Feeling Grumpy and Buried in Negativity?

It’s hard sometimes when working on any large, complicated project (oh….say….like a dissertation) not to get a bit overwhelmed. It’s a natural part of creating a new order to disparate bits and pieces of information. In fact, it’s not something that can really be avoided.

But we make it even harder when we take personal responsibility for the overwhelm and attribute it to some past and/or present failing of our own.

I happened to come across a lovely blog post from a student from the U of Penn Master’s Applied Positive Psychology Program, Dave Shearon. He describes his experience of having a “grumpy day” and some of his strategies for getting past it.

Click to read more ...

Thought for the Day....or Every Work Session!

What is the smallest thing that you could do to make the biggest difference?

I loved this quote when I saw it …. a lot of the time when we feel “stuck”, it’s because we are looking to get a “lot” done or achieve a major milestone.

Remember the importance of focusing on small steps.

A lot of them, mind you, for a big project, but still….

Small steps, one after the other….

The Hidden Positive Side of Pride

This is an article from the UK Centre for Applied Positive Psychology newsletter.

I like it because so often we are taught that others will feel worse if we are mkaing progress when they’re not or that they will be “jealous” of us if we don’t play down our accomplishments or that “misery loves company”.

But here’s another way we can support each other — and it feels good too ;-)

Most of us were raised not to brag about our achievements. Feeling good about a personal win, though, is certainly a different matter than putting yourself on a pedestal. It turns out that sharing the good news of a personal achievement or good fortune carries a number of benefits.

According to research by Shelly Gable, telling other people about positive events not only raises your happiness and satisfaction but also has a tendency to bring people closer together! Gable found that sharing positives with a close relationship - and being responded to constructively - increases intimacy. Rather than pride coming before the fall, these findings suggest that healthy doses of the emotion lead to more social engagement.

Try this out in your own life by sharing a recent good fortune with a spouse or close colleague. Pay particular attention to how they react, and let these insights help determine whether you would like to spend your time at the water cooler complaining…. or sharing!

Mindmaps and Other Tools for Capturing Your Thoughts

Sometimes actually writing out your thoughts is not helpful.

We are trained from our earliest school years to:
Write in Whole Sentences.
Use Correct Grammer. 
Choose the Right Word.
Outline your thoughts logically. 

But that’s no way to generate material for a dissertation.

Click to read more ...

Let Me Count the Ways....You can Use a Timer for Writing

Many of us find timers a very handy tool for writing. But have you considered all the ways you can use your timer?

Let me share  3 of my favorites, then please do add more.

First, there’s the UnSchedule way.

Click to read more ...