The Game of Change

Geeta Ramakrishnan

Brains and Science

Blog 10/52: Life without Strategy is like a Rudderless Ship.

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Blog 10/52: Life without Strategy is like a Rudderless Ship.

I have come across various successful companies who invest a lot of their time, money and effort indefining their Vision, Mission and Values. I wondered why can’t we do the same for ourselves.

Take out some quality for yourself, take a paper and pen your thoughts. What is your dream? Words give power to your dream. Where do you see yourself in 20 years from now. Is that too intimidating? Then where do you see yourself 5 years from now? Not just professionally, I also mean personally. What values would you like to stay with. Remember, your core values dictate how you think, act and behave. How do you want people to define you?

Take time to write down your Vision, Mission and Goal statement and your Values that can help you reach your Goal. It could read like : 20 years from now I see myself as being able to influence and empowering 100’s of 1000’s of women with my learning and skillset. I see myself passionately involved in my job, a dependable friend, a giving and supportive partner, a nurturing mother and the best grandmother one can ever have. I want to enjoy each day, each moment as it comes and use every challenge as a learning opportunity. Some core values to support me in this journey are Trust, Reliability and Mutual-respect.

#success #dreams #lifecoach #passion #ambition

7 Tips to Minimize Workplace Negativity

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My article from : The Truth One Magazine and online

Link: https://bit.ly/2vIgrei

Workplace negativity is an increasing problem in today’s times and often results in loss of confidence, control, and harmony among peers. Workplace negativity can significantly impact morale and productivity. Even if the job roles are interesting it certainly doesn’t help if one’s office is full of bad vibes and derision.

According to a survey held in the US, 83% of workers suffer from work-related stress, and it causes 120,000 deaths and results in $190 billion in healthcare costs yearly. Closer home in India, one out of five employees suffers from workplace depression. Another survey reveals that 95% of those who are suffering from stress tend to be millennials. Thus, one can infer that work-related stress is being experienced by employees across levels and not just among those in upper-middle or senior management.

To help curb this problem, here are seven ways by which you can minimize negativity in your workplace ~

Praise and recognition

The power of a few kind words or praise is remarkable and can uplift anyone’s mood and motivate them to work harder and better. One can’t always tell how the other person is feeling, but a few kind words can make anyone happy and cheerful. Managers need to take notice of the excellent work done by the employees and reward them on those.

Open communication

More often than not, ineffective communication practices in the workplace are the root cause of frustration and negativity among the employees. Instead of blowing up at a coworker, take them aside and communicate why you’re stressed or upset and discuss how to prevent it from recurring. This will enable you to distress, calm down and look at things with a fresher viewpoint.

Building a strong company culture

Every organization would have a set of core values. Both employers and employees must be aligned on these core values. This would lead to higher productivity as well as a higher motivation among employees. Senior management must be cognizant of these values and communicate the same consistency throughout the organization. Building a culture takes time but it offers substantial benefits.

Opportunities to express opinions

Factors like pay, job location, working hours, working conditions, overtime hours, dress code, etc. are essential to every individual. Changes in these areas can result in serious questions, negative responses, and concerns. To help minimize friction due to changing policies, a meeting with the manager at regular intervals can be held where everyone can voice opinions. Regular staff discussions help address any employee issues before they turn into significant problems.

Recreational facilities

According to the India Employee Survey, 22% of respondents felt that their productivity was low because of overwork and stress. A room with fun games like a pool table, chess, carrom, and even gaming consoles can be kept so that employees can enjoy and take breaks to feel rejuvenated. This will enhance and enrich employee bonding and spread positivity.

Offer more than just money

A study conducted by Princeton University in 2010 indicated that higher income increases happiness by only up to $ 75,000 per year. However, beyond that threshold, higher income doesn’t increase happiness. Various other factors come into play. At workplaces, employees value the following:

  •         New challenges to tackle
  •         Meaningful work which can make employees feel that they are making a difference
  •         Visibility for consistent performers
  •         Diversity among the workforce
  •         Creative perks such as free gym memberships, option to work from home, flexi-hours, etc.

By ensuring that these factors are incorporated, an employer can improve employee morale as well as increase employee retention.

Personalizing workspace

If employees aren’t feeling happy at work, they can be encouraged to take measures to feel better. They can spruce up their workstations with family pictures, table plants or merchandise of their favorite brands. Calming colours such as shades of blue or green can spread optimistic vibes. Employees could also be asked to keep their desks clutter-free as it alleviates stress.

Negative attitudes can have a long-lasting and adverse impact on employees and office productivity. Both as employees and employers, it is essential to take note of poor workplace attitudes and work toward turning them around.

 

BLOG 6/52 : GROWTH MINDSET

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Dr Carol Dweck is a psychologist and studies people’s mindset. She

believes people have Fixed and Growth Mindset. People with Fixed Mindset feel that a person is born with an innate talent. This ’belief’ put a limitation to their growth potential and they tend to play the victim and can get resigned to their version of a fact.

Whereas a Growth Mindset is when you believe you can be as good as anyone in a skill and need the right input, focus, help and practice to achieve it. Once we adapt a Growth Mindset, the opportunities are limitless. It is also researched that learning by mistakes and from experiences stay stronger in our brains, rather than simply being told and following instructions blindly. Have you tried and allowed your children to experiment with and experience failure and learn from it? It helps them appreciate and aspire success in the long run. fear is our biggest stopper. What if they don’t learn? What if I try this and don’t succeed? Let me be safe and cautious and not speak, lest people will make fun of me. In-fact the ability to think out of the box, give your feedback or clear your thought-process with your boss, help you be a better achiever.

Blog 5/52 : How to change a Habit.

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Blog 5/52 : How to change a Habit.

Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to change regardless of our age. We learn to walk when we are young by repeating over and over again the action of walking. In the beginning when we learn, we fall a hundred times. But we don’t give up till we are able to walk and run. Our brains reads each and every action of ours by forming a synaptic connection between the brain and the leg, as in this example. Over time and with practice, these connections become so strong that we need not voluntarily remember how to walk. It becomes an auto mode, a habit.
The synaptic connecting ability of the brain is a continuous process and keeps either strengthening by repetition, or can weaken and get deleted if not regularly practiced. If we stop walking for some reason, the connection between the brain and the leg weakens and can lead to the weakening of the leg muscles and it is possible that we can lose our confidence to walk. It implies that we can train our brain to forget any old habits that are not useful to us anymore, and replace it with new habits and learn new skills, no matter how old we are. Our brain is a muscle and like all muscles, the more we exercise the more fit it becomes. Regular training of this malleable brain muscle makes it stronger. It is for us to decide how we train our brain, reinforcing some old habits that work and practicing new things and useful ways of being till it become a habit to stay.
#thegameofchange #success

Remembering the Father of our Nation on his 150th birth anniversary

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Remembering the Father of our nation, Mahatma Gandhiji  on his 150th birth anniversary : 2nd October 2019.
Happy to have contributed to the writing of  this article, featured on the 29th September edition of the newspaper : The Times of India.
This powerful article brings to light Gandhiji’s values and his message on simplicity and it’s relevance in today’s cluttered world of plenty.
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Link-Times Of India: https://bit.ly/2nQu32D

Link -Sky-News: https://bit.ly/2omrvto

 

Emotional Eating

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We eat mindlessly and not with our stomach. When you are angry, upset or stressed, there is nothing better than a good burger or a cheesy pizza or a bowl of Ramen noodles.
Are you hungry and you eat breakfast or is it because it is breakfast time and you have to eat? Do you rush through your lunch, not knowing what you ate just an hour from lunch? Dinner time and you want to ‘eat’ well because you think you earned it? You emotionally eat the food you love, which is often full of the wrong carbs and fat.
Eating slowly is a good way to be in control of what you eat. Keeping half an hour and more for each meal and chewing slowly helps. You taste the food, your brains and stomach connect with the food. It tells you when it is full. It digests and assimilates better. You will consciously choose the food you want. Believe me, your stomach knows and the mindful eating helps you listen to your stomach.