Monthly Archives: February 2016

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3 Ways to be a Happy & Positive Person

If you’re like most people, you want to be happy. I mean, right? But it’s not always easy.

The good thing is, there are ways we can train ourselves to be happy and positive. And you don’t have to be happy or positive to start doing these things.

  1. Think positive thoughts.  This is not just a cliche, it’s real! You should think positive thoughts about yourself, your circumstances and the people around you. This does not mean ignoring pain, hardship or injustice. But it does mean keeping control of the narrative that’s running side your head. Don’t tell yourself you’re helpless, there’s no path to improvement. Don’t pile on the guilt, regret or feelings of inadequacy. Instead, pile on affirmations of your power, energy and potential.
  2. Refrain from speaking negatively. This is a tough one, and there is certainly a time and place for negative commentary. But — so often we share the annoying details about an event, person or experience, and that narrative steals the beauty and goodness from positive parts. In addition, sharing negativity will often prompt your friend or confidant to reciprocate. And then the negative spin continues. If a negative detail can be left out, leave it out.
  3. Exercise. It may seem weird to throw in a physical activity with the mental choices. But what I’m learning is that exercise is so key to our mental and emotional health. If you need some inspiration, listen to this podcast from Chalene Johnson. The way she talks about exercise has been key in my recent re-prioritization of exercise in my life.

Try these out, and see how you feel!

How do you keep a positive outlook on life? What are your favorite ways to lift your mood and improve your happiness? Share your thoughts in the comments. 

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Learn from Experience (the Humble but Efficient Way)

The phrase ‘learn from experience’ is tossed around as the scrappy person’s way to figure things out and find success. And I’m all for taking initiative and bettering yourself. But I’ve learned that there’s a difference between learning from trial-and-error and learning from experience. And usually, to learn from experience, you need to find someone experienced who will teach you.

It’s hard to ask for help. This is something I struggle with (that’s why it came to mind for a blog post.) We don’t want to appear inept or ignorant, we don’t want to inconvenience a friend or co-worker by asking them to explain. Sometimes we don’t want to make an explicit request for help because we’re insecure about whether we’ll actually follow through and put the newfound knowledge to use.

But the alternative is so much worse. The alternative is unending Google searches, reading unhelpful forum posts on topics that only vaguely match your question. The alternative is pretending to analyze the situation and look for answers, when you know the ah-ha moment is unlikely to come.  The alternative is wringing your hands, wishing you could just figure out the solution to your problem and get on with your day/task/life.

Sounds bleak, doesn’t it? That’s because it is! And that’s why it’s so important to reach out to those who have the answers, who have experience, and who can help you learn. Here are 3 ways to learn from experience:

  1. Read a book – There are so many good resources out there — many that you can get for free from your local library. Once you find an author you learn well from, you can check out their blog or other books they’ve written. Generally, they will have been influenced by other people, who they will acknowledge, and you can check out those leaders for yourself. It becomes a chain of learning, as you follow leaders and learn by their example.
  2. Ask an experienced expert – Depending on what you want to learn, the expert could be your parent, your boss or a friend. The expert could be your doctor, your professor or a public figure. The most important thing is that this person has experience, not just hearsay, to back up the answers they give to your questions.
  3. Pay for a course – Sometimes you need to take your learning into your own hands, and straight up pay for it. You need to be savvy about this — what you don’t want is to think that just because you paid for it, the learning is a guarantee. But there are times when a course is the most concentrated, efficient way to learn something.

As hard as it is to admit, we’re limited in the ways we can grow all on our own. We need outside influences, giving us ideas and showing us how to be competent. So take that reality for what is it, and start taking advantage of the experience around you. It’s a risk, but it’s also an adventure.

What do you need to ask for help on this week? Who can you ask? If you have experience doing this, share about it in the comments!

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Smile…It’s One of Your Greatest Assets

When you’re in a new situation, or outside your comfort zone, it can be hard to look beyond your own feeling of insecurity. But to become truly comfortable, you must feel confident. So what role does smiling play in all this?

Death_to_stock_photography_farm_9

Photo Credit: Death to Stock

It takes confidence to smile at someone.

When you smile at someone, they have to decide how they will respond (and often, this is an unconscious decision.) Will they smile back? Will they look confused? Will they be embarrassed and look uncomfortable or even scornful?

As you can see, there are risks.

It’s natural to smile at your friends, your peers, and people you feel comfortable with. It’s less natural to smile at people who are not your equals, or with whom you don’t have a sense of where each of you sits in the social hierarchy. But when you smile at these people, you’ll see the most noticeable results.

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An English Major’s Guide to Writing a Stellar Report

Reports are everywhere. With the ease of email and electronic documents, it’s never been easier to send information, charts, and analysis to a team of people. But just because reports are easy to distribute, doesn’t make them easy to write. The good news is, you probably have report-writing skills you didn’t know you had. It starts with the basics of writing a paper.

Photo Credit: Death to Stock Photo

Photo Credit: Death to Stock Photo

I never thought I’d say this, but I love writing reports. Well, maybe I don’t always love it. But I certainly find it satisfying. There’s something about condensing a lot of data, threads, and connections, and painting a cohesive picture of what is going on.

It was only recently, though, that I realized I had learned to write good reports by learning how to write good thesis-driven papers in high school and college. And just as I improved my paper-writing skills with the feedback of teachers, I’ve improved my report-writing skills with the feedback of my supervisors and those who receive my reports.

You won’t always be lucky enough to have someone give you feedback. But there are some key guidelines that will lead you on the right track. Just as the better writer you become, the better you can edit your own work — so also, the better report-writer you become, the better you can edit your reports.