Do you hate your job ?

Or the other way around, (maybe you do not hate it, it is "not so bad") ,  do you love your job ? Because if you do not love it, it means that something is wrong. It is ether you or your workplace ( maybe both.. ) Take a look at this picture :

Here are some questions to see at what level you are: (the first question where the answer is yes determines your level)
- Do you watch the clock during the day, to not spend more than 1 min above 8 h ? => Level 5
- Do you check your overtime regularly? => Level 4 ( Hamster )
- Do you plan to leave at the end of the year => Level 3 ( Chicken - laying golden eggs..)
- Do you feel highly stressed/tired ? => Level 2  ( Actually you are never tired* ) ( VIP Chicken)
- Do you love working there? ;)
*ok, there are some exceptions

Here is another way to look at employee engagement:

If the issue is with the organization you work for ( they are not mature enough developing people ) , maybe your interests do not align. The interests of the organization are mostly clear, but are your interests clear to you? There are some ruff questions you need to answer. I will not  detail them here, because there is a really nice toolkit available here:

 

Just sign up, follow the steps and fill out the free work books. ( I have done it, it was a great experience ) . They emphasize the importance of the environment, it is so true! Environment is the basis for development. ( A small side story on this. The mayor of Timisoara wanted to plant palm trees in the city. But this is not the right environment for them, so they can not grow and develop themselves.. )

  

 

Take this  free questionnaire!!  It might help you discover what you want to do before you die...

Just make sure you ACT, and check if the company/manager does CARE

While writing and researching this post I have discovered Simon Sinek The next thing I plan to do is to discover my why: 

Do you see the elephant inside you?

Elephants are big and strong. They form deep family bounds, are extremely intelligent animals and have memories that span many years, display signs of grief, joy, anger and play. I think this is why it is used in the elephant and the rider metaphor for the unconscious part of the mind. Here is a nice presentation of this model:

One way to know more about your elephant, are the personality tests, because your unconscious mind manifests itself trough your personality ( = patterns of behavior, thinking, values, habits, etc. All things that are 'automatic' are slowly moving into the unconscious part of our mind)
Because I am not an expert in psychology and it is only a hobby for me  I will not get into a lot of details, I will list here only a few things based on my current knowledge:
 - one of the  most complete is the  Myers-Briggs type indicator. A nice description is here. A nice visual map is here.
- a more "simplified" one is the DISC model.  There are many descriptions on the web, but this TED talk is a really good intro:

Now that we are aware of our elephants, the question remains how did we end up with them ?
They are the result of our education by the environment where we were grown up and living, even today.  There are many factors that are part of the environment.

One of the factors is the global world, since your elephant is shaped /educated by by the generational factors. If you like it or not you are part of a generational stereotype and your elephant is shaped by the big/global changes in your environment. Here is a table that compares them:

A list with even more details is here. You should be aware of this because of your parents, co-workers, and even your children. (really nice info-graphic).

Another even more important factor might be the order of birth. Here is a good description (the nice part is how it affects relationships ) and this is a good intro:

The autopilot metaphor is so powerful..(I think it is even better than the elephant..). The most important elephant education time is everything that happens till you are ~8 years old. 

If you like to try out things, here are some links to free personality tests:
- https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test
- https://discpersonalitytesting.com/free-disc-test/

At the end do not forget that You and your Elephant are a great team if you work together. Make sure you know and understand it (or somebody else is directing your Elephant and it might not go to the places you want to be, since elephants are predictable...). Did you know that if elephants are afraid (ex from mice) they do not listen or completely ignore the rider ? Fear is a powerful tool used to direct entire  herds of elephants.

Which Phases of Life..?

During the weekend I have seen this TED-Talk ( watch TED and not TV !) about the quotes for every year in ones life and it triggered a thinking about this topic:

After 33 with the first kid ( and reading some child psychology topics about the childs chapters/stages of development, I was searching for the entire human life. After some searching ( researching?) on the topic I have identified this book of Thomas Armstrong :The Human Odyssey: Navigating the Twelve Stages of Life to be more complete than others.  Since reading books is a slow process I was searching on the net and found this website with a short outline.
The following picture below got my attention as well , and I think everybody likes the green comfort zones ;). I was trying to map the two and this is what I came up with ( here I consider only after 20 )

Early Adulthood (Ages 20-35):  Enterprise –  It takes enterprise for young adults to accomplish their many responsibilities, including finding a home and mate, establishing a family or circle of friends, and/or getting a good job.  This principle of enterprise thus serves us at any stage of life when we need to go out into the world and make our mark. -> This would be Freedom 1.
(btw. I am a big fan of Star Trek : Enterprise ) or Enterprises

Midlife (Ages 35-50):  Contemplation – After many years in young adulthood of following society’s scripts for creating a life, people in midlife often take a break from worldly responsibilities to reflect upon the deeper meaning of their lives, the better to forge ahead with new understanding.  This element of contemplation represents an important resource that we can all draw upon to deepen and enrich our lives at any age.  -> if this is the "Family" part then yep, things do match.

One thing that is not mentioned in the outline is that moving between these stages are the various crisis that have to be survived. If you are in the Midlife phase -> the midlife crisis. OK, our generation (millennials)  is used to crisis, so noting new here...  This comes immediately after the awareness of Enterprise mastering, so you do not have much time to enjoy it. You know you can do it, everywhere, but now one of the questions is does it make sense/ does it have a meaning ? is it inline with your life's purpose ?  etc....

Another similar simplified model ( with only 4 stages )  is described in a more fun way by Mark Manson.

But personally I  would not represent the human life as a linear graph. ( in the image/diagram above life expectancy seems to expand, as time passes by, this is in line with the expansion of the universe )
I am experiencing life more as a cyclic process ( life is a process ? ;) like this:

I was not able to find more information for now that describes/defines the  details of this spiral model. Based on this article a cycle is 21 years divided into 3 phases of 7 years.
While searching for the cyclic aspect of life I have learned about Chakras. A detailed description can be found here. I am able to map my life to this models as well: ( click here for the original enlarged picture )

  I am not sure if this works for everybody, but the idea is to be aware of the cycle/phase you are in and to act accordingly (in harmony with the natural flow of things).  It is not the best choice to go to the beach to swim during the winter...

Still, there should be some fun in the entire concept as well. Here is a fun picture, so keep cycling.

Think about your thoughts..

      One of the model that we have about our brain is that it is a layered architecture, one layer is based on top of the other one. ( my simplified view).
 Our rational layer relies on the emotional layer. If the emotional layer is in a NOK state it will inhibit/limit the operation of the rational layer. It is easy to observe others, but it is way more difficult to detect it yourself. This requires practiced mindfulness. One easy way is to look at the picture above and identify if some of the quotes from the thoughts type apply. There are also more  like that, my favorite one ( red )  is "This is not what I have expected". Most of the time you see in the news that something bad is going to happen, or something is unfair, etc this is when the people who make the news try to manipulate you, they shortcut your rational layer of the  mind by inducing a state to your emotional layer. So, try to protect your shortcuts!

 Here is a nice TED talk how to practice the habit of mindfulness:

Know your values !

 

If I may, I would rephrase it to: Be aware of what you value.

Based on the following definition value is a concept that describes the beliefs of an individual or culture. A set of values may be placed into the notion of a value system. Values are considered subjective and vary across people and cultures.


Take this test to find out your personal values for free at the Valuescenter. 
I like that they have defined a value system and tell you about your positive and negative values.
You will receive by e-mail your personal values assessment.
There is also a detailed description of the system.


Values vary across people and cultures but it seems that there are still some similarities if you look at generations. Generic values of generations is also important ( here is a list for  mY generation , even more details here  )

 

Values

• Self-expression is more important than self-control
• Marketing and branding self is important
• Violence is an acceptable means of communication
• Fear living poorly—this is related to lifestyle enjoyment, not wealth
• Respect must be earned; it is not freely granted based on age, authority or title

Attributes

• Adapt rapidly ( agile )
• Crave change and challenge
• Create constantly
• Exceptionally resilient
• Committed and loyal when dedicated to an idea, cause or product
• Accept others of diverse backgrounds easily and openly
• Global in perspective ( one planet one people )

 Keep in mind that if you value something, you are likely to pay ( work )  more for it.. ;)
 Your values might ( and will ) change over time ( this is why every generation has a different set of values ).

And you should also  check if the company that you work for has the same/similar  corporate values or if your values are compatible. Be careful not to mix strategies and values. ( here is a good article on this topic )

If you are in a relationship, make sure your partner shares the same values. It might be the right bond between you.

If you have a child ( or more of them  ) mindful parenting is also based on shared values. Otherwise the kid will not know what to value.

You are never tired! You just lost your motivation...

 
  When you are motivated and when you are in the Flow state, you do not feel tiredness at all. Sleep is just an interrupt that is not letting you do what you were doing.
Simply put motivation is like a force. ( let the force be with you ..;)
Most of the time, a lack of motivation is experienced, especially in the work-life, due to a missing or incomplete enabler:

• Mastery  ( you should master what you are doing, the more mastery the better )
• Autonomy ( self governance. you chose what to do )
• Purpose ( why are you doing what you do, what's the meaning of it,does it matter? ) 

 More on this in the following TED Talk: ( watch TED and not TV!)

Your Purpose depends on your needs.( the unfulfilled ones!)  For sure you know Maslow's pyramid. You go from bottom to top, you kind of have to fulfill the current level before you go to the next. ( sounds like a computer game, right..? the game designers have to keep you motivated to play the game.. ).

I feel tired now.. it is 11:35 PM, time to sleep, the brain needs to do its housekeeping.

The Book of Life

Initially I was watching  YouTube movies related to psychology on this channel : CrashCourse 
As related videos I have found the School of Life. I was amazed to see all this knowledge in one place nicely packaged and organized. It took me some time and some digging to find out about the latest project of the school : The Book of Life. I did not finish it reading/understanding but one chapter had a huge impact on me... Self Knowledge. I would recommend you to take the questionnaire and allocate time  to read and understand the entire article. ( i would even recommend to use several days ).
Many thanks Alain de Botton.  

Strenghts 2.0

Last year I got the message (advice)  from one of the managers (thx. Uwe ) to focus on my strengths. It took me some time (and a special situation)  to ask myself the question : What are my strengths ?
Google helped me ( and I help google)  and I got to this page : Strengths Finder 2.0
I was not sure if the test and result is effective, but I remembered about Strengths 2.0  in this TED talk:  Scott Dinsmore.  ( by the way... Watch TED instead of  TV!)  and I have read this article.
So I have decided to take the test.  ( was also curious about my weaknesses so I took the  big test with all the strengths  ). I have payed the money ( now after the results I see it more as an investment in myself )  and I got the list.  Actually I have used the app from my mobile phone to do all the stuff .

My top 5 strengths:
1. Individualization
2. Analytical
3. Connectedness
4. Learning
5. Responsibility

Note: These words have a definition in the book that you get if you do the test.
For some of them I was aware, not so much about others.


   

To-Do Apps

I don't like stupid mistakes. To forget something can be frustrating. It is just a Human Error  (Omission :) 
I have used electronic To-Do lists and Calendar for quite some time now. I like to have several list based on topics. Back in the days without mobile internet I had old Nokia phone ( for 5 years! ) and I was happy with it. Then with Android and Google Tasks I have started using GTasks. 
It was really good since I was able to edit tasks also on the laptop and I had a backup in the heavens ( also called clouds ) 
But then things got complicated, the need to share and to sync with family and friends. So I have started to evaluate some new tools.
These were my main requirements:

• Simplicity
• Storage in cloud and Android devices.
• Web interface  - need to edit some of the bigger lists
• Multiple lists ( since there are more areas/categories ) 
• The ability to create a copy of an existing list. 

The last one is very important since we have a generic grocery list ( a superset of things ). Every week we just create a copy of it, check what we already have,  then the remaining items have to be purchased.  Small customization can be done to the list to add new stuff or unique items needed only for that week. ( Extra Belgian dark chocolate for birthdays :P )

I have tried Any.do, Wunderlist, Todoist, but the chosen one is Google Keep, since the other ones did not have the feature of the list copy for free.
A review of the apps above can be found here.