Career Tips and So Much More

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 Doctors have long known that attitude can affect physical health. A patient can contribute to her own recovery from illness by changing from a pessimistic to an optimistic outlook. The same approach works on the job, too. It’s been proven that positive attitude does produce personal power. It has helped a number of people.

In many job situations, proper attitude is at least as important as technical ability. Some employees may even have multiple business degrees or a Ph.D., but their attitude still prevents them from becoming effective employees. They refuse to complete tasks because they resent suggestions given by supervisors. They sometimes argue, “We didn’t do it this way at my last employer.” They criticize management decisions to subordinates. When they are with the superiors, they criticize the work of their subordinates. Because of their constant criticisms, they become a disruptive influence. This negative attitude overshadows the functional value of their department. They refuse to recognize failure on their part. Instead, they spend time looking for reasons to blame others. Many failures are direct results of negative responses to changes that maybe required of a new work environment. There is little doubt that, with a cooperative attitude, any career can prosper more.
Do you have a form of insecurity that causes you to resist change? Do you feel threatened by change and regard people who promote it as personal enemies? Control these feelings. Generate an attitude that welcomes change. An open mind will shape your responses and increase your chances of success.

Self- Expectancy
You may have noticed, in your relationship with others that most people respond to pretty much according to what you expect from them. This is called “self-fulfilling prophecy.” It says that a person’s level of performance is largely determined by the person’s understanding of what is expected from him or her.
This kind of correlation is even truer when that person is your self. Many of us fail simply because we expect failure. If our subconscious self-image is one of a loser, our actions automatically set up loss situations to help us satisfy our self image. Turn that around. Expect a lot from yourself.

A pessimist is defined as a person who, when opportunity knocks complains about the noise. To capitalize on opportunity, you must use all your capabilities. A job doesn’t have to be monotonous. You don’t have to settle for whatever happens to come along. Find out what you are, decide what you want to become, and develop an attitude to achieve it.

What kinds of things do you enjoy? What are you good at doing? Do they frequently happen on your job? If they don’t get busy and define a job that fits your talents and interests. Help your mind develop the positive attitude you need to get what you want.

Proper attitude will help you overcome the toughest problems you will face. Discipline your mind. Plant positive thoughts, take positive actions, have a positive attitude, surround yourself with positive people, then harvest positive results. Another day starts tomorrow. What can you lose by making a positive step once you get out of bed?

 


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Many people –even skilled speakers—often fail to get their points across when intensive issues come up during meetings or on-the-site encounters. The main reason behind this is that they have never been taught to get their message across under difficult situations.

Suppose you’ve just been severely criticized, here are ways to help you handle critics and criticisms in a meeting:
1. Compliment
Compliment the critic if he has made an important observation. Often just a little praise and recognition disarms critics and changes their attitude toward you.
2. Pause
If the criticism is unjustified, one good way to handle this is to pause, remain silent and say absolutely nothing. Someone in the audience realizing that the question is unfair will often answer for you. Don’t dwell on the point; get on with your presentation.
3. The survey
If an accusation is made in which you feel there is absolutely no way you could answer and win, here’s the best way to handle it. In a calm voice, ask the critic to repeat the statement so you can write it correctly on a chalkboard or whiteboard in front of the room. Then you may hand out small pieces of paper and ask each person in the group to write either “agree” or “disagree.”
Have someone other than your self or your critic collect and tabulate the votes and announce the results. If your points were valid, you’ll find the group will normally agree with you. If the group doesn’t agree, be sure to acknowledge their position and quickly get on your next point.

How to neutralize objections
Never forget—it’s always a critical moment when objections come up. The way you handle them is directly related to your chances of getting your message across. Here are four suggestions:
1. Keep calm.
Always keep calm. Show empathy. Never be resentful. Never raise your voice or attempt to gloss over the objection. None of these things work!
2. Request more information.
Ask your challenger to expand on the objection. If it’s a valid objection, it’s your responsibility to respond. More frequently your challenger, not being as familiar with your point as you are, quickly exhausts his or her position and is unable to push you further.
3. Restate the objection as a question.
Most objections are presented as statements. Regardless of how they are presented, the secret is (1) to restate the objection as a question and (2) to verify whether this is or is not your opponent’s objection. An example follows:
“Your question, Mr. Jones is: ‘How will the newly proposed database system affect the business productivity?’”
The next step is to verify whether this is or not the objection. Simply say “Mr. Jones, is that the question?” If Jones says “yes,” you know exactly what his question is and you can answer it precisely.
Just suppose Jones said “no.” Then say, “Mr. Jones, if that’s not the question…then what is the question?”
4. Comparison
Another way to neutralize objections is to draw a large “T” on the board in front of the room. On one side list the advantages of your idea or proposal and on the others side, with the group’s assistance, list the disadvantages. If the points you were presenting had merit, this will be self-evident from the material on the board and you can continue with your presentation immediately.


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“I’ll do that later.” “…when I find the time,” “it depends on my mood,” “when I feel like doing it,” “perhaps, in time, we’ll see.” Do these phrases sound familiar? There is actually nothing wrong with these words; but when saying these becomes too comfortable too regularly, it has already become an implication of a behavioral pattern. You have snuggled lovingly into the procrastination habit.

Good news is, you can still take better control of your life if you break this procrastination habit. You will discover that when you take the action, the necessary motivation will follow.
Here are some suggested techniques for breaking the procrastination habit:
1. Make a list.
Definitely there are things needed to be done. Sort out the tasks by making a list of what you “should” do. Do the distasteful and unrewarding tasks first and check them off as you do them. You will notice a psychological lift as you accomplish each task.
2. Weigh your reasons.
On one side of the paper, list the reasons why you are procrastinating or delaying the fulfillment of the particular task. On the other half of the paper, list the benefits for taking action right away.
3. Bite-size it.
Do the “divide-and-conquer” approach to manage your tasks especially the big and daunting ones. Break the task down to smaller, manageable steps.
4. Keep a journal.
Record the “shoulds,” have to’s,” “musts,” “ought to’s” and other negative motivation techniques you may have been using on yourself. Make a point to challenge these, and substitute “I choose to do” thus and so. Examine each situation, each task, each problem or situation objectively, in light of your own best interest. Keeping a daily journal will help make you aware of how you may be sabotaging your own efforts and thus encourage you to “want” to change.
5. Set up your own rewards system.
When you set up rewards for yourself, make sure they are highly satisfying. Reward yourself immediately each time you choose actions instead of procrastinations. The most effective reinforcement in developing new habits is positive reinforcement.
William James in his essay on habit has some suggestions on self motivation and new habits:
• Decide to start making the change immediately while you are motivated.
• Don’t try to do too much too quickly. Just force yourself to do one thing that you’ve been putting off.
• During the period when your new habit is taking root, do not permit any exceptions. William James compared it to a rolling ball of string: a single clip can undo more than many turns can wind up. He said success or failure, during the retraining period, hinges largely on you making a commitment and closely following the schedule you set up yourself.

Copyright © 2011 Athena Goodlight





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