While we may not notice it, a great deal of our mental and emotional energy is spent managing unconscious, repressed negative feelings-like guilt, anxiety, desire, and shame-that stem from unresolved issues. One of the best ways to dig up and clear out your mental garbage is by conducting a moral inventory. Choose a time when….
Positive mental and emotional health requires that the mind and attitude be flexible instead of rigid. When our thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes are rigid, it’s easy for one negative word or conviction that is contrary to ours to break our spirit. When we cling tightly to a fixed idea of how things “should” be, we….
Keep teams focused with regular communication about who the stakeholders are for your work, and what the team’s mission is. Without reminders of these essential pieces, the team can lose sight of the big picture and become distracted, discouraged, or confused, expending energy in the wrong places. Take a few minutes each day or hold….
Being in control is an essential ingredient for successful conflict resolution as well as bringing teams together. Help team members learn from you by modeling how to resolve conflict. A few tips include making “I” statements instead of pointing fingers, i.e. “I feel uninformed and that makes me angry” instead of “You are not good….
Respect is the foundation upon which any union is built, be it a marriage, congregation, volunteer team, or project group. As the leader, you can encourage respect within your work team by modeling it. First, be consistent—walk your talk! Do what you say you are going to do. Second, practice common courtesy. Be on time….
One of the first steps you can take toward bringing teams together is by consciously envisioning the group as a collective, harmonious whole. As a leader, the way you hold the idea of your team in mind has a powerful influence on how the team ends up looking and functioning in the world. If you….
Now that you have a clear view of what you want from 2015, what you need to let go of, what you need to let in, and a strategy for doing all of the above, it’s time to lay out a loose timeline for your goals. “Loose” is a key word here because the added….
January is the month when everyone sets resolutions and goals for the year. This usually takes the form of resolutions and goals, though many resolutions made in sincerity don’t come into full fruition because the resolver tries to do too much too fast—taking action right away and expending enormous amounts of energy on a new….
Every year we have a chance to reassess the things that are important in our lives: faith, family, fun, health, money, and community. This year, take some time to consider that in addition to starting some activities, we need to subtract some things too. You might need to stop doing some activities or remove negative….
As you go through life, your perspectives on almost everything will change. How you define success will change as well. Things that you thought were important at the age of 35 will be useless when you’re 65. You may not realize it now, but everything will shift. At age 4 success is not peeing in….