Self Improvement
10 Ways You Can Improve Your English Pronunciation
Mastering good English pronunciation is vital for better communication. It enables you to effectively convey your ideas and engage others better. Unfortunately, some underestimate the significance of pronunciation and believe it to be less important than other components of the English language. With better English pronunciation, one can gain confidence, enhance overall communication skills, and boost social abilities.
10 Tips for Improving Your English Pronunciation
To speak English fluently, developing a clear pronunciation is a must. However, pronunciation and accent are not the same. Pronunciation involves producing sounds, articulating words, and mastering intonation. Accent encompasses pronunciation, word usage, and grammar. Non-native speakers often have accents influenced by their native language's sounds. Pronunciation is a physical skill. Here are some tips to improve pronunciation.
Listen and Incorporate
To improve your English pronunciation, start listening to native English speakers in real life or virtually. Pay attention to how they pronounce words and sentences. Then, practise repeating what you hear to develop a better understanding of the language's natural rhythm and intonation.
Read more: Duolingo English Test: Everything You Need to Know
By imitating native speakers, you can train your mouth and ears to reproduce English sounds more accurately. This will help you communicate more effectively and with more confidence. Remember, practise makes perfect, so keep practising, and you will see improvements in your pronunciation.
Focus on Individual Sounds
Focus on specific sounds that you find difficult to enhance your English pronunciation. Identify the consonants, vowels, or combinations that challenge you. You can utilise online resources or language learning apps that offer exercises for each sound. Practise saying these sounds out loud, paying attention to how your mouth moves. Repeat them regularly to build muscle memory.
Also, concentrate on individual sounds and practise them consistently. Gradually, you will overcome pronunciation difficulties and speak English more clearly. Do not give up; keep practising, and surely you will see the results soon.
Read more: 10 Best Free Android Apps to Learn English Vocabulary
Slow Down
Take a moment to slow down and embrace the art of deliberate speech. Take a moment to slow down and give yourself the time to think through each word's pronunciation. By speaking at a more relaxed speed, you can ensure that you are articulating each sound correctly.
Deliberately pausing between words and phrases creates a space for conscious reflection. Take advantage of this time to mentally review the sounds and patterns, refining your pronunciation with each utterance. Enjoy the journey, savouring each step towards confident and accurate pronunciation.
Use Pronunciation Guides
Look for dictionaries, online tools, or resources that provide simple explanations and symbols to show how a specific word should be pronounced. You can learn from YouTube channels where tutors discuss pronunciation guides.
Read more: Everyday Habits to Learn English Successfully
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) symbols can help you understand the correct way to say the word. By using these guides, you can learn the right pronunciation for each word’s sound and confidently apply it to your speech.
Record and Compare
Record yourself speaking using mobile apps or recorders. Then listen attentively, comparing it to recordings of fluent English speakers. Pay close attention to any discrepancies in pronunciation and identify areas for improvement. By pinpointing the gaps, you can work diligently to refine those specific areas of pronunciation.
Embrace this self-assessment process as a valuable tool for enhancing your pronunciation skills. With each comparison, you will gain a clearer understanding of the differences and take crucial steps towards bridging the gap between your current pronunciation and that of native speakers.
Read more: Best Free Websites to Improve English Writing Skill
1 year ago
5 New Year Resolutions that are actually achievable
The wheels of time are running and another year is going to end in our life. As the new year approaches new possibilities are coming. To build a successful life and career in 2023 it is essential to make plans and determinations. However, making big plans and tough targets might lead to failure. Let’s find out 5 attainable New Year resolutions that will help you to be successful in professional life and relationships.
5 New Year Resolutions for Better Life and Career
Learn a New Language
Learning a new language opens a door of opportunities. Usually, people learn at least one international language in schools besides their mother language. For instance, in Bangladesh, English is taught in educational institutes as an international language. Besides English, there are many other international languages like German, French, Chinese, Russian, etc.
If you can make a resolution to learn a new international language, it will not only help you find new employment options; but also sharpen your mind.
Read More: 10 Most Useful Foreign Languages to Learn in 2022
Learn a New Life Skill
Many adults lack basic life skills like cooking, swimming, driving, etc. However, your life might go on without knowing the basic life skills. But life skills can make you more confident. And who knows sometimes life skills can save your life during emergency situations.
If you wish to learn any certain life skill, but couldn’t do that due to lack of time or other reasons, take it as your new year's resolution. You can reserve a certain time in your daily routine or make plans on the weekend to learn and practice your desired life skill.
Read More: 10 Essential Life Skills for Teens to Learn before College
Learn a New Professional Skill
Due to the pandemic many businesses have been affected leaving a blow on the job market in most countries around the world. Therefore, learning a new professional skill like digital marketing, graphic design, video editing, etc can give you scope to earn extra cash through freelancing or outsourcing.
What’s more, you can learn advanced skills regarding your current job or profession. For instance, if you are a programmer, make a resolution to learn an advanced programming language that can strengthen your CV, secure your career and help you make handsome incomes.
Read More: Top 10 In-demand Tech Skills Freshers Should Learn in 2023
Adopt a Good Habit
Humans are built with habits. Some are good while some are bad. The new year gives you the opportunity to rethink your habits.
You can make a resolution to build a good habit considering your health, passion and profession. For instance, if you are doing a desk job, try to build a habit of walking one hour everyday or 3 days a week. If you have dreams of traveling abroad, make a resolution to build a habit of saving.
Read More: Benefits of Reading Habit for Mind and Body
Get Rid of a Bad Habit
Certainly, you have some bad habits that are ruining your precious time or health like smoking, social media addiction, fast food addiction, a sedentary lifestyle, etc. Therefore, you can target one or two habits you want to change and make a resolution in the new year.
Getting rid of an old habit that you have practiced for years won't be easy; but it won't be impossible either. It takes strong determination and patience.
For instance, if you make a new year's resolution to quit smoking, then find alternatives that can discourage you from lighting a cigarette. You can give yourself incentives for the successful attainment of your resolution.
Read More: Post Meal Bad Habits: Things You Must Avoid Right After Eating Meal
Bottom Line
As a new year comes we grow old. Still, experiencing the new year is a blessing and joyful for everyone. Why not make some resolutions to make our life and health better. So far, we have discussed 5 attainable new year resolution ideas for 2023. You can make your own resolutions to make the upcoming year prosperous, peaceful, and felicitous.
1 year ago
How to Set Personal Goals in Midlife to Live Your Best Days
The age that society refers to as midlife is over the age of forty-five. People go through a significant life change during this stage, such as family issues, changes in careers, etc. Even if middle-aged people may have had successful career paths, good families, or relationships, it is common to feel that not all the things are turning out the way they had hoped. Setting personal goals in mifddle-age can give people new hopes for living the rest of their lives in peaceful ways. Let's discuss how to set goals in midlife?
Why Midlife Is Not Too Late to Set Goals
If you are a middle-aged person who has started to sense that something is missing. There is a possibility that the confidence and desire that previously propelled you through life no longer exists. Do not fret! This is a common experience that many individuals have. You may consider it an ideal opportunity to set realistic goals and design the kind of life you truly desire.
Usually, an individual gets motivated to keep moving forward in life if she or he has goals. People can accomplish new things in midlife by defining new objectives for themselves. Setting objectives so late in life may seem counterintuitive, yet in the present era, individuals are living much longer. Midlife is a good time for any person to find fresh meaning.
Read Why Do You Need a Purpose In Life?
According to research published in the Psychological Science journal, finding a life purpose "lowers the chance of mortality." These results appeared to hold true throughout one's lifespan, including middle age.
Therefore, happiness may exist and increase at or beyond middle age. In real life, people's levels of happiness after their 20s reach their highest point at 69. Even more energizing, people frequently experience their greatest levels of happiness in their 80s and even into their 90s.
People who create (and achieve) goals get psychological advantages in addition to living longer. Wth some definitie goals, the middle-aged people may become more driven, accountable, and successful, which can inspire them to interact with other people in novel ways.
Read Sunk Cost Fallacy: Why It's Better to Forget the Past
Even after reaching midlife, the goal-oriented people get to know themselves better; because, in the process of going for their goals, they grow to understand who they are. Desire and necessity propel them to behave, and this ultimately shapes their sense of who they are in the world.
How to Set Goals in Midlife to Live a Great Life
Hobbies
One's sense of purpose can get a significant boost by trying out a new activity, such as painting or writing, for example.
If you feel that your job is getting in the way of your hobbies, you can find ways that make them a higher priority. For instance, if you have decided to start a garden, you may set aside some time each week to work on sowing, tending, and expanding your interest in gardening.
Read Spending Money for Happiness: 10 Effective Ways
If you can find the time in your hectic schedule for your favorite hobby, you may discover that you are happier and more fulfilled as a result of this change.
Health
At a younger age, people are constantly working toward improving their physical well-being and setting new goals. A daily trip to the gym lasts one hour, with weight training taking up thirty minutes and cardiovascular exercise accounting for the remaining forty-five minutes.
On the other hand, as the years go by, people’s commitment to maintaining their physical health and adhering to a rigorous workout routine may weaken.
Read Goldilock Rule: How to stay motivated, take challenges in life, career, business
However, reaching midlife you shouldn't stress about getting back on the horse right away; instead, you should take things one step at a time. You may look for a weekly program that is beneficial for both your health and your busy life, and try to stick to it. A daily stroll or even just twenty minutes can help lower a person's chance of developing heart disease.
Retirement
When people are getting closer to the age at which they can retire, their thoughts often turn to the amount of money they have put away in their savings accounts. In middle-age, you can start planning to ensure that you will be able to maintain your current standard of living after retirement.
Create concrete objectives that state how much money you want to amass before you retire so that you may live the life you've always imagined for yourself once you've finished working.
Read Post Retirement Career Planning: How to pick your dream job?
It may seem difficult to estimate how much the later portion of your life will cost. Still making an estimate may provide you with a better knowledge of how much you need and how you can shape your objectives in order to attain the outcomes you want.
Relationships and Children
Midlife brings numerous difficulties, particularly those pertaining to relationships, to the forefront for many individuals.
Someone who has never been committed to a relationship and has chosen to remain single may have concerns about the future. Do they prefer to spend all of their time by themselves? This is a fairly loaded way of framing the issue, of course, and many people will disagree, stating that they are perfectly fine living alone and that they can't think of anything that would be worse than sharing their flat with another person. The single middle-aged person can make plans accordingly.
Read Self-Accountability: How to Develop Personal Accountability in Life
The issue of children should also be taken into consideration. Those who have not become parents yet should be concerned about the ticking of their biological clock. When they glance at their family, friends, and neighbors, they worry that they will be left behind. They are most concerned about the issue of who will care for them when they are elderly. Be very certain that you are figuring out what it is that you want before you establish such objectives and not what you believe you ought to desire or what the expectations of society are.
However, middle-aged people with children have tensions too. What if all the children have planned to settle abroad or in other cities. Some people start to freak out approaching their 40s. They begin to worry about their deteriorating health and loneliness. Not every parent is ready to spend the last years of their lives alone with nurses or paid caregivers. They may also worry that relatives may consider them a "burden." So, at midlife, people should make plans to keep themselves happy without the presence of children.
Read 9 Best Countries to Retire Abroad
Conclusion
Congratulating oneself on a job well done can go a long way toward boosting one's self-confidence and making it simpler to establish and achieve subsequent objectives. Therefore, reaching midlife, spend some time appreciating what you've accomplished in life so far. Do the same, once you've accomplished a goal.
In addition to that, make sure to examine all of your other plans. How have they evolved over time? Where do you stand with the new priorities? What new knowledge did you obtain? If you establish a strategy and stick to it, you can accomplish any goal in a shorter amount of time.
When you reach your midlife, it's a good idea to track down where you are in life and where you want to go. So far, we have discussed ways to set goals in middle age to live happily for the rest of your life. Hope it helps!
Read Investing in Yourself: 10 Best Ways of Investment for Self-Betterment
2 years ago
How to Create Perfect First Impressions to Succeed in Career, Business, Relationships?
The initial impression can be a deciding factor about you, and it can determine how people perceive you. Although you can change your impression of others as you get closer to them, people subconsciously judge others based on their first impression. This judgment can determine whether someone is likely to affiliate with us or not. Our first impressions are shaped by our environment, culture, and upbringing. They can also be based on the physical appearance of someone. Our first impression is an essential factor in how we interact with others, both socially and professionally. Learn how to make an excellent first impression and be the best version of yourself.
Why Is First Impression So Important?
The first impression is so important because it sets the tone for the rest of the conversation. It can be the deciding factor in whether someone trusts you or not. If you make an excellent first impression, people are more likely to want to work with you and be friendly towards you. You can also use this to your advantage by ensuring your appearance is neat and polished.
First impressions happen fast; your goal is to make a great one. A person’s first impression of you will stick with them for a long time. If a good one, then that image will grow and develop into memories, stories, and experiences with you as the focus. Also, the way that you present yourself is key to your success in negotiations, networking situations, and any other interactions where your reputation is at stake.
Read Time Management: How to be ruthless with your time
10 Easy Tips To Create the Best First Impression
A great first impression can make or break a person’s career, networking, or relationship, so it’s important to be able to create a good one. Let’s see 10 simple tips you can follow to create a better first impression.
Make Eye Contact
People who make eye contact have a better first impression. They seem more confident and trustworthy. Additionally, they may seem to be more intelligent. People who do not make eye contact often appear to be shy or uncomfortable. It is important to make good first impressions so that you can gain the trust of others and build relationships.
Dress According to the Occasion
When meeting someone for the first time, one of the first things that come to mind is their appearance. However, what you wear also plays a role in how someone perceives you. In order to create the best impression, it is important to dress appropriately for the occasion.
Read Sunk Cost Fallacy: Why It's Better to Forget the Past
There is no one right way to dress for every occasion, but following a few simple guidelines can help create the best possible first impression. When meeting someone for the first time, always dress clean and proper.
For formal occasions, try to dress in a well-tailored suit or dress. For more relaxed occasions, wear something comfortable and stylish. Accessories can also make a big difference, so try to stick with items that will complement your outfit and make you look your best.
Smile
Smiling has been shown to increase happiness, motivation, and confidence. When you smile at someone, it sends a message of friendliness, openness, and respect. Smiling also makes you look more attractive, which can help improve your chances of being liked and getting what you want. So, why not try to smile as much as possible? It could make a big difference in your overall impression.
Read Investing in Yourself: 10 Best Ways of Investment for Self-Betterment
Be A Good Communicator
Communication is important in any job, networking, or even relationship. It’s the glue that holds everything together. When you communicate effectively, it creates a good first impression and builds trust. It is essential to have a good communication profile so that people can form an accurate opinion of you.
Be Yourself
There are a million things people do to create the best first impression. But, in the end, the most important thing is to be yourself. People will either like you or not, but they will always remember what your impression was of them. So, do not try to be someone you are not - just be yourself.
Body Language
Positive body language is one of the most powerful tools you have in your arsenal when meeting new people. It can make you seem more confident, friendly, and likable - all factors that can help create a better first impression. It can also help to build trust and confidence.
Read Self-Accountability: How to Develop Personal Accountability in Life
Choose Your Words Wisely
When you meet someone for the first time, the most important thing is to make a good impression. This means being professional and speaking in a way that will come across as intelligent and sincere. When describing what you can do or offer, be as specific as possible. This will make your listener more likely to believe that what you have to say is worth their time and attention.
Use Small Talk
Small talk can be a great way to make a good first impression. It can show that you are interested in the person you are talking to, and it can help to break the ice. Try to come up with topics of conversation that you know the other person is interested in, and use language that is friendly and positive.
Show Empathy
When you make a first impression, it’s important to be thoughtful and considerate. That means being aware of the ways in which you can show your empathy – whether it’s through your words or actions. It can help create a positive initial impression, setting the tone for a more productive relationship.
Read Law of Attraction: Ways to Manifest Your Dreams
Do Your Research
Doing your research before a meeting with someone can make all the difference in the impression you make. Preparation can help you come across as knowledgeable and confident, which will boost your chances of being successful in making a connection.
Final Words
A great first impression is one that makes the person you are talking to feel like they have known you for years. And, it is a feeling that lasts much longer than the length of time it took you to create that impression. If you follow the above-mentioned tips, making a first impression will be easier for you.
2 years ago
Goldilock Rule: How to stay motivated, take challenges in life, career, business
"Goldilocks and the Three Bears" is a British fairy tale story from 19th century. This story has several versions. In one version, a little girl entered a forest, where she found a house. There she discovered three bowls of porridge, one was too hot, another was too cold and the last bowl was perfectly warm. Then she ate the warm porridge. This story gives us a lession which is called Goldilock Rule. Let's find out, how to take on challenges in life, career, business and stay motivated in the light of Goldilock principle.
What Is the Goldilock Principle?
Life is full of challenges, which make us better people and help us grow and learn. A challenge can be anything ranging from trying new things to learning something new. Challenges can be physical or mental, which can push yourself to your limits.
Moreover, challenges are important because they can make you stronger and will help you become the person you want to be. But, how do you stay motivated during the challenging period? The answer is hidden in the Goldilock Rule.
Read Investing in Yourself: 10 Best Ways of Investment for Self-Betterment
The Goldilock Principle states that challenges should not be too hard or too easy and should fit the individual’s ability level. It should be just right. While setting a challenge, it is important to strike a balance between ability and desire.
People don't feel challenged when things are too easy and may stop doing that task. On the other hand, when things get too hard, people may get frustrated and give up before they reach the end of the journey.
Examples of Goldilock Rule?
The Goldilock Principle applies in parenting, where parents are advised to ensure that they are not giving their children too much or too little attention. This principle is also applied in different fields, such as when it comes to designing products, services, games, and more.
Read Self-Accountability: How to Develop Personal Accountability in Life
For example, if tennis is your passion, try playing a match with a four-year-old if you are an avid tennis player. Your opponent will be incredibly easy to beat. However, if you play a professional tennis player like Roger Federer or Serena Williams, you will rapidly lose interest in the match since they would be too challenging to beat.
Now consider facing off against someone who has equivalent skills to you in tennis. The game plays out; you win some points and lose some. You will have a great chance to win if you are truly committed. So, eventually, your focus narrows, distractions vanish, and you become fully engrossed in the playing field. This is a problem of manageable difficulty, and it illustrates a variant of the Goldilocks Principle.
How To Apply Goldilock Rule for Taking Challenges In Life?
When it comes to taking on challenges in life, many people seem to think that they need to do something that is either too difficult or too easy. However, this is the wrong approach. The “Goldilocks Rule” can help people find the perfect challenge for them.
Read Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle: Concept, Significance, Practice, Examples
As the rule states, challenges should be up to your level, and they should not be too difficult or too easy; rather it should be just "right". Thus people can learn new skills or gain new knowledge while having some fun.
When you are looking for a challenge, there are a few things to keep in mind.
- First, make sure the challenge is something that you are interested in. If it is something you cannot commit to, it will be difficult to stick with.
Read Sunk Cost Fallacy: Why It's Better to Forget the Past
- Second, find a challenge that is both challenging and achievable. Do not try to take on something that is too hard or out of your league.
2 years ago
Are You a Spendthrift? How to Stop Spending Excess Money?
Have you ever thought about why you can't make savings or struggle to make essential payments even if making good earnings? The answer lies in the pattern of your spending. Spending money too readily and being indulged in unhealthy spending patterns are two of the most common causes of increased debt and decreased savings. There are, however, actions you may take to reverse the tendency and develop positive spending habits. This article describes several useful strategies to cut down on your spending so you can get out of debt and start saving.
Why Do People Become Spendthrifts?
If you wish to stop spending with reason, you must first understand why individuals spend so much and the consequences of being a spendthrift.
Planning for the future is an important aspect of financial responsibility. If you have a propensity to concentrate on the "here and now" without considering the future, you may discover that you overpay.
Read Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle: Concept, Significance, Practice, Examples
People who see willpower as a finite resource may delude themselves into believing they deserve a reward when they exhibit a degree of willpower. In order to satisfy their need for a reward, they may develop an unhealthy habit of overspending.
Boredom or tension may sometimes lead to overspending since shopping provides a quick and simple escape from your emotions.
Why Is Spending Too Much Bad?
Every financial choice you make on a daily basis will have an impact on whether you are effective in paying off the debt or generating wealth. You should avoid negative financial habits while you create your financial foundation.
Read Women’s Financial Literacy and Ability to Save Money: What’s the Connection?
Every financial choice you make on a daily basis will have an impact on whether you are successful in paying off debt or generating wealth. You should avoid negative financial habits while you create your financial foundation. First, you must recognize the problems that excess money is causing in your life.
Maybe you are trying to save for a down payment on a new automobile or a down payment on a home. If you discover that you are not making any progress toward your objectives, it's time to reconsider your spending habits.
Again, if your credit amount continues to rise from month to month, it's an indication that you are overpaying in relation to your income.
Read How to Save Money on Wedding Jewelry?
The extra spending will also have an impact on your savings balance as well. If you see that your savings balance is continuously decreasing from month to month, it's an indication that you need to evaluate your spending – and cut down on it.
2 years ago
Self-Accountability: How to Develop Personal Accountability in Life
Personal accountability is a significant source of strength since it is the secret to success. You are the person most responsible for yourself. If you can't admit to yourself that you have a problem, you will never be able to change it. Personal accountability is a quality that everyone needs in their life, not simply at work or school. It is only your obligation, and yours alone, to hold yourself accountable.
What is Self-Accountability?
Self-accountability is a way of life in which you learn to accept responsibility for all of your acts. This covers your triumphs, failures, blunders, and so on in order to help you quit criticizing others for your faults and weaknesses.
Self-accountability serves as a marker to determine how you as a person are trustworthy, self-reliant, inventive, and responsible, whether in your personal life or in business.
Read Time Management: How to be ruthless with your time
Ways to Develop Personal Accountability in Life
Self-accountability is one of the most important characteristics of a successful and meaningful profession, relationship, and life – yet many individuals struggle with it. These strategies will assist you, in the beginning, to be responsible as soon as possible.
Make a Distinct Outline of Your Goal and Vision
If you work very closely with others in a team, make sure that everyone's responsibilities and duties are strictly outlined and that everyone knows what they must provide and when they must give it. Ensure the project as a whole owns the initiative as a whole so that issues and breakdowns may be identified early and fixed collaboratively. This is not usual at work, but it can be done better.
Accentuate Your Priorities
Changing your perspective begins with changing your "shoulds" into "musts." Your days are packed with things you "should" do, such as lose weight, find a career you like, and improve your relationships. Connect these aspirations to your life's mission to make them become "musts." Recognize that they are critical to your happiness. Make a pledge to yourself that you will not have any regrets in your life.
Read Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle: Concept, Significance, Practice, Examples
Learn to Say Sorry
Honesty is just one aspect of accountability. If things went wrong and you were to blame, you must apologize.
When you apologize, emphasize making apologies and indicate what you will do to make things right. This enables everyone concerned to move forward and concentrate on the ultimate goal rather than the difficulty.
Set Smaller Goals
People often plan their objectives 10 steps ahead. Some persons, for example, may want to go straight to the position of senior management while bypassing and dismissing the minor milestones.
They have no idea that these mini-milestones serve as a stepping stone to obtaining their ultimate aim. As a result, be intelligent and begin by creating tiny objectives that will eventually drive you to your final aim.
Read Reciprocity Ring: How can it improve an organization and individual career?
Make a Strong Commitment
The first stage in developing responsibility is identifying what you want to accomplish, which will then make it obvious what you're responsible for. Once you have chosen, you must commit to being personally accountable–this isn't something that can be done on the fly.
To effect change, you must often make promises to yourself. Step out of the comfort zone to make a change if you are unsatisfied with anything in your life. And although it may be tough to alter something that you are used to, keep in mind that you have the option of doing nothing but complaining rather than acting, which will not help anything.
Learn to Manage Time
When you don't feel like you have sufficient time in the day, it's challenging to be responsible. However, when you claim that you don't have time, what you actually mean is that you don't have time management skills. Remove your to-do list and arrange your day using chunking. Learn how to use your extra time. Small duties like commuting and home cleaning add up to a lot of wasted time in your day, but they can be utilized to feed your mind and work toward your objectives.
Read What is Self Serving Bias? How Can it Damage Your Career, Creativity, Potentials?
Devise Your Self-talk
Everyone has an internal monologue that influences how they interact with the outside world. That small voice manifests itself in the actions they take and the words they choose to express. The capacity to recognize and interrupt negative self-talk is essential for connecting with people in a positive manner.
Take note of how you respond the next time anything goes wrong. Is your "inner critic" accusing someone or anything other than you? Reverse such ideas and consider how you might be better in the future. That is a personal responsibility.
Stop Blaming
When working toward your objectives, you will face setbacks no matter what. However, when you encounter a stumbling block, you cannot point the finger at anybody else.
Also Read: Sunk Cost Fallacy: Why It's Better to Forget the Past
And although you don't have to blame yourself for everything which goes wrong, you do need to feel empowered enough to reflect on what went wrong and find out how to make things go better in the future. You must be able to comprehend that you are in charge of your actions and the events that ensue.
Get a Partner
Finding an accountability partner who will track your progress is one of the finest methods to increase your own responsibility. An accountability partner is a peer who assists you in reaching your objectives by helping and ensuring that you accomplish what you say you will do. This is comparable to having a mentor, but it is a mutually beneficial connection in which both individuals gain from their partner's comments and support.
Your accountability partner will provide you with specialized assistance with your objectives and will be committed to your success–and vice versa.
Read Why Do You Need a Purpose In Life?
Conclusion
The path to mastering self-accountability is long and winding. While it is all too easy to fall missing at times, it takes a lot of work, bravery, and time to apply self-accountability to create your life the way you want it to be. But, with the correct amount of work and patience, you will be there in no time. So far we have discused seven steps to increase personal accountability to improve the quality of life. Hope it helps!
2 years ago
Time Management: How to be ruthless with your time
Everyone seems busy in today’s society and it feels like there is not enough time to get everything done. This can be incredibly frustrating when you feel like you are stuck in a loop of doing the same thing over and over again. If this sounds like you, then it might be time to start being ruthless with your time. If you want to be successful, you have to learn how to use your time effectively in order to make the most of it.
Why is it necessary to be ruthless with your time?
There are a few reasons why it is necessary to be ruthless with your time. The most important reason is that time is a finite commodity. You cannot get more time, so you must use it wisely. Another reason is that time is the only thing we cannot get back once it's gone. We cannot redo things we have already done, so we have to use our time wisely to make the most of it. Finally, time is a precious commodity, and we should use it thoughtfully to make the most of it.
Read Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle: Concept, Significance, Practice, Examples
10 effective ways to be ruthless with your time
Time can easily get away from us. Before we know it, our day is over, and we did not accomplish the things we wanted to. This can be frustrating, especially if we feel like we do not have enough time in the first place. But there are ways to be more ruthless with our time and get more done.
Set goals
It is very easy to become overwhelmed with all of the tasks that need to be completed. However, by setting goals and managing your time wisely, you can accomplish more than you ever thought possible. Though it can be difficult, setting goals can help you achieve more and manage your time better. To set practical goals, you must first determine what you want to achieve. Once you have a specific goal in mind, you can then create a plan of action to help you reach it.
Read Reciprocity Ring: How can it improve an organization and individual career?
Prioritize
In order to manage your time, you need to prioritize your goals. You cannot do everything at once, so you need to figure out what is the most important. What are your short-term and long-term goals and what steps should you consider to achieve them? Once you know what they are, you can plan and manage your time accordingly.
2 years ago
Reciprocity Ring: How can it improve an organization and individual career?
It may seem as if the only way to advance in business and the workplace is to stick your noses to the grindstone and concentrate entirely on yourself. Despite this common assumption, the contrary is true. Being kind and seeking assistance in the job results in faster promotions, more money, and a more fulfilling lifestyle. A comprehensive idea has been developed around this notion, which has become known as the "Reciprocity Ring."
What is a Reciprocity Ring?
Professor Wayne Baker, a sociologist at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, and his wife Cheryl Baker, CEO of Humax, invented the reciprocity ring idea. It is based on the principle of generalized reciprocity, a very effective method of spreading appreciation.
Reciprocity rings happen when a person gets assistance from another, but instead of repaying the person who assisted them, they assist another or "pay it forward." Considering the "Kidney Chain" can be a great example.
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In 2009, Matt Jones of Michigan wanted to give a kidney to a complete stranger just for the sake of doing so. Barbara, a Phoenix resident, was terminally ill with renal illness. Jones' kidney was instrumental in saving her life. Ron, her husband, would have given one of his kidneys to her, but their blood types were incompatible. He was, however, so appreciative that he gave one of his kidneys to another stranger, whose folks were similarly appreciative. And so, it continued to grow into the world's longest-running transplant chain, transforming the lives of twenty individuals.
How does the Reciprocity Ring Work?
The simple act of assisting someone drives the individual receiving assistance to assist others. He examined two mechanisms for encouraging generalized reciprocity in his work, "Paying it Forward vs Rewarding Reputation: Mechanisms of Generalized Reciprocity." One method was to reward reputation, which means that peers watch one another inside their organization, assisting those who assist others and refusing to assist those who do not.
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The second way was the "pay it forward" mechanism, which happens organically when members of an organization assist third parties only as a result of their own assistance. Baker discovered that paying people based on their reputation had a bigger and longer-lasting impact than rewarding those based on their generosity. Thus, the most durable method of promoting widespread reciprocity is to foster a "pay it forward" mentality. Paying it forward is a natural process, but it requires a catalyst. This catalyst may take the shape of activities such as a reciprocity ring, a planned and led activity that can get things started.
How Can Reciprocity Ring Improve an Organization?
While all sorts of organizations may benefit from the Reciprocity Ring, tiny groups stand to gain the most from it. The ideal groups will have a maximum of 25 members. If a request is not completed, it may be sent to bigger or other groups within the organization.
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Another critical function of a reciprocity ring is to help individuals overcome their anxiety of asking for assistance. They are fearful of seeming weak and often greatly misjudge how ready others are to assist. According to studies, respondents overestimated by 50% the number of people they planned to approach in order to get a particular amount of agreement to a request.
Additionally, the researchers discovered that orally requesting a favour was more successful than passing out a leaflet with an identical request. As a consequence of the introduction of the reciprocity ringStudents exploited their newfound contacts and resources to organize managing groups for employees looking to brush up on finance, mock interview groups in preparation for recruiting, etc.
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When researchers see how helpful individuals can be, they gain confidence in their ability to assist others. Since the exercise, individuals have helped their peers when necessary. For these reasons, organizations should make every effort to foster an inquiring culture. Additionally, such an approach might assist businesses in addressing gender imbalances. According to Linda Babcock of Carnegie Mellon University, males are more inclined than women to ask for what they want. Equalizing the playing field via a universal "asking" culture may encourage women to go forward.
A reciprocity ring may be a low-cost approach of identifying undiscovered resources and connecting the many connections between workers and other stakeholders for the ever-leaner organization and those confronted with new problems and possibilities. Reciprocity is about both providing and receiving assistance, and organizations are using reciprocity rings to tap into the different resources and generosity available to them.
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An Example of Reciprocity Ring: Real Scenario
In organizations, the activity may provide realized values ranging from $150,000 to $480,000. Hodge adapts the activity to EMBA career development in order to assist students in honing their networking skills. It begins with each EMBA student submitting a request to the board. The other students attentively listen to the student at the front of the class, ponder how they or someone they know may help, and scribble down their potential contribution on a piece of paper.
After all students have described their demands, they step up one by one to discuss their prospective offers of aid. They compare their contribution notes to the request notes written on a board by each kid. Finally, each student is responsible for following up on support offered in order to get their desire honored.
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Conclusion
When a group comes together with the intention of giving, the manacles of perception are lifted and replaced with a benevolent disposition. According to research, almost 90% of all giving exchanges at work occur in response to a direct request for assistance. Because the Reciprocity Ring's culture encourages giving, it reduces the inhibition to give.
2 years ago
What is Self Serving Bias? How Can it Damage Your Career, Creativity, Potentials?
Self serving bias is a kind of defend mechanism of human mind that encourage a person to relate the positive outcome to himself and negative outcome to external factors. People hardly like to be wasteful and tend to deny losses when they invest money, time, or labor. So, they have the tendency to relate the unwanted results to other persons, things or situations. People should try to think unbiasedly to find their own faults and limitations behind the negative outcomes. Otherwise, self serving biases might lead them to the damage of their future financial, fame, and health consequences. Let's discuss the causes and effects of self serving bias on our life cand career.
What is Self Serving Bias?
Self serving bias is the tendency to accredit success to one's own capabilities and efforts. It is one’s cognitive or perceptual process cherished in mind and heart that is tough to forget. In this state people always think themselves above the average that mentally hunt their career and keep them far from greater success.
Self serving bias first became a famous fact by the end of the 1960s. When this research is going on, Fritz Heider who is an Austrian psychologist first observes it in people.
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Today, self-serving bias is found in several different capacities. It is common in the workplace, interpersonal relationships, sports and athletic performance, consumer decisions, and computer technology. Modern research shows that it focuses on physiological manipulations. Moreover, the biological mechanism also contributes to the self serving bias.
Why does self serving bias happen?
Self serving bias is a common issue and it is described as a human non cognitive process that is twisted. Researchers have identified the following reasons why self- bias occurs so often among individuals.
Self-Esteem
Self serving bias is closely related to either maintaining or enhancing our own self-esteem. Self-bias helps to improve and preserve our own self-esteem by altering our perception of ourselves and of our reality.
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Self-Presentation
Self-presentation helps individuals to maintain their self-esteem, as they are affected by others’ perceptions of themselves. Through self-presentation, an individual actively represents favorable impressions of themselves to others.
Natural Optimism
Humans are naturally optimistic and this is another important reason that this cognitive bias is really related. It is very natural if others make mistakes, we blame the individual who makes the error, but when we make mistakes ourselves, we blame situations for our failures which means we are naturally optimistic about ourselves.
We tend to seek out patterns
Self serving bias happens because of the brain's natural propensity to look for patterns and associations in the world.
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We like to take shortcuts
Like other cognitive biases, self serving bias is a result of the brain's tendency to try to simplify the world.
Age & Culture
Researchers have shown that self serving bias is most usual among young children and older adults. Self-bias are controlled by experiences. However, these attitudes may not happen due to direct personal experience. Cultural issues, media portrayals, and upbringing can help to the implicit associations that people form about the members of other social groups.
How can it Damage Your Career and Potentials?
Self serving bias can have long-term negative impacts on our professional lives. Check below some warning signs.
Keeping you away from feedback
Most people take feedback as criticism and most of us don’t like that, so we avoid it. But we need to remember that feedback is the most important way to avoid self serving bias traps. Our egotism can be corrected if we hold ourselves accountable to seek information from others on how we are doing.
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Make you content with how things are
Self-approval is the by-product of too much self serving bias. Your self-satisfaction keeps you away from taking additional training, spending more time on projects, taking that challenging new position, or developing a new skill. In a word, self serving bias works against pushing ourselves.
Show to You externalize problems instead of internalizing them
You have to work on many problems. But, your self serving bias tells you someone or something else is the reason for this problem, not you. So, you never correct yourself.
Hinder Your creativity
Your self serving bias make you think that you are smart when you need to solve any problem. So, you try to solve the problem in one or two ways. But you can't be creative.
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How to avoid it: Advance Your Career by Avoiding Self Serving Bias
Self serving bias is frequent and familiar but there are many ways to avoid it and prevent it from impairing our day-to-day decisions. Just be patient as with most behavioral changes, it’s going to take time.
See people as individuals
Make sure you spend time considering people on a more personal, individual level.
Contact people who are not like you
We generally socialize with people like us. Just break that pattern by interacting with people outside your in-group.
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Be specific in your intent
Focus on your intent. Be specific to your demands and intentions.
Notice positive examples
Focusing your attention on the positive characteristics and actions of people who are outside your in-group, you can avoid self serving bias.
Adjust your perspective
Don’t always see everything from your perspective. Rather try to see things from another person's point of view.
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Increase your exposure
Try to spend more time with people of different racial backgrounds so that you can learn about their culture.
Practice mindfulness
Meditation, yoga, or focused breathing contribute a lot to increase mindfulness and become more aware of thoughts and actions.
Change the way you do things
Don’t always do it in your own way. Sometimes people need to think out of the box to do something better.
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Heighten your awareness
If you become aware of something once, you can’t be unaware ever again. So, boost up your awareness.
Take care of yourself
Don’t forget to take care of yourself. We are less effective at processing new information and rely more on unconscious patterns if we are tired or stressed.
Bottom Line
We hope our discussion would help you to understand how self serving bias can destroy career, creativity, perseverance, and above all our potential. We need to be aware of self serving bias right now. So, it is high time to take steps to minimize our problems and to boost up our personality, responsibility, and prospects.
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2 years ago