverse was also true: The more predisposed to joy someone is, the more likely they would feel gratitude as well.
- “Joy and gratitude kind of feed on each other,” Watkins said. “We call it a cycle of virtue.”
Gratitude interventions, such as writing down the things we felt grateful for during the day, have been found to improve mood and may foster more gratitude.
It is also important not to fall prey to what some psychologists have called “killjoy thinking,” which actively inhibits enjoyment by neutralizing positive moods. For example, watching a beautiful sunset with a loved one but only focusing on how cold it is about to get is tantamount to stealing a joy snack right out of your own mouth.
“If you’re not able to see the good in your life, you’re always overwhelmed by the bad in your life, you’re probably not going to prepare yourself for experiencing joy,” Watkins said.
One way to increase joy is to try savoring, which means mindfully paying attention, appreciating and accentuating the positive experiences we have.
That cup of coffee. The cuddliness of your pet. A joke whose punchline hits just right.
Focusing on the sensations and emotions you feel in these moments can make the joy snack all the richer.
It can take practice to get better at identifying and appreciating these experiences, but “once you learn to slow down and pay attention to those things, put more weight on those things, your life feels more fulfilled and more meaningful,” Hicks said.
- Nature is one powerful source of joy snacks that many people can nosh on, in part because of its power of inducing awe.
Hicks and his colleagues found that just having participants watch the two-minute opener to the nature documentary “Planet Earth” produced appreciation for the experience and, in turn, a greater sense of meaning.
“Nature is all around us, but it’s very easy to ignore it and downplay it,” Hicks said.
Sometimes taking a walk in the park and smelling the roses — by yourself or with others — is simply all you need to do to find some everyday joy.
- “No matter who you are, no matter where you are in life, there’s something out there that can bring you joy and happiness,” Hicks said.
So, what is your joy snack this week?”
This week’s focus is feeling elation. How good are you at mindfully paying attention, appreciating and accentuating the positive experiences you have? Have you ever focused on the sensations and emotions you feel in those moments? Is it time for a gratitude intervention?
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Word-Of-the-Week #963: Joy
January 19, 2023 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word-Of-the-Week #963: Joy
Joy – a deep feeling of happiness or contentment.
Do you know that feeling joy is strongly associated with subjective well-being, which is essential for human flourishing? When was the last time you felt connected, or reunited with something or someone that’s really important to you?
This week features the first half of Washington Post writer Richard Sima, “Want to feel happier? Try snacking on joy. Learning to find the joy in mundane experiences is a way to cultivate a more meaningful life.
“Here’s an antidote to an ever-stressful, busy and uncertain world. Try finding and savoring little bites of joy in your day. I call them “joy” snacks.
By mindfully tuning into the pleasant, nice and sometimes routine experiences of every day, we can transform an otherwise mundane moment into something more meaningful and even joyful.
Lunch with a co-worker. Walking the dog. Texting with a friend. Watching a favorite show. Eating a favorite meal. Calling your mom. Just hanging out.
New research shows that finding and savoring these nuggets of joy can be a way of consistently cultivating a good, meaningful life.
“It’s not these big things that we sort of create in our heads, but these smaller day-to-day experiences that bring us meaning,” said Joshua Hicks, psychologist at Texas A&M University’s Existential Psychology Collaboratory.
- Understanding the science of joy
Surprisingly, joy has been relatively neglected by scholars.
But recent research suggests that joy is a distinct positive emotion for “when we feel connected, or reunited with something or someone that’s really important to us,” said Philip Watkins, psychologist who studies joy, gratitude and happiness at Eastern Washington University.
Watkins’s research, perhaps unsurprisingly, finds that feeling joy is strongly associated with subjective well-being, which is essential for human flourishing.
Big events like weddings or reunions are well-known smorgasbords for joy. But smaller bites of joy in everyday life matter, too, and are easier to attain if we don’t overlook them.
Previous research has shown we derive meaning in life from three key factors — feeling like our life makes sense, having a purpose driven by goals we care about and feeling like our lives matter.
A February study published in Nature Human Behavior involving more than 3,000 participants across multiple experiments reported that valuing one’s life experiences, or experiential appreciation, is another potent way of making life feel more meaningful.
When asked by researchers to recount their most meaningful experience that occurred in the past week, for most people, it was not about their grand, overarching goals, but something simpler and more mundane that stood out, such as having an enjoyable conversation or being surrounded by nature.
“It’s not just about you creating meaning in your head,” said Hicks, who co-wrote the study. “It’s about detecting meaning that’s already out there.”
Snacking on joy can go beyond focusing on our own experiences. Sharing our joy snacks also helps foster even stronger bonds with those we care about most. Relationship research has found that couples who celebrate small things regularly — not just the anniversaries — had stronger and happier partnerships.
There is also joy to be had when you take the time to reconnect with the person that is always with you: yourself.
This week’s focus is on feeling joy. Do you feel that your life makes sense and that it matters? Does your life feel purpose driven by goals you care about? Have you taken time to reconnect with yourself? How would it feel to find and savor little bites of joy in your day?
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