Change by Aiming to Improve

Resistance to change is often highly over rated, particularly when you think about the amount of natural change that we all embrace from cradle to grave. I don't believe that we outwardly resist change, but I do believe that we can express resistance in our behaviours that are manifested through a lack of awareness and thus desire to change. Of course, change is much easier when it takes a natural flow. However, a dramatic change in lifestyle as a result of a heart attack can be forced on recovering patients. Yet, statistics prove, that very many heart attack victims return to their old habits within a year of recovery. The prospect of death does not drive them to change!

This is in interesting phenomenon because it shows just how hard it can be to change if you don't have the correct mindset. Acknowledging that you need to do something about your life and make changes can come as a violent thought process for many of us and the inertia to make the first step so unbearable that we simply withdraw and hope that circumstances will change for us. They do...in fact...but not necessarily for the better...things just get worse.

Rather than setting out to change, perhaps we would be better off working to improve the way we perform and how we do things. It can take far more energy to improve from incompetence to mediocrity than to improve from first-rate performance to excellence. This is why we must continually prepare and grow through the steps of change. This is exemplified by the fact that there is one prerequisite for managing the second half of life...you must begin doing so long before you enter it.

In order to improve anything, you must first understand it. To improve yourself, first undertake a self analysis and understand your self. Begin this by answering some simple questions:

1. What are my strengths?

2. How do I work?

3. What are my values?

4. Where do I belong?

5. What can I contribute?

Remember that what one does well...even very well and successfully...may not fit with one's value system. Aim to improve and change will follow naturally.

http://thechangesamurai.blogspot.com/

:59 Seconds, Lesson #9

Lesson #9

More on persuasion.

1. To increase the chances of getting someone to help you, send them an individual message. 

2. In an experiment with four charity boxes the message 'Every penny helps' was the most effective. Think about it!

3. Carry out a favour for someone and you are likely to get more in return.

4. If you don't want to lose your wallet stick a photograph of a baby in it.

Do you want to know the science behind all of these lessons? Then read :59 Seconds.

http://thechangesamurai.blogspot.com/

:59 Seconds, Lesson #7 and Lesson #8

Lesson #7

Increase your chances of success at every interview and with every person you meet.

First...be likeable. Be someone other people want to be with.

Second...reveal your weaknesses first and leave your modesty until the end of a conversation.

Third...if you make a mistake just move on. Chances are it wasn't noticed and all you do is draw attention to it if you over-react.

Lesson #8

Tips for Persuasion

1. Choose the middle way.

2. Keep It Simple 

3. Mind your language

4. The Franklin Effect: Get people to carry out a favour for you. Believe it or not, they will like you more.

5. The Pratfall Effect: When you are in danger of being perfect...create some humility and make a mistake.

6. Don't indulge in negative gossip. People attach the negatives to you. Of course it works the other way...so talk or gossip positively.

7. Make it personal...people give more to a fund raiser when they know the name of the person who is being helped.

8. Get a yes..then another and one more and keep going. A standard sales technique!

9. Never eat alone. If you want something then talk about it over lunch or a coffee.

10. Use rhymes. People will remember them! Like...A Mars a day helps you work, rest and play! Do recall 'A stitch in time saves eight'? No...I didn't think so.

11. Similarity has leverage. Look for people with the same name, people that have the same traits.

12. When negotiating throw in your pet frog. It creates some humour. Well, thats the theory!

http://thechangesamurai.blogspot.com/

:59 Seconds, Lesson #3, #4, #5 and #6

Lesson #3

It's better to give than receive. Heard that before?...Yes?...well then do it! And don't...don't do it with the expectation of the gesture being returned!

Lesson #4

Smile. Smile at everything. And if you don't have anything to smile about...well, still smile. If you can't remember how to do it then just stick a pencil between your teeth!

Lesson #5

Sit up! Yes, just sit up and stop slouching. Your posture will change your mood.

Lesson #6

Not happy, can't be happy, no reason to be happy? Suck it up and BE...that is..act HAPPY!

http://thechangesamurai.blogspot.com/

:59 Seconds, Lesson #2

Don't buy things, stuff and all that you would call material. Buy Experiences and create a portfolio of conversations for life!

http://thechangesamurai.blogspot.com/

The New Science of Rapid Change!

One of the reasons that change is avoided at a personal level is the time and commitment it requires to make the painstaking effort to actually implement a consistent set of actions to create the new habit's that create the change that we desire! Then comes along a book that shatters the current thinking on change. It changes the change thinking! For that reason alone, as practitioners, we should respect the idea's of Professor Richard Wiseman in his new book ':59 Seconds'. And for that reason I am going to profile the work in this book because it just makes plain sense and exposes some of the myths about change at a personal level that we all know is a little suspect. It's a just do it book with some amusing and very practical advice on rapid change at a personal level that is the foundation for organisational change.

So why :59 Seconds? Because rather than spend hours and hours of intellectual discourse on the nature of behaviour and the theory of evolution, Richard just gets to it in 59 seconds of advice.

:59 seconds of advice #1.

Every Monday write down 3 things that you are grateful for.

Every Tuesday think of a terrific time in your life and write it down.

Every Wednesday spend some time picturing your perfect life.

Every Thursday write a note to anyone in your life who is important to you. (note you don't have to send it, just write it)

Every Friday review the situation and make a note of all the things that went well.

Yeah..I know, seen this a million times before in the self help books. Ever tried it? Well, get the book and read pages 7 through to 38 on happiness and there are some great stories on the scientific reasons for doing this.

http://thechangesamurai.blogspot.com/

Come with the Change

When Chris Howard (International Speaker and Coach) was in South Africa teaching his 'Breakthrough to Success' at CIDA University, he came across a young girl from a remote village who had to overcome a number of difficulties in order to support her whole family. She told Chris "I realised that if I wanted my future to be different, I had to come with the change"!

Something inside this girl matured her thinking beyond her years to trigger the realisation that if her World was going to be better it had to be different and that meant she had to start thinking differently about her situation. The change had to come from within, from her heart and mind.

You don't need to be an underprivileged girl living in South Africa to experience this epiphany or indeed think that you are any different in your thinking process when it comes to embracing change.

Every organisation from the local shop to the global asset rich company will take the change journey through its people. How those people change, one person at a time, will determine the overall success and culture that the organisation desires. The people are the organisation.

The young girl is now a young woman, a graduate of the Branson Business School and working in the financial sector. As would be expected she now contributes to her community in many ways.

If you want to change, start with your Self....come with the change! 

Break down the defense mechanism and move forward!

This vignette links closely to my previous blog on peer reviews of our written submissions. I'm a little conscious that there is a tendency to put up a wall of defense around ourselves for a variety of reasons. What I mean is that when we are approached to discuss our work, not only what we produce, but how we have produced it, we can often be very defensive about what we do and how we do it.

Unfortunately, this defensiveness manifests in a lack of enthusiasm to talk about our work and avoid meeting colleagues or managers, sometimes being borderline rude. This does not do us any good at all because we then lack the opportunity to improve our work and learn from the experience.

The question I ask is why do we respond in this way?

On reflection I believe it stems from a lack of trust. So often our work and /or performance is critiqued by people who do not have the appropriate skills to do so, but who believe they have the right. The lack of trust comes from the follow on actions and the poorly managed processes for reviewing what we do and what we produce.

Often our work is reviewed out of context. People will make comments on our performance without fully understanding the environmental issues and will make poor decisions based on perspective rather than reality.

To avoid any negative response to a review I recommend the following.

First of all don't second guess or assume the worst when your work is to be reviewed. Don't begin those negative monkey thoughts of all the bad things that can be said. Look at the situation from fact...not the ongoing fiction in your mind.

Be proud of your work and willingly open yourself up to discuss what you have done. Promote the opportunity and welcome the chance to learn so that next time the delivery will be even better.

More important, see this as a great opportunity to provide learning to clients and colleagues. Most sales people will tell you that every rejection brings them closer to a sale. It follows that every question brings you closer to a magnificent performance.

So rather than prepare yourself to attack or defend your corner, I suggest you take a deep breathe and take a step back. Then another and then another yet again. Withdraw from the need to defend and just Be. Create a positive mindset and embrace the opportunity to learn or teach...most value will come from both experiences.

Break down the barriers of negativity and willingly discuss your work and your performance and in this way you will move forward and you will be more successful as colleagues identify you as a key team player!

The ancient art...

The ancient art of yi quan , also known as dacheng quan, in the West as I Chuan, is a martial art system which was founded by the Chinese xingyiquan master, Wang Xiangzhai.