Category: Questions … Fri

Question Fridays

Business Game #003: What’s your favorite story from childhood and why?

Posted on by Senia

I wrote about how the way you tell the story of your life – to yourself and to others – may affect how productive and successful you are in the future. One way to see which stories you’re telling and why you’re telling them this way is to ask yourself about some of your favorite stories that you heard as a child.

When: When you want to learn more about why you do certain things.

How Long to Play: 15-30 minutes.

Players: Alone, with one person, or with many.

Materials Needed: Paper and pen.

Goal of the Game: To be able to explain a current situation in terms of your thoughts from when you were a child. Why do this? Because sometimes seeing things this simply makes a current situation dissipate in power, which is what you may want.

HOW TO PLAY:
1) Sit down with your friends or by yourself.
2) Everyone write for 10 minutes: “What’s your favorite story from childhood and why?”
3) Everyone write for 5 minutes: “What current situation in your life might you be playing out like your favorite childhood story?”
4) If playing with friends, everyone share your favorite childhood story, why it was your favorite, and how it may affect your current expectations about any parts of your life.

(Since today is Question Friday, feel free to answer in the comments section! I’ll answer in there too – looking forward to hearing your answers!!!)

What’s the best part of today?!?! :)

Posted on by Senia

daisiesWhat’s the best part of today, June 1?

* June 1 is International Children’s Day.
* June 1 was Marilyn Monroe’s birthday.
* And, in news especially close to my heart since it refers to my favorite instrument, June 1 starts National Accordion Awareness Month in the U.S.!

QUESTION:
What’s the best thing that happened to you today? OR
What’s the best thing that you expect to happen today!?

My answer is in the comments. Welcome to question Fridays! Would love to know what the best part of today, June 1st, was for you!

What’s the smartest job-seeking tip you have?

Posted on by Senia

I’ve been coaching more job seekers lately in my coaching practice. My process is generally Assessment – Targeting – Self-Presentation. Here are some tips that I give to my clients regularly.

  • Assessment – Know what you LOVE in addition to what you’re good at.
  • Assessment – Know how to tell your story. Practice it often.
  • Assessment – Know several specific projects that describe you at your best and at what you most enjoy. Make sure you mention these later in the interiews.
  • Targeting – Know your geography, industry, and function.
  • Targeting – Aim high.
  • Targeting – Target many jobs.
  • Targeting – Who do you know who is related to the industry and function that you want?
  • Self-Presentation – Target your resume to the job.
  • Self-Presentation – Behavioral questions during interviews: brainstorm three answers to each of about ten questions, then choose the best of the three answers.
  • Self-Presentation – Practice consulting-type open-ended problem questions, such as the number of pencils in Alaska.
  • Self-Presentation – Rehearse before the interview how your body will behave if you get a question that stumps you. Examples: repeating the question slowly, clarifying the question, sitting forward in your chair – whatever works for you. Practice these with a friend.

What are some additional tips you have for job-seeking?
What’s the smartest job-seeking tip you have?

Welcome to Friday Questions. Come on it, and answer in the comments!

What’s the easiest new health habit that you could take on?

Posted on by Senia

Hello, welcome to Question Fridays… My answer is in the comments section – I invite you to put your answer in the comments section as well!

It’s just about full-fledged summer!
Q: What’s the easiest new health habit that you could take on?

What’s a habit that it wouldn’t take you that much effort to start? That it might just take some focus and concentration but not necessarily a lot of work? What’s a habit that would be an easy addition, would be health-promoting, and you’d be happy to have for this summer?

Your Advice – The Tagline!

Posted on by Senia

Hi. I’d really, really like your advice. How can we describe as concisely as possible what Positive Psychology News Daily is all about?

The phrase I most like right now is: “Positive Psychology News Daily – your research-based daily boost of happiness.”

How does this work for you?
I like “daily boost of happiness” and I like “research-based.”

Other thoughts? Other ideas? More about Positive Psychology News Daily is here to give you a sense of why we started the site and who the authors are.

THANK YOU HUGELY!!!!

What about the AFTER-life?

Posted on by Senia

Hey, hey, hey, what about the AFTER-life? No, not the afterlife and reincarnation. But the AFTER-life…. the little self-talk you have and I have, saying things like,

  • “Well, if I have a great house, I’ll be happy.”
  • “Once I lose 12 or 20 or 50 pounds, I’ll be happy.”
  • “After I finish my dissertation, I’ll be happy.”

The “after-this” and “after-that” life.

There are CERTAINLY times in your life when it’s effective to focus on your goal, and to say, “I am not going to dilly-dally on this yellow brick road. I am full-steam focused ahead, and I’ll be pushing on this project until I complete it.” Yes, yes, and yes! I am all for focus and self-regulation.

At the same time, what are you doing in the now-life to make yourself happy?

You will always have goals, you will always have deadlines, and you will always have emergencies. What are you doing to enjoy life in the midst of all this? Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi said on a panel at the Gallup positive psychology conference in Fall, 2005 that if he could ask every person on the earth one question, the question that he would ask is, “To what extent are you fully alive?”

What am I talking about? No, not pretty words and affirmations. I am talking about enjoying the now, noticing the now. More than anything, I am talking about you getting your personal enjoyment from the now!

  • EXAMPLE: How exciting is brushing your teeth? However, Dr. Kathleen Hall of the Stress Institute says that you can make it alive and exciting by thinking about your great smile and how much good chewing your mouth has done for you all your life. This particular detail may not work for you, but what ideas like this do work for you to make a tedious, regular task feel good, feel healthy, or feel alive in some way?
  • COUNTER-EXAMPLE: Like Seth Godin writes here, many of us would have walked by a world-class violinist if we heard him on our daily morning commute. And that’s what may make us sad about the Washington Post article, he writes: that we would probably not have noticed him either.

The main thing that I can tell you about enjoying the “now” (even in the midst of deadlines towards the “after”) is that Barbara Fredrickson’s research all points to the fact that when you are in an emotionally open state, you are both more creative and productive (broaden) and you have more reserves to deal with anything that the world throws upon you (build).

Welcome to Friday questions. Today’s question is:
What are you doing in the NOW-life to make yourself happy?