Planners’ Picks
A collection of resources from CSN planning committee members worth mentioning
Let’s think about Memorial Day and an extended weekend of relaxation and destressing. We’ll also work happier, and stop hoarding chips.
:: Image of the Week
“A gift you can give yourself right now: Stop what you’re doing. Close your eyes. For the next 60 seconds, just breathe.” – James Clear
:: Resources on Mental Health and Self-Care
No, You’re Not “Being Selfish!”
Ever wonder what it means to be Selfful? One way to decide if a behavior is selfful or not is to examine your own values. Admittedly, this is not always easy. Our values often conflict with each other – which makes these choices difficult. Read the article below and then tell Darcy Luoma what Selfful looks like to you!
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/youre-being-selfish-darcy-luoma/
Reframe How You Think About Self-Care
Many leaders tell themselves: “It’s so busy, I can’t afford to…(spend 7 hours sleeping, or stop to get lunch, or keep up my hobbies).” This framing, which casts investments in personal resilience as contrary to the best interests of an organization, is doing both you and your organization a great disservice. It’s time to take those hackneyed words, “our people are our greatest asset,” to heart. If you are an important asset, how could depriving, devaluing, and depreciating that asset by running it in harsh conditions, powering it with improper fuel, and neglecting routine maintenance possibly be good for your organization? Your resilience is a high-priority business issue if you’re leading a team through the stress of our fast-paced world. When you invest in proper sleep, nutrition, exercise, and play, you’ll have the self-control to manage your own reactions, the energy to be fully present for your team, the patience to listen and empathize, the wherewithal to make good decisions, and the stamina to keep it up for weeks or months. Investing in your resilience isn’t indulgent; it’s mission critical.
https://hbr.org/2020/08/reframe-how-you-think-about-self-care
“When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.” – Alexander Den Heijer
Why Humor is a Secret Weapon for De-Stressing
In her book, Humor Seriously: Why Humor Is a Secret Weapon in Business and Life, Jennifer Aaker, Ph.D., behavioral scientist, chaired professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business, and member of Thrive’s Scientific Advisory Board, explains, “Joy is not a happy accident, but a choice we make. It’s about being more generous with your laughter and finding delightful moments in the day.” She adds, “When you don’t take yourself too seriously, you laugh effortlessly. And that is when joy flows.”
https://thriveglobal.com/stories/why-humor-is-a-secret-weapon-for-de-stressing
:: Resources on Reframing Situations
Enlarge the Box and Problems Vanish
Husband and wife combo, Benjamin Zander, a longtime conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, and Rosamund Zander, a family therapist, on the power of point of view:
“Every problem, every dilemma, every dead end we find ourselves facing in life, only appears unsolvable inside a particular frame or point of view. Enlarge the box, or create another frame around the data, and problems vanish, while new opportunities appear.”
Source: The Art of Possibility
:: Linkedin Learning
The Secret to Better Decisions: Stop Hoarding Chips
All day, we make decisions—from what to have for lunch to whether or not to shut down a product line. These decisions shape our careers and haunt our dreams.
It turns out that people aren’t very good at making decisions, and the main reason is simple: we hoard our chips. We overvalue things we’ve built, experiences we’ve endured and assets we’ve acquired. As a result, we get stuck. Too many dead ends and too many regrets.
The promise of this Linkedin Learning course is simple: You and your coworkers will finally be able understand why we get stuck and what to do about it. With engaging stories and a new way to talk about the issue, Seth Godin helps you see how to stop being manipulated and start leading instead.
:: Resources on Communication
The Power of Psychological Anchors
Imagine that you are trying to negotiate a pay raise with your boss. You might hesitate to make the first offer – let him toss a number out. But, research shows that the first one set the number is more likely to feel like the winner. It has everything to do with the anchor bias. Anchoring or focalism is a term used in psychology to describe the common human tendency to rely too heavily, or “anchor,” on one trait or piece of information when making subsequent decisions. Numerical anchors are especially sticky in the brain. Learn more about psychological anchors from Dr. Melissa Hughes.
https://info.melissahughes.rocks/neuronugget/the-power-of-psychological-anchors
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and freedom.” —Viktor Frankl
Work Happier with Nic Marks
Happiness expert Nic Marks shares how we can be happier at work and help to create happier workplaces for those around us too through your positive messaging and communication with those in your care. This conversation with Dr Mark Williamson was recorded at an Action for Happiness event on 18th May 2022.