Mnemonic games |
|
ONE SENTENCE YOU SHOULD COMMIT TO MEMORY - By Pauline Wallin, Ph.D.?Wouldn?t it be nice if there was an Easy Button for life?? This question is the tag line to a TV commercial by the office supplies store, Staples.The ad depicts people in various predicaments, including a bewildered boy called on by his teacher, a dad trying to change two babies? diapers at the same time, and surgeons about to perform an unfamiliar procedure. Each of these people, at the critical moment, pushes a big button with the word, ?Easy? written on it, to get them through a difficult situation. (Then, of course, you are reminded that doing business with Staples is easy.) This commercial got me thinking, ?What if there were an Easy Button for my inner brat?? Just one zap, and it?s gone. I wish. Unfortunately there is no sure-fire way to banish the inner brat altogether. But there is one simple, yet powerful tool to stop the inner brat dead in its tracks, especially when you?re angry, fuming, pouting, embarrassed or feeling jealous. This tool is the following sentence: ?It?s not about me.? Commit that sentence to memory. It?s going to come in handy: -- when people make sarcastic remarks -- when they don?t return your phone calls -- when they brag about themselves -- when they nag you -- when they don?t thank you for a gift or favor -- when they take advantage of you Zap. ?It?s not about me.? All the situations listed above describe other people behaving in a critical, demeaning or inconsiderate manner. You may happen to be the brunt of their inner brats, but their behavior really reflects more about them than about you. Next time you are confronted with other people?s rudeness, remind yourself: ?It?s not about me.? Make that sentence your ?Easy Button.? How will this help? By voicing the sentence to yourself, you automatically shift perspective. Your attention is diverted away from you and your hurt feelings, so that you can be more objective, and less prone to overreacting. You remain cool-headed. Your inner brat has little chance of taking over and ruining your day by dwelling unnecessarily on the situation. ?It?s not about me? works most of the time to calm you down when feeling hurt or insulted. Occasionally, however, you might need something extra to help shift your perspective. If so, follow up with this question: ?Would I expect anything else from this person?? Your answer will likely be ?No, such behavior is quite characteristic of this person.? Once you shift your perspective, decide what you?re going to do about the other person?s rude remark or behavior. That will vary, depending on the situation and the person. In any case, just the act of making a decision will reinforce your feeling in control -- even if the decision is to do nothing. Now that you are armed with your own new Easy Button, you are well prepared to keep other people?s inner brats from triggering your own. Copyright Pauline Wallin, Ph.D. 2005. All rights reserved Pauline Wallin, Ph.D. is a psychologist in Camp Hill, PA, and author of "Taming Your Inner Brat: A Guide for Transforming Self-defeating Behavior" (Wildcat Canyon Press, 2004) Visit http://www.innerbrat.com for more information, and subscribe to her free, monthly Inner Brat Newsletter. Game Plan Your Future - By Mr. Sandeep ManudhaneGAMEPLAN FOR YOUR FUTURESwami Vivekananda has so pithily put it: "All of us wish to be kings but little do we realize that the crown will come to us on its own the day we are ready for it." Outdated though we may think our own thinkers are, but the above statement by Swami has never been more relevant! Today when we see huge masses of our youth desperately struggling to gain a foothold in the intensely competitive marketplace and to carve a niche for themselves, we do get a feel that something somewhere is amiss. An analysis of the successful clearly tells that there is much more than conventional education that has gone into their making in fact, the contribution of regular university education can be dramatically low in many cases. So, if a young man decides today to make his own mark, what should be an ideal gameplan? Let us try and list down certain rules-of-thumb. These can serve as a good indicator and a general road-map. First of all, one must start early. It gives one the terrific advantage of planning at a leisurely pace and then implementing the plan systematically. This also gives you an ample leeway to effect changes to the plan depending on expert advice from time to time. To develop such a plan, you must consult as many experts (or so-called experts!) as possible. It helps in any case several brains are better than one. Secondly, you must work on multiple plans at the same time. What this means is that tying your horses to just one post may be a fatal strategy. So in case a particular game-plan does not work out, you must have an alternative back-up present. Having a knee-jerk reaction to situations may not be the best thing to do. Thirdly, diversify your skill-set. This, you will realize in due course of time, is possibly the best preparation you can do for the future. Thus, not only should you be good at your core competence i.e. your chosen field of academics, you should also be good at supportive skills like working knowledge of computers, latest trends in information technology, at least two major languages including English, at least one well-known game or sport, extensive reading skills, interpersonal human skills, and at least one strong hobby. This combination will prepare you adequately for the future work-place where getting ahead is more a function of personality skills and presentation capabilities than mere bookish knowledge. Worst of all, these can not be done at all after you finish your schooling these things need time, a lot of time and must start during the school days. One caveat though : Diversification of skill set should not at all mean that one should be scared of specialising in a skill. It simply means keeping your wild-cards open till the last moment. Fourthly, be cosmopolitan. Develop a liberal mind-set. Be open to radical ideas and different thoughts, while maintaining your own identity. The rate at which all the economies are opening up and disparate cultures are coming together is a clear pointer to the fact that narrow-minded, parochial and provincial mindsets will not be able to integrate themselves wholly with the mainstream in the coming millennium. Suffocating boundaries of gender, caste, creed, religion, language and region will be as anachronous in the working place of the third millennium as a steam engine is today! Your success will be largely determined by your capacity to integrate yourself in a largely cosmopolitan workplace. Finally, understand clearly that experience of the past is possibly the worst indicator of what lies ahead! In fact, the converse may be true!! Thus, the only thing that we might learn from our past experience is that the entire world is changing at a breakneck speed and in order to stay where you are you need to run pretty fast. Constant upgradation of skills, regular learning process and a creative bent of mind is the basis of future progress. As a young man keen on breaking new grounds, you must learn to manage your time well, remain self-disciplined and be as open to criticism as possible. Nothing is sacrosanct .business policies that worked in the past are anachronistic today. Thinking about your future must involve discounting newer technological developments as fast as possible. The employer of the future will be keener to recruit a holistic individual rather than a mere specialist who is found wanting in personality areas. Do not harbour the typically public-sector-like romantic notion that your employer is responsible for ensuring your life-long job .it could well be exactly the opposite. In this age of retrenchment of the inefficient and survival of the fittest (no social Darwinism intended!), there is little that anyone can do for an inefficient, outdated and outclassed individual. (Pity that the Indian PSUs still need to understand this!) Rise, Awaken, Shine . and Define your own destiny !! =============================================================== Sandeep Manudhane, CMD, PT Education & Training Services Ltd. ================================================================ CMD, PT EDucation Project index
|
| Music games | Speed reading | Mnemonic games | Online games | Kids games | Fonts viewers utility | Games design |