Career aspirations

It is extremely important to know where you are going in life. In this article, we will work out exercises that will help you enhance your career choices and explore other options. We aim to help you form a career vision and determine your perception of an ideal day at work! Forming a vision is an engaging and an introspective exercise. However, it can be optimally formed if you rid yourself of any 'life conditioning' that you have had in the past. We want you to unlearn it all and do this exercise with a blank fresh mind. This way you can keep biases and prejudices as bay and look at the options available to you in a totally different light. Don't think about the advices and suggestions given to you by your family and friends. This is all about exploring what you want and where do you see yourself. Steer clear, that there is no such thing as an ideal or unconventional career. What suits you is the ideal and right career for you. Don't get bogged down by the intentions of your parents to find a respectable career that they did not have. This is the chance for YOU to create the career that YOU want! So kick start the process and rid yourselves of all personal barriers such as lack of motivation or laziness and of all the expectations and aspirations of your friends and family. Career Planning Exercises The following exercises will help you to determine your likes and dislikes as well as your career aspirations. Please take your time in answering the questions. As you answer the questions, you will start to formulate some conclusions as to what is 'right' and what is 'wrong' in a career for you. Q. LIFESTYLE: Identify the key characteristics of your ideal lifestyle - what would they be? i.e. 2 hours quality time with the kids every night, earn $60,000 pa, 30 minute travel time to work, 2 holidays per year, work in a team, etc. Does/will your current career allow you to achieve your ideal lifestyle? Q. LIKES/DISLIKES: What are your likes and dislikes at work? Make 2 lists below. What activities do you enjoy? Which activities would you rather avoid? Does your current job have more likes or dislikes? Q. STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES: Put yourself in the shoes of a potential employer. What are your key strengths and weaknesses? Think experience, qualifications, training, ability, attitude and knowledge. Q. PERSONALITY: Does your current career fit with your personality type? Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Do you like to learn by doing or by thinking and reflecting? Do you like variety and changes to the work that you complete or do you like routine and certainty? Q. Ideal Day at Work: Describe in as much detail your ideal day at work - what sort of things would you be doing? Q. Ideal Career Characteristics: Based on all that you have written in this book so far, determine the ideal career for you. Imagine you are a kid again, what would you like to be when you grow up?!

About Author: Life Coaching is all about helping people get from where they are in their life to where they want to get to. Love to start your own Life Coaching business? Keen to improve your confidence and communication skills? Click here for full details on our range of coaching and self improvement products.

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Poor appetite

Stress related ailments are now becoming an elevating problem in our hectic, fast-paced and tight scheduled activities. Being stressed could really cause some serious and debilitating problems and may take a toll on both our mind and body when not handled and treated accordingly. Physicians are prescribing more and more medication to remedy some ailments and maladies caused or aggravated by stress. These days, most bigger companies or corporations receive tons of complaints from staff and employees about some stress linked problems. That’s why, it is really important to find some ways and methods on how to deal and handle with the ever growing amounts of strain and pressure we encounter daily. And making use of stress balls could be a very effective method in making it a part of our routine in stress management. These stress balls are extremely becoming more and more popular. They are small and could be easily brought and carried with you in your purse or pockets and then kept or stored in a desk or drawers. What’s more, they are washable, could come in various sizes and shapes, plus, they could even be imprinted with the company logo or name. Their doughy and soft feel are truly soothing and relaxing to the hands, fingers and feet. Some even have vibrating effect. Most managers or employers foster the use of those balls and might even provide them for you. They could give a fast and immediate relief during quick breaks or between tasks at work. So if you already have one, be sure to keep them in handy so you could utilize them during break time, on lunch breaks, or for a few minutes between phone calls or meetings. Amongst other stuff, high levels of stress could eventually lead to the following problems: anxiety, poor appetite, increase in heart rate, disturbance in memory and concentration, loss of sleep (insomnia), increased blood pressure, some mood swings accompanied with fits or bursts of anger. Although not technically deemed as a “therapy” for being stressed, squeezing those stress balls could very well give a very rejuvenating and favorable effect in minimizing stress and managing certain stressful conditions or situations. 1. Improved blood circulation raises some essential nutrients in our blood like oxygen and glucose and reduces toxins like lactate and carbon dioxide. 2. They could help aid your mind relax and stabilize by redirecting your attention away from the source of the stress. Some of the excess energy which is accumulating could be released by re-concentrating on squeezing the ball itself. In the end, this can result in a relaxation and rejuvenation of the body and mind. The bottom line is, you don’t need to spend lots of cash on just a set of stress balls, nevertheless. An inexpensive set would remedy and relieve strain just as well as the pricey one. The principle here is to keep them at hand and teach yourself on how to make the most of them during those times and moments of highly intensified stressful situations.

About Author: The author of this article Menno Spijkstra is an Internet Marketing specialist who has been successful with many affiliate programs for years. Menno finally decided to share his knowledge and experience through his site http://www.AffiliateDistrict.com. You can sign up for his free newsletter and join his coaching program.

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Road Rage Incidents

Do you tailgate other cars when you want them to go faster? What about showing impatience by flashing your headlights? Do you honk your horn at other cars that seem to be a little slow reacting to a green light? Watch out. Impulse reactions such as these are warning signs of a clinical disorder called INTERMITTENT EXPLOSIVE DISORDER, or IED. That is right! Road rage is now officially recognized as a form of mental illness. A recent study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health found evidence of IED in 1 out of 20 Americans surveyed, meaning as many as 15 or 16 million of us are prone to road rage. According to lead author Ronald Kessler, a Harvard professor of health care policy, an awful lot of people in America have IED, a condition characterized by overreaction with explosive anger attacks that are out of proportion to the situation. A big problem, according to Kessler, is they are not being treated because they do not think they have a problem. They think somebody else has a problem. Experts worry that the rising trend of IED among teenagers may lead to future mental health problems such as alcoholism, depression, and domestic violence. Once it is diagnosed, treatment for IED includes antidepressants, anger management, and cognitive behavioral therapy, or treatment based on the fact that feelings and actions are caused by thoughts and not people or events. Not everybody thinks road rage should be blamed on a mental disorder. According to one survey, 75% think of IED as an excuse to avoid accepting responsibility. Crowded highways, greater urgency, sleep deprivation, added stress, poor driving habits, and more drivers with bad manners are also likely contributing factors to the rising number of road rage incidents. Whatever the cause, road rage is now a common occurrence, with many incidents ending in violent behavior, destruction, or injury. To avoid potential problems while driving, always be courteous. Tailgating, changing lanes without signaling, and other aggressive tactics are uncalled for unless you are the one looking for trouble. Avoid confrontation and eye contact with other drivers that may have done you wrong. Take a deep breath, let it go, and move on.

About Author: Dave Elger is a well respected authority within the running community having written hundreds of articles on the topics of running and wellness. You can contact him at http://www.daveelger.com. He also supports the Okinawa Running Club.

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Globalizing World

When Performance Management replaced Performance Evaluation in Organizations, it was going to give leadership a different definition and much more credibility and accountability to all members of a team. Instead of having little control over personal development within the organization, leaders and team members could begin to create relationships that would develop a workforce with skills needed to compete in a globalizing world. Because this approach looks towards the future rather than the past as the Performance Evaluation does, team members and leaders began to receive constant feedback from relationships, giving everyone a maximum amount of control over their own performance.

The major component of the Performance Management Process is “Coaching.” There are three important steps to this process and each step seeks to answer just a few critical questions. By using coaching at every step, the team becomes more aligned with the goals of the organization.

The first step begins at the Organization’s Fiscal Year where objectives are established. The basic questions to answer are:

What are we going to do?

What are our goals for the next fiscal year?

What needs to be developed?

During the year, team members and leaders will have follow-up discussion(s) to provide feedback on their ongoing performance and answer the following questions:

How are we doing?

Are we accomplishing our goals?

What are the areas for improvement?

What else needs to be developed to meet our goals?

These follow-up discussions (The second step of the Performance Management Process) are aimed at improving performances in order to achieve objectives. During these discussions, the leader will coach the team members to help team members develop in areas identified at the beginning of the year (during the first step of the process) or during the actual follow-up discussions.

The third step of the process is a final discussion between the team member and the leader that will be put into writing in answering the questions:

How did we do?

Did we accomplish our goals – where did we come up short?

What should we concentrate on next year?

The success of this approach is dependent on two conditions: the way the leader handles the coaching discussions and the commitment of both the team member and leader to improve and develop skills to meet objectives.

Effective coaching relationships between team members and leaders can improve the performance of human resources within the organization. The outcome is better performing employees producing better results.

So what do the “coaches” consider to be an effective coach? What was their definition of coaching? The one thing we knew for sure (based on years of taking surveys) is that employees need and want effective coaching on a regular basis. This was true in the past and is still the same as we gain a better understanding of coaching in the workplace for Performance Management.

Coaching is a “process” used in developing partnering relationships. I am not debating the fact that shareholders need results, I am simply suggesting that the results achieved as an outcome of an effective coaching relationship is long lasting and much more appealing to team members in today’s organizations. It may even be an important strategy for the challenge in regards to keeping and attracting employees.

Based on the last two decades spent with thousands of leaders at all levels in different organizations, I have often heard the following sentence from team members: “Walk the talk” and “I will commit to doing everything I possibly can to improve my performance.”

Still, many leaders experience difficulties with the Coaching approach when this program is first implemented. Their difficulties are often the result of:

Misunderstanding of the coaching approach. Too many leaders and team members still believed that Performance Management was just another name for what had been done in the past (Performance Evaluation). They were convinced this was simply a different stationary form. Therefore, discussions were still done in a top-down method i.e.: Here is what you are not doing well and here is what you will do to improve it. Now, go to it! Not very useful for helping team members and developing partnering relationships…!

Misuse because leaders using coaching concentrated on the end result rather than the process to use to obtain this result. There was little or no relationship development between team members and leaders. Talks often sounded like the ineffective coach in professional sports i.e.: A basketball coach demands to see a higher score on the scoreboard in order to win. When a player asks for feedback on how to do that, the answer is: I don’t care how you do it, just do it! This results in the team members feeling manipulated. They will start to do as little as needed to keep their job. So when a new leader joins this team, the new leader is convinced that the team members were not committed. This brings to mind the term “self serving biases.”

Misleading because the word “coaching” has been used in so many ways, many team members believe that it is just another way to get all the juice out of them in order to satisfy the shareholder regardless of the impact it has on human beings and ultimately the organization. Unfortunately, coaching is used to describe many different things, it was hard to be clear about it. Often, the word “coach” and “mentor” are interchanged. Some advocate that coaching is a skill needed by the boss, and others seemed to believe that coaching is a process that should be done by someone else other than the boss. Coaching is a process delivered to a group of employees informally rather than individually. “Coach” is the new title for a leader.

Yet, when leaders regularly use coaching discussions effectively, it becomes very easy to determine what should be going onto the final document for the year. It is also easy to determine what the answers to the questions of the first step for the following year will be. That is true Performance Management!

If you would like more information around the areas of performance management and coaching, please contact CMOE at (888)262-2499. Please reference this article to receive a discount on your first purchase.

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Generalized anxiety disorder

As many and many countries advances themselves a more modernized societies, more and more children are being quietly affected by this new chronic disease which is not visible during the 1900s. A child panic attack can be a very serious and frightening matter, both for the child and for the parents. In this brief article, I will profile some of the facts around this type of attack and decipher some clues as to what parents can do for their children in this frightening and confusing time. Children experience emotional issues such as panic and anxiety much differently than adults, so education is as important as anything when dealing with this situation. Children and teenagers experience panic attacks and ordinarily develop fears of going places because of this. They fear that should they engage in an activity, an attack may occur and embarrass them. There are many different types of child dread attack disorders. What is generalized anxiety disorder or GAD? GAD is an anxiety disorder that is generally known by the patient experiencing excessive worrying about a series of events. These events can either be in the past, in the present, or in the future so the time has little to do the amount of 'logical worry' that is applied. Sometimes children or teens worry about past events, conversations they may have had, upcoming events, school, friends, family, functions or any other possibility. Typically a child experiencing GAD cannot control the amount of time spent worrying about such things. What is the best way to treat this disorder? The best way known to treat GAD is through relaxation techniques and therapy. Generally talking children out of their worrying can work wonders, but a trained mental health physician is usually the best prepared to encounter such a disorder. Children are taught to use positive self-talk instead of the discouraging words of worry and are taught to produce a dialogue with others to explore their feelings. This child panic attack disorder does not generally have a prescribed medication. Also, many children may experienced what is known as separation anxiety disorder. It is when they are unattached from loved ones or comfortable situations that they are used to. This generally applies to younger children who are separated from parents. The peril of separation from a caregiver often results in anxiety and occurs in cases such as when the child is left with a nanny on a parents evening out on the town. The child may avoid activities that result in separation from its caregivers and may worry extremely about the caregiver when they are gone. Normally the therapy involved includes recognition of these emotions and a good dose of reality: that nothing wrong happens, etc. Children are also taught coping skills to dole out by the separation, often through role playing. Besides knowing what are the available tips, solutions and options to look for in a child panic attack, that may be able to free yourself the agony of having this type of charge ever again. However, you should never add to, or alter any component of your current panic attack without first consulting your physician. However, more and more parents sometimes tend to forget that even though there may be many effective symptoms of an attack plans in order to have an free attack lifestyle, of course the failure to control anxiety attacks may indirectly sparked off anger tension. Therefore, without a proper anxiety and anger management system, there will not be much panic attack free lifestyle to hope for. Apply this effective tips together with an effective system - enjoy your life once again.

About Author: Eddy Kong WW is the author of the 17 Minutes Anxiety and Anger Management Secrets. Drop by at child panic attack tips and solutions for more details.

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Managing Anger

If you are angry and you know it, raise your hand Anger is not all bad; it is how one expresses it that spells the difference. Managing anger is important especially if one has the tendency to lose control over situations big or small. The following are basic tips and advice to help you be comfortable with your anger, and being able to express it in a manner that is not hurtful towards others or yourself. Know what you are angry at First things first, how would you get to manage the anger that seems to broil deep down inside you when you have no clear idea as to the situations, matters that trigger them in the first place? It is important therefore that you identify any attitudes that you have which predispose you to a host of reactions. Do you not like it when the waiter takes about ten minutes to give you your regular order? Or what would your reaction be if the cashier in your local 7-11 store punches the wrong keys and you end up short changed. Do you vent? Do you rave? Do you feel you want to punch someone or at least scream at their face? Fortunately or unfortunately, you are not alone. If it is these triggers that set you off, then you have at least made that significant first step of becoming aware of your feelings and your reactions. Knowing and having identified what makes you angry make it a lot easier to deal with when they erupt. You also could get to see how your past reactions were in order to gauge or determine how your current reaction would be, now that you know a bit better. Past is past, let them go Most of us carry a litany of conditioned responses and go through life using those to deal with every blow that comes our way. Usually, these responses were those left over from childhood. Remember when you were crying and a grown-up caregiver - your parents, aunts or relatives, told you it is bad to be angry? And so you kept it all inside you until you grew up. As an adult, this then gets manifested as denial and fear of truly expressing what you feel. Being aware of such past conditioned behavior actually frees you from its clutches. By bringing the feelings to the fore of your attention, you then get to deal with them and eventually use them to not be as impediments to your personal growth. Anger needs to be acknowledged as it is there. Anger that is suppressed is not healthy and if it is not appropriately dealt with could lead to it exploding unnecessarily later on.

About Author: Abbas Abedi--Learn more about anger management at Anger Management

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True Mothers

There are those who will offer you very old fashioned secrets to impressing single women for dating and romance. Some of them still hold true, but many of them depend entirely on the single woman you're trying to impress. Of course, if you're just starting out learning about this woman you're not going to know which is the right way to go with this secret to impressing single women thing. Here is some guidance. One alleged professional we know suggested that the way to impress single women for dating and romance is to open the car door for her every time she enters or exits the vehicle. This supposedly savvy love counselor says that she'll expect it and may resent your not doing it. Perhaps, depending on the woman. And, depending on the age of the woman. Many women under 60 might well take this as a sexist move on your part, and might resent your old fashioned attempt to treat her like she's not capable of opening her own door. The best rule of thumb might be to do the logical thing. If it's locked and the lock is manual then you'll have to open it with your key. If her hands are full she could use your thoughtful help. If it's a first date you might start by saying something like, 'Let me help, that door tends to stick'. You could also be very up front and say, 'My mom taught me to hold the door for a woman, but I know some women see that as an affront to their independence. What do you think?' You will score several points here. First, women love to hear that a man has a sound healthy relationship with his mother. There's an old saying that if you want to see what a man is really like look at his relationship with his mother. It's very true. Mothers have such an influence on how their sons turn out. The second point you'll score is letting her know that you want and value her opinion, and want to do what makes her comfortable. She'll also be happy to realize that you understand the need for women to be independent. She'll assume she's going to be treated like an equal with you. This same attitude and behavior can also be applied to old-fashioned, what many women consider subservient actions, such as pulling out her chair in a restaurant, helping her put on her coat, or the really ancient one of being the one to walk on the street side of the sidewalk. (Where on earth did that dumb idea come from?) Another 'love' professional suggested that one secret to impressing single women for dating and romance was to light her cigarette. Yuck! If you both smoke, yes, it's kind of intimate but again it also implies that as a woman she can't quite figure that out for herself. We suggest if you both smoke and she needs a light that you do it but make a farce out of it. Do some sort of silly Bogart thing out of it. 'Here my dear, let me help you with that', and then put your hand on hers as you light it. Ham it up. If she's the type that gets offended by your idea that she can't manage it herself she's still going to laugh at your silly impression of Bogie.

About Author: Abbas Abedi--Get access to a growing collection of dating tips, seduction tips, romance and online dating tips for a man or a woman. There is a complete ebook posted to help with online dating and matchmaking and much much more.

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