Spiritul de echipă și profunzimile

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Julie Jablonski - Reflecting On Words

În analiza unor CV-uri, apare unor un îndemn de tipul “Sunt niște cuvinte care ar trebui evitate, precum spirit de echipă, care ar trebui evitate”.

O căutare la Google » e edificatoare în această direcție.

Încep să am o alergie la cuvântul “profund/profunzime”.

Dacă intenționezi să lauzi pe cineva, spui că textul lui este profund, iar dacă vrei să critici, e superficial.

Problema e că sunt unele situații în care nu se aplică corect atributul.

Pe scurt, dacă îți place articolul, înseamnă că e un articol “profund”, iar dacă nu – “superficial”.

Repetați asta constant, și cuvântul își pierde din substanță (era să zic profunzime).

Ajunge, de la un punct, ca termenul “profunzime” să producă aceleași iritări ca un “spirit de echipă” în CV.

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Posting lots of things

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Charos Pix - Sit... Stay.

I got at least one idea by listening to Despre relațiile din copilărie și cum să menții pacea în cuplu, cu Paul Olteanu și Alexandra Irod – YouTube (RO):

  • (not an exact quote, of course) Posting lots of things on social media, being very careful to the reactions I get, putting emphasis on analytics on social media might mean that I have a desire for more attention from others.

It happens to me a lot. I used to reply to pretty much all emails/comments. Now, I do so but to a lesser degree.

I used to be very upset when someone wrote something bad online about me. Now, I tend to control it better.

I used to post a lot of things on social media, now – I still do so, but on other means (blog, Google groups).

What’s the solution? Posting fewer things? No, I do it for multiple reasons, not only for personal satisfaction.

Not caring about a message someone sends to me? I don’t think that’s very OK. Sure, if it’s a SPAM/very aggressive message, I can choose to ignore it. But for a general message – I will generally choose to reply, even though now I understand there are some underlying reasons.

What I need to work on is the general image I make in my mind whenever I get an aggressive message. Right now, it’s not that pleasant.

More than this, I need to place myself in the world better. I wrote about this in the past (1, 2, 3). I still need to fix some things in there.

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On the WOOP method – for wishes, preferences, habits

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Kevin - Trapped leaves

I found out about WOOP via a great online course (“The Science of Well-Being” by Yale University | Coursera).

WOOP is a science-based mental strategy that people can use to find and fulfill their wishes, set preferences, and change their habits. (Home — WOOP my life)

What is the WOOP method?

  • W: Think about your wish;
  • O: The best outcome;
  • O: Potential obstacles;
  • P: Your if/then plan.

(via »)

There’s also a book: Gabriele Oettingen, Rethinking Positive Thinking: Inside the New Science of Motivation (a nice introduction to the work on using implementation intention and WOOP in your daily life).

And an article: Stop Being So Positive. And another one: WOOP – Science’s #1 Tool For Goal Achievement and Habit Change.

A quote related to the obstacles:

“When is a monster not a monster? Oh, when you love it.” ― Caitlyn Siehl

Some thoughts:

  • It reminds me of a video in which Horia-Roman Patapievici talks about the present moment » (it starts at around 32:54).
  • It matters a lot if I want to change something in myself, to imagine the process. And I can go really deep into this, I can imagine all the details. I can describe all the mental images, via various senses (image, audio, sensorial, smell).
  • Imagining the best outcome helps me really get involved. I can see the positive final result.
  • Potential obstacles are also useful because I can try and manipulate the image. How do I refer to the obstacles? How much of an obstacle are they, really? I can also get used to them.
  • If I can get to love the obstacle, I can relate to them much better.
  • The if/then plan allows me to set up a thing that will help me avoid a bad outcome.

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On savoring

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Julie Jablonski - Blackberry

Via a great online course (“The Science of Well-Being” by Yale University | Coursera) I found out a definition of savoring:

Savoring = The act of stepping outside of an experience to review and appreciate it. (via »)

I tend not to savor things a lot. I’m always in a hurry, pretty much whatever I do. When I walk, I let my mind wander. Whenever I eat, I think of something else. When I work, I listen to something in the background. Whenever someone speaks, sometimes I think of something to say back, instead of being at the moment.

Some drawbacks:

  • Eating fast can, as far as I know, lead to weight issues;
  • I eat, from time to time, things I really enjoy, great food, nice food, wonderful food; but if I eat it fast, I enjoy it less;
  • Letting your mind wander can lead to creativity, but, all-in-all, it’s not so good for productivity;
  • Sometimes, the acronym “F.e.a.r.” (False Evidence/Expectations Appearing Real) comes to mind; I tend to think of things that might happen, and this sometimes leads to anxiety;
  • Although I can be more productive, I feel life passes by; and I’m not that fine with this.

What to do? Concrete steps:

  • Eat slower;
  • Focus your mind at the present mind;
  • Avoid letting my mind wander;
  • Expect the positive; placebos work;
  • Give it some time; don’t always focus on 100%; leave some things for tomorrow; allow some things to just go by.

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Word macro to convert from a vertical list to a horizontal list (separated by comma)

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michael szpakowski - list

Note – I am not responsible for any problems that may arise from using a macro!

Let’s say you have a list:

word1

word2

word3

You need to convert this into:

word1, word2, word3

Sure, it’s not hard to do it just one time. But what happens if you need this on a regular basis?

I’ve created a Microsoft Word macro that helps with that.

You have an empty document looking like this:

word1

word2

word3

It will convert this into:

word1, word2, word3

In the end, after you run it, it cuts the data, all you need is to paste.

How to install a Macro for Word? Details #1 ». Details #2.

Sub Din_Enter_in_virgula_Din_Lista_Verticala_in_Lista_Orizontala()
‘
‘ Macro1 Macro
‘
‘
Selection.WholeStory
Selection.Find.ClearFormatting
Selection.Find.Replacement.ClearFormatting
With Selection.Find
.Text = “^p”
.Replacement.Text = “, ”
.Forward = True
.Wrap = wdFindContinue
.Format = False
.MatchCase = False
.MatchWholeWord = False
.MatchWildcards = False
.MatchSoundsLike = False
.MatchAllWordForms = False
End With
Selection.Find.Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll

Selection.WholeStory
Selection.Find.ClearFormatting
Selection.Find.Replacement.ClearFormatting
With Selection.Find
.Text = “, ^p”
.Replacement.Text = “”
.Forward = True
.Wrap = wdFindContinue
.Format = False
.MatchCase = False
.MatchWholeWord = False
.MatchWildcards = False
.MatchSoundsLike = False
.MatchAllWordForms = False
End With
Selection.Find.Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
Selection.Cut

End Sub

You can add a macro to quick launch in Word, and this is how to install macros in Word.

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Small WordPress tip on categories

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WordPress Logo

Let’s say you want to choose some categories for your blog (I wrote in Romanian why you shouldn’t, generally, use tags on WordPress, but, instead, categories – Ce alegi între categorii și etichete pentru articolele WordPress? – Blog de Olivian Breda).

You have three categories:

Category 1

Category 2

Category 3

In my opinion, the best solution is to also have another category,

zzz. Uncategorized

, and have this as a default.

So, when you will post a new article on the blog, you will be forced to pick between categories 1-3.

But, in case you will forget to pick a category, the blog post will automatically be assigned to category “zzz. Uncategorized”.

It will be then easy to see that there’s something wrong, as the category

“zzz. Uncategorized”

, which should have zero articles in it, now has one blog post.

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How does writing on the blog help?

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Iain Merchant - Have you heard of 'Personal Space'!

TV cartoon called G. I. Joe: “Now you know. And knowing is half the battle.”

Just knowing about a thing doesn’t allow you to make some connections.

That’s why I like writing on this blog. It’s actually a very nice activity, I get enthusiastic about it. I enjoy every moment.

On one hand, it helps me structure my mind – if I write in order for others to understand, I have to make the ideas clear to me, first.

On another hand, I can be more open. If I write, I’ll put myself out there. I’m exposed, out in the open, I put my thoughts free for all. Anyone can see how I think.

All-in-all, blogging helps with making connections. And this helps with understanding.

I actually recommend this to others – if you want to know better, teach others.

There’s a learning method called “The Feynman Technique”, which has the following steps for learning:

  1. Pretend to teach a concept you want to learn about to a student in the sixth grade.
  2. Identify gaps in your explanation. Go back to the source material to better understand it.
  3. Organize and simplify.
  4. Transmit (optional).

Although transmitting is optional, I think it helps a lot.

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“Ține-ți mintea în iad și nu deznădăjdui” – Sfântul Siluan Athonitul

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Caitlin Tobias - HoPe

“Ține-ți mintea în iad și nu deznădăjdui” – Sfântul Siluan Athonitul

I was there, once, in my life. It wasn’t pleasant. Actually, it was as unpleasant as one bad thing could be.

There’s a book in which a dog goes through pain. When the pain is over, he’s not the same as it once was.

A thing to remember.

Keep the faith, try, focus on the positive, insist.

But the bad things leave a trace.

Is there hope? It sure is:

Rana este locul pe unde intră lumina în tine… – Protosinghel Hrisostom Filipescu

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Recomandare curs despre fericire: “The Science of Well-Being” by Yale University | Coursera

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fizzybeth - cat nap

Vă recomand un curs: “The Science of Well-Being” by Yale University | Coursera.

Dacă aveți timp să lăsați să ruleze în fundal, în timp ce faceți altceva, un curs despre fericire și despre cum să încerci să profiți la maxim de viață, vedeți cursul de mai jos.

De ce mi se pare un curs fundamental? Pentru că fericirea dictează multe lucruri. Cum te raportezi la evenimentele din viața ta, cum alegi să îți petreci timpul liber, cum alegi între multe lucruri.

Este online, durează vreo 19 ore, e în engleză (cu subtitrări în alte limbi).

Îți dă lucruri de făcut și dacă vrei să te uiți la el, și dacă vrei să îl lași să ruleze în fundal.

Teme, exerciții, lucruri de citit.

E un pic deranjant că te pune să faci multe clickuri, chestionare.

Are nota 4.92/5.0 pe site.

E furnizat de Universitatea Yale.

E gratuit, dar nu îmi e clar dacă e permanent sau temporar.

Data de începere văd că se tot schimbă, când m-am înscris eu era altă zi.

Știam, ca principiu, mai multe lucruri din curs, dar niciunul atât de bine aprofundat.

Dacă n-aveți 19 ore de rulat în fundal, puteți citi transcript-ul și uita peste resursele din bibliografie.

The Science of Well-Being by Yale University | Coursera.

In this course you will engage in a series of challenges designed to increase your own happiness and build more productive habits.

via »

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