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...and all the best for implementation.

Kind regards,
Marc Buchholz
kontakt@marc-buchholz-consulting.de

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Unlock hundreds of mood-boosting meditations, relaxing sleep exercises, focus music, and more with our biggest offer of the year.

It's the healthiest, happiest deal you'll find this Black Friday, and it won't last long.

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Meditation and Sleep Made Simple - Headspace

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Live a healthier, happier, more well-rested life in just a few minutes a day with the Headspace app.

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How It Works

Daily Practice
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Intelligence research is through factor analysis to discover the core factors that impact both performance and wellbeing. This research revealed that there are only 10 negative response factors (10 Saboteurs) and only 5 positive response factors (5 Sage powers).

Discovering these root-level factors of performance and wellbeing dramatically simplifies personal and professional development. Intercepting one’s Saboteur and activating one’s Sage automatically results in a wide array of impacts including stress management, relationship improvement, performance, selling and persuasion, creativity, leadership, resilience, and happiness.

This is because we are rewiring the brain at the root level rather than treating symptoms.

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You have two very different regions in your brain.

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You have two very different regions in your brain.

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Recent advances in functional MRI (fMRI), which measures how neural activity changes blood flow, have allowed scientists and psychologists to witness the real-time working of the brain for the very first time.

We are now able to pinpoint the regions of the brain involved in producing different thoughts or feelings and identify the neural functions involved with the activation of Saboteurs and the Sage.

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Discover your PQ® Score, the measure of your mental fitness. Based on Shirzad Chamine's New York Times bestselling book and Stanford lectures.

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Knowing your top Saboteurs - the part of you mind doing you the most damage - is the first step to reducing the harm they cause.

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Psychologist Robert Keagan about real change

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Psychologist Robert Keagan about real change

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An Evening with Robert Kegan and Immunity to Change

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In order to establish / incorporate new habits into your life, it is essential that you bear in mind the following aspects:

choose one or two habits you would like to start with. Too many changes at once will soon overwhelm you and program for failure/givin up

Make use of "slow thinking" and assess first whether you need a motivation boost / further in- depth knowledge about a certain topic or some helpful tools (App) to assist you in following it through.

Reflect on a regular basis your progress. Once a week is a good start.

I wish you all the best for your progress. Have a good life!

Marc

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My New Roots’ Life-Changing Loaf of Bread Recipe on Food52

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This recipe bakes a whole-grain, gluten-free, no-knead, no-mess, life-changing loaf of bread. Psyllium seed husks are available at natural food stores.

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9 Impressive Health Benefits of Chlorella

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Chlorella is a nutritious algae that’s gaining popularity as a supplement. This article lists 9 impressive health benefits of chlorella supplements.

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vegan, vega, brendan brazier, plant based, performance nutrition

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Deliciously Ella - Homepage - Deliciously Ella

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Thanks for visiting. Don't miss your FREE gift.

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Glycemic index for 60+ foods - Harvard Health

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A food's glycemic index is a measure of how fast the body turns it into blood sugar. Foods with a high glycemic index are quickly turned into blood sugar. Choosing foods low on the glycemic index can prevent spikes in blood sugar.

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Mark Lauren Bodyweight Workouts | Train at Home

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Get in the best shape of your life without going to the gym with the new bodyweight workout app from fitness author Mark Lauren! It has programs for all levels.

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How to Fall Asleep Fast | 11 Sleep Hacks for Better Sleep 😴

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Theta Power Nap Music Increase Energy, Productivity & Memory - Deep Relax

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Credit: Shutterstock

Research by Oxford University's Saïd Business School, in collaboration with British multinational telecoms firm BT, has found a conclusive link between happiness and productivity.

An extensive study into happiness and productivity has found that workers are 13 percent more productive when happy. The research was conducted in the contact centers of British telecoms firm BT over a six month period by Jan-Emmanuel De Neve (Saïd Business School, University of Oxford) George Ward (MIT) and Clement Bellet (Erasmus University Rotterdam).

"We found that when workers are happier, they work faster by making more calls per hour worked and, importantly, convert more calls to sales," said Professor De Neve.

The authors state that while the link between happiness and productivity has often been discussed, their study provides the first causal field evidence for this relationship. "There has never been such strong evidence," said Professor De Neve.

Recent research into the mood of the UK has found that paid work is ranked near the bottom in terms of activities that make the population happy. "There seems to be considerable room for improvement in the happiness of employees while they are at work," comments Professor De Neve. "While this clearly in the interest of workers themselves, our analysis suggests it is also in the interests of their employers."

The BT workers were asked to rate their happiness on a weekly basis for six months using a simple email survey containing five emoji buttons representing states of happiness-from very sad to very happy. Data on attendance, call-to-sale conversion and customer satisfaction were tracked, along with the worker's scheduled hours and breaks. The researchers collated this information alongside administrative data obtained from the firm on worker characteristics, work schedules and productivity.

The study also factored in local weather conditions and uncovered a clear negative relationship between adverse weather conditions and the happiness of the workers.

The researchers found that happy workers do not work more hours than their discontented colleagues-they are simply more productive within their time at work.

More information: Clement Bellet et al. Does Employee Happiness Have an Impact on Productivity?, SSRN Electronic Journal (2019). DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.3470734

The full report, 'Does Employee Happiness Have an Impact on Productivity?' can be downloaded here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf ... ?abstract_id=3470734

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Research by Oxford University's Saïd Business School, in collaboration with British multinational telecoms firm BT, has found a conclusive link between happiness and productivity.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger 2018 - The speech that broke the internet - Most Inspiring ever

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Admiral McRaven Leaves the Audience SPEECHLESS | One of the Best Motivational Speeches

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5 Lessons To Live By - Dr. Wayne Dyer (Truly Inspiring)

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Find your WHY?                      Ted Talk: Golden Circle

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Find your WHY?                      Ted Talk: Golden Circle

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How Great Leaders Inspire Action | Simon Sinek | TED

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How to know your life purpose in 5 minutes | Adam Leipzig | TEDxMalibu

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Your Journey Begins Here - Introduction to the Path of Love

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As I began to love myself I found that anguish and emotional suffering are only warning signs that I was living against my own truth. Today, I know, this...

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The one question to ask yourself: THE ONE THING by Gary Keller

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How To Boost Productivity By 50% In A Week

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Having a hard time finishing your tasks on time? Check out these tips on how to boost productivity and see how they can help you.

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Put First Things First | Habit 3 | Ep 8/13

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There's a reason New Year's Resolutions are so hard to keep: Reinventing the way you live overnight requires a willpower that most of us don't have. And yet-many popular productivity systems ask you to uproot your work in just that way. Changing a single habit is hard enough, but changing them all at once? Nearly impossible.

Zen to Done offers a solution: It shows you how to develop the habits you need one by one to succeed with a multi-step productivity system.

What is Zen to Done?

Zen to Done (ZTD) is a productivity system created by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits. Its goal: Help people build individual habits, step by step, as they work through a workflow management system. ZTD teaches you how to take a simple approach to improving your productivity by encouraging you to focus on forming one habit at a time.

Makes the whole thing feel a lot more doable.

All together, Zen to Done suggests forming 10 productivity-boosting habits. But Babauta has boiled it all down to what he calls Minimalist ZTD, and it involves just the four core habits of the system:

Collect: Get ideas and to-dos out of your brain and onto a list.

Process: Review your list daily and decide how to act on each item.

Plan: Pick a few high priority items to accomplish each week and every day.

Do: Schedule time to accomplish your selected to-dos without interruptions.

Babauta recommends picking whichever one of the four Minimalist ZTD habits that appeals to you the most and focusing on it for 30 days. By the end of those 30 days, he argues, you'll be in the habit of processing your work using that method. After that, move on to the next habit. Within four months (one for each of the core habits), you'll form all of the habits you need to stay on top of your to-do list and get more done.

If the Minimalist ZTD approach works for you, grab a copy of Zen To Done: The Simple Productivity E-Book to learn more about the other six recommended habits. Pricing: $9.50 for the eBook or $6.99 for the Kindle edition.

If you've already tried Getting Things Done®, the four Minimalist ZTD habits may seem familiar. The Minimalist ZTD framework is a simplified version of GTD®'s five-step method for managing workflow and other productivity workflows. Unlike other methods, it encourages you to master one habit at a time and incorporates Stephen R. Covey's "big rocks" concept for prioritizing tasks. Getting Things Done® and GTD® are registered trademarks of the David Allen Company.

The Collect Habit

One of the best ways to clear your mind and improve your focus is to get ideas and to-dos out of your mind and onto a list. That's the goal of ZTD's collect habit: Train yourself to stop and document every single thing you need to do as soon as you realize you need to do it. Babauta also recommends collecting all of those to-dos in a central system.

"Every place you have to go to check your messages or to read your incoming information is an inbox, and the more you have, the harder it is to manage everything. Cut the number of inboxes you have down to the smallest number possible for you to still function in the ways you need to."

Documenting to-dos in the moment keeps your mind clear, lessens the likelihood that you'll forget to do something, and gives you a master list of to-dos to reference when you're trying to decide where to focus your time and attention.

How to begin ZTD with the collect habit

If you want to start your ZTD journey by developing the collect habit, you just need to do two things:

Choose a place to collect all of your to-dos.

Document those to-dos as soon as they're assigned.

Here are a few examples of places to keep your master to-do list:

Notebook: Simply writing things down is one of the quickest and easiest ways to document to-dos. Of course, if you have a lot of to-dos-or just some sloppy handwriting-a notebook can get messy quickly.

Memo app: If you carry your phone with you everywhere you go, keep a cleaner to-do list by documenting tasks in a memo app. Take a look at our suggestions for the 14 best memo apps -most are accessible on both your phone and the web.

Email: Send yourself an email when a to-do pops into your mind or is assigned to you in person.

Task management system: If you already use a kanban tool or project management tool to manage to-dos, download that program's app onto your phone, and add your tasks there.

The tool you use isn't terribly important-just pick whatever feels natural for you. The key is making sure you have your selected tool with you all the time so you can always document tasks immediately.

Pro tip: If you use Zapier, you don't even need to have your preferred to-do collection tool around. If someone emails you, Slacks you, adds you to a task on Basecamp, or pings you on any of 1,000+ apps, you can set up a Zap to get the task automatically sent to your master to-do list.

Example workflow for mastering the collect habit

Documenting your to-dos is a true habit. It's a simple matter of getting incoming tasks onto a list-even when you're busy or just don't feel like it. Eventually, you'll be so used to it that you'll do it without even thinking about it as a task.

Of course, diverting all of your "inboxes" to a single master list requires more effort. And depending on the number of inboxes you manage, you may want to start by taking 30 days to consolidate them all. Then you can begin documenting to-dos.

Step 1: Take time to identify all of your inboxes. Here are a few common examples:

Step 2: Next, adjust your settings or use a Zap to divert as many of your inboxes as possible to the tool you selected for your master list.

Personally, I use my email inbox as my master list because that's where the bulk of my to-dos are assigned. Here's what I did to get incoming to-dos from other systems into my master list:

I consolidated my personal and business Gmail accounts so I can access and respond to all my emails from a single email inbox.

I adjusted my notification settings on each social media site I use to request emails for the notifications I'm interested in receiving. Then I deleted each app's shortcut from my phone's home screen so I'm not enticed to visit those inboxes when a notification icon appears.

I adjusted my settings in Trello to request an email notification for all new assignments.

I used this Zap to automatically send incoming tasks from Slack to my email account.

I enrolled in paperless bill pay for all my bills.

I downloaded the YouMail app to have new voicemails automatically forwarded to my email. YouMail offers a free plan that includes voicemail to email forwarding and robocall blocking.

Of course, not all tasks get assigned electronically. You'll still have to-dos pop into your mind randomly, assigned in person, or delivered in hard copy form. There's no way to get those tasks on your list automatically, so focus on building the collect habit and adding them to your list manually.

The Process Habit

Processing your inbox every day helps you avoid the stress of having 500+ unread emails (potential to-dos) in your inbox

The first step was collecting all of your to-dos and getting them on a master list. Now it's time to process them. That is, you need to decide what action to take on each item.

Every morning, before starting on any new tasks, go through your to-dos one by one. Start at the top and work your way down to the bottom, taking one of the following actions on each one:

Do: If the task takes less than two minutes to complete, do it immediately and get it off your list. A good example of a "do" task is an email you received that only requires a brief reply. 120 seconds and you're done with it.

Defer: If the task takes longer than two minutes to complete, set it aside for later. Leave it on your list for now, or put it in a separate to-do queue/folder. At this point, you want to focus on processing your list, so don't let yourself get distracted by time-consuming to-dos.

Delegate: If someone else should do the task, send it to that person right away. A good example of a "delegate" task is an invoice you received that you need to forward to someone in accounting. Delegate as you process to-do items-unless the act of delegating requires more than a couple minutes. Time-consuming delegation tasks go into your deferred tasks list.

Delete: If the task doesn't require any action, delete it immediately to get it off your list. A good example of a "delete" task is a question someone emailed you that you'd since answered in a meeting.

File: If you just need to file the item for reference, put it where it needs to go right away. Don't let things pile up with plans to file them later.

Processing your to-do list daily has two big benefits: it keeps the tasks you need to take care of at the top of your mind, and it keeps your to-do list cleaner and more manageable.

How to begin ZTD with the process habit

If you want to skip the collect habit and begin your ZTD journey with the process habit, you can start by processing your email inbox every morning. If you receive a lot of emails, your email inbox functions as a kind of to-do list, and it's an effective replacement for your master list if you haven't yet formed the collect habit.

When you open your email each morning, start at the top of the list, and process each email you've received.

Do: If acting on/replying to the email will take less than two minutes, do it right away. When you're finished, delete the original email or file it for reference.

Defer: Leave deferred tasks in your inbox as read. You'll return to take care of them after processing all of your other unread emails.

Delegate: If delegating is just a matter of forwarding an email with a quick heads-up note, do it right away-then delete or file the original. If delegating will take longer than two minutes, leave it in your inbox as read and come back to it after processing your other emails.

Delete: Move spam emails, unneeded receipts, unwanted marketing emails, and things that require no further action to the trash.

File: Create a reference folder (Outlook), label (Gmail), or mailbox (Apple Mail) for filing emails you might need to access one day in the future. Add child folders/labels/mailboxes if you want a more organized filing system.

Example workflow for mastering the process habit

When using email as a master task list, you'll need to create two queues for processed tasks:

You may also want to create child queues for more organization. As you can see in the screenshot of my inbox above, I have two to-do labels-"To Do" and "Bills"-and three reference labels: "Clients," "Tax Receipts," and "Former Clients."

You may also want to consider creating a "someday" queue for things you want to defer indefinitely (e.g., a newsletter you want to read one day when you have nothing else to do).

When processing your to-dos every day, move deferred tasks into your to-do queue, and move items that need to be filed into your reference queue. When you're finished processing your list, you'll have achieved inbox zero. All of your outstanding tasks are now in your to-do folder.

The Plan Habit

Now you're left with a list of items you've deferred-the things that didn't fall into the do, delegate, delete, or file buckets. Obviously, you can't defer them indefinitely, so you need a plan for deciding how to tackle the tasks.

ZTD's plan habit offers a method of prioritizing deferred to-dos so you're always working on your most important or most pressing tasks: your big rocks.

Big rocks is a concept taken from Stephen R. Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Imagine that you have a jar, a few big rocks, and hundreds of little rocks. If you start filling the jar by putting the little rocks in first, you won't be able to get the big rocks in at the end. Your calendar works the same way. If you don't block time to work on your big rocks-high priority to-dos or tasks with a looming deadline-a lot of little tasks will fill your time and prevent you from getting around to your most important work.

Here's how to save space for your big rocks:

Step 1: At the very beginning of the week, review your task list and choose between four and six big rocks to focus on that week.

Step 2: Next, block time on your calendar to work on those big rocks. Book time on any day that works best for you, but try to find time early in the day. As the day/week progresses, more unexpected tasks and surprise meetings will pop up.

Step 3: Then, first thing each morning-ideally after processing your to-do list-select between one and three additional big rocks for the day. These can be smaller, more time-sensitive, or surprise to-dos you couldn't have planned for at the beginning of the week.

As the day/week rolls on, you're more likely to get assigned new tasks that prevent you from focusing on and completing your big rocks. But if you've already booked quiet time for them on your calendar, it's less likely that the time you planned will get overbooked.

How to begin ZTD with the plan habit

Even if you haven't already started collecting your to-dos and processing them, you can still form the plan habit. Just select a few priorities at the beginning of each week and start of every day, and schedule time for them on your calendar. Since you don't yet have a master to-do or deferred task list, just use whatever system you've been using-the to-dos in your mind or inbox.

When it comes down to it, you're just selecting priorities and scheduling time to work on them. Sure, it's not all that different from the natural prioritization method we tend to use. But giving the natural method a bit more structure-prioritizing intentionally instead of reactively-will help you form the habit you'll need to plan and prioritize all of your tasks once you've added the other habits into your workflow.

Example workflow for mastering the plan habit

Email is a great place to collect all of your to-dos, but a long list of deferred items with no more context than a subject line just isn't very...zen. A kanban app like Trello offers a cleaner view of all of your outstanding tasks, and it lets you

add lanes for different priorities.

label tasks as personal or business.

add due dates.

drag and drop tasks into priority order.

archive completed tasks.

add others who you need to collaborate with (e.g., coworkers).

You could just send all of your tasks to Trello in the first place-as your master inbox-but Trello tends to work best when used only for the plan and do habits. Think about it: Many of the emails you receive just require quick responses, and trying to manage those in Trello requires an unproductive amount of switching back and forth between programs for very small tasks.

To get started, create your own board, and add lanes to separate

deferred to dos that haven't been prioritized ("To Do").

your big rocks for the week ("This Week").

your big rocks for the day ("Today").

You may also want to add a "Blocked" lane for things you need to do but can't at the moment, and a "Someday" lane for things that aren't important but that you don't want to forget about.

Pro tip: Make a copy of the ZTD board template shown in the image above by navigating to the board on Trello, opening the menu, clicking "More," and selecting "Copy Board."

Finally, create a Zap that adds a new card to Trello when you perform a specific action on an email:

If you use Gmail, use this Zap to create a new Trello card when you label an email as to-do.

If you use Outlook, use this Zap to create a new Trello card when you move an email to your to-do folder.

If you use another email client, create a new Trello card by forwarding an email to your Zapier address.

Now all of your deferred to-dos are accessible on your ZTD Trello board. So after processing your inbox each morning, you can visit Trello to plan your priorities for the week or day.

The Do Habit

The do habit says that when working on big rocks, you need to minimize distractions as much as possible:

The point: You're more likely to complete small tasks in a single working session, and more likely to make better progress on big tasks/projects that you need to work on over multiple sessions.

While this is the simplest ZTD habit in terms of execution-all you have to do is focus on a single task-it's one of the most difficult habits to build. Incoming email notifications, text messages, and desk drop-bys compel your attention away from your big rocks and damage your productivity.

How to begin ZTD with the do habit

Even without a to-do list or priorities, you can build the do habit. Pick a task-anything you need to do-and focus on it exclusively. Take steps to eliminate all possible distractions. If you can't do that, train yourself to ignore them.

In some cases, it takes more than Babauta's recommended 30 days to break a multitasking habit. Give yourself as much time as you need to master this habit, and consider using gamification or another reward-based system to boost your chances of success.

Coffee doesn't hurt either.

Example workflow for mastering the do habit

By this point, you should have a master list (collect) of deferred to-dos (process) that you've prioritized for both the week and the day (plan). Now you're ready to block time on your schedule to focus on completing your big rocks (do).

You can manually add time to your calendar-or you can use a Zap to automatically schedule time on your calendar without ever leaving your to-do list:

Remember, this is just one example workflow. Throughout the process, it's possible to substitute any of the recommended tools with something you prefer more. To find out what Zaps are available for your preferred tools, visit our Apps page, select the apps you're interested in connecting, and scroll through the available Zaps to connect your ZTD tools and automate your new workflow.

You shouldn't try to stop eating dairy, start exercising five days a week, and stop drinking wine all at the same time. Chances are you won't succeed.

Changing your entire workflow all at once is no different. Instead, make major changes one at a time-take a step-by-step approach-and you'll be much more likely to succeed in the end.
Related reading: Zen to Done Kindle Edition cover art from Amazon. Handwritten to-do list from StockSnap via Pixabay. Do not disturb sign from geralt via Pixabay.

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There's a reason New Year's Resolutions are so hard to keep: Reinventing the way you live overnight requires a willpower that most of us don't have. And yet-many popular productivity systems ask you to uproot your work in just that way. Changing a single habit is hard enough, but changing...

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Blog: zenhabits of Leo Babauta

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Oura Ring: the most accurate sleep and activity tracker is all about you: it measures the physiological signals of your body, understands your lifestyle, and guides you to make your own optimal daily choices. The ring features scientifically validated sleep tracking and personalized guidance.

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Discover Synctuition, the most advanced relaxation program with 3D sounds and binaural beats. Transform your life by joining us today!

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Unlock hundreds of mood-boosting meditations, relaxing sleep exercises, focus music, and more with our biggest offer of the year.

It's the healthiest, happiest deal you'll find this Black Friday, and it won't last long.

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Meditation and Sleep Made Simple - Headspace

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Live a healthier, happier, more well-rested life in just a few minutes a day with the Headspace app.

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You may still remember the blog posting where I introduced you to the five inner drivers defined by the transaction analyst Taibi Kahler as being typical for human self-control. Today the subject will deal with enabling you to put your personal inner drivers in their place when they tend to overdo driving you.
As a reminder an overview of all five drivers and their messages:

The First Driver: Be strong!

The Second Driver: Be perfect!

The Third Driver: Please others!

The Fourth Driver: Hurry up!

The Fifth Driver: Try hard!

At this point it needs to me emphasized: Your inner drivers are important helpers - without any one of them you would probably be sitting listlessly in a corner incapable of getting anything straight in your head. They only represent a problem when they run your life "unchecked" and without thinking. In that case they can cause you lots of stress and make you very unhappy, as well. The issue is not at all to entirely ban the drivers from your life because that would be fatal! You are just supposed to keep them from taking over. Any one of these drivers can be (within reason) an excellent servant - but every driver is a lousy master!

After reading the first blog article on the subject you are probably already familiar with your personal "preferred driver" (if not you can always test it here). We are now going to deal with each of these characters individually and see how you can best rein them in. You see, each driver has something like an inner opposite number usually called a "facilitator" (one could also call him/her a caring observer or companion - go ahead and pick that which you like best). His/her voice also lives inside you just like that of the driver - only probably rather faintly and sometimes it even became quite inaudible because your driver has such a loud, overbearing voice totally drowning the poor facilitator out. It is now your mission to help your facilitator assert him/herself and at the same time deprive your driver of some of his/her overbearing stage presence.

To begin with a few questions you can ask yourself no matter who your preferred driver is:

And now to your very personal preferred driver:

1. Driver: Be strong!

This driver carries the message that you must at all costs manage and accomplish everything on your own. In his/her eyes needing help creates dependency and it is imperative to avoid that at any price. He/she forces you to grit your teeth and so as not show any weakness keep your feelings under control at all times. His/her plus: He/she endows you with lots of strength and caution.

Sentences your inner facilitator could use in response to this driver:
Some more important points with respect to this driver:

Observe yourself in every day life and consciously register how often you push feelings aside and forcibly suppress them. At least once in a while try to let some of these feelings get through to the outside.

Once a week ask someone for help with something you could just as easily accomplish yourself.

Several times a day briefly stop what you are doing and perform a quick "body scan": In your mind run a check of all your muscle groups little by little from top to bottom. Which ones are tense? Where are your stiff, where relaxed in your posture?

Get yourself a CD with instructions for progressive muscle relaxation according to Jacobson and regularly practice the exercises.

Frequently smile without any obvious reason.

Take singing lessons, join a choir and every morning sing loudly at least at home in the shower.

2. Driver: Be perfect!

This driver demands constant perfection and continuously overreaching your objectives from you. He/she does not permit you to do things merely "well" or "satisfactorily" or just take a more relaxed view of things. Mistakes are a catastrophe and therefore must be avoided at all costs. On the other hand, he/she is also a good helper when it comes to completing tasks carefully and accurately.
Sentences your inner facilitator could use in response to this driver:
Some more important points with respect to this driver:

3. Driver: Please others!

This driver persuades you that others are always more important than you are. More than that: He/she whispers that you are responsible for the wellbeing of all others. He/she forbids you to adequately deal with your own needs and wishes. In a positive sense, he/she helps you maintain good relationships with others and to care for them.
Sentences your inner facilitator could use in response to this driver:
Some more important points with respect to this driver: Sentences your inner facilitator could use in response to this driver:
Some more important points with respect to this driver:

In day-to-day-life occasionally listen to yourself. How often do you use expressions like: "If I try hard . . .", "I could try . . .", "that is going to be difficult, but . . .", and the like? Ask yourself what you are trying to achieve with your counterpart and whether you could just do without them.

Examine your objectives according to the SMART-method (you'll find directions here). The aspect "realistic" is particularly important for you.

Twice a week ask a person of your choice to help you with a task, you could actually complete on your own.

Close your eyes and think of the concepts "ease" and "playfulness". Is there an association that immediately comes to your mind? A picture, an animal, a piece of music, a certain memory or something totally different? Find an object vividly symbolizing this association for you and put it on your desk or any other place where you see it several times daily. It is supposed to remind you of your new mantra namely that something easy also has value!

For two or three weeks check your blood pressure several times a day. Too high? Have a conversation with your primary care physician!

Stop what you are doing three, four times a day and concentrate on your throat,- neck,- and shoulder muscles. Are they tense and hard? Take a massage and ask the masseur, to also loosen the muscles around your sternum in addition to those mentioned (any bet that those are tense as well),

Get yourself a CD with instructions for progressive muscle relaxation according to Jacobson and regularly practice the exercises.

Observe yourself in every-day-life or record yourself on tape or video when you talk to others or give a talk. Do you speak quickly, clipped and without interruption? Consciously try to moderate your speech tempo. How frequently do you use verbalisms expressing haste and tempo - "just quickly", "as quickly as possible", "right away", etc.? How often do you interrupt others when they are talking? Can you suppress these impulses?

Take a look at the recent weeks and months on your calendar. Are there also free times, periods without entries? Are there leisure and recreation phases? Or do you jump from one activity to the next without taking a break? Take note of the changes when you consciously insert periods of idleness in your day!

The next time when you feel under the weather and would normally go to work anyway, spend a day at home. Enjoy a leisurely day in bed. For two or three weeks check your blood pressure several times a day. Too high? Have a conversation with your primary care physician!

Sentences your inner facilitator could use in response to this driver:

I am permitted to take my needs and opinion seriously.

I am permitted to expect things of myself.

I am ok, even if someone is dissatisfied with me. That is not the end of the world.

I am permitted to do things that please me for myself

Some more important points with respect to this driver:

In the course of your every day life observe yourself while you are conversing with others. How often do you nod, agree with a smile and make other gestures acknowledging your counterpart? Could you occasionally suppress these impulses?

Concentrate on the manner in which you express yourself. How frequently do you use interrogative clauses when it was your intention to suggest something or express your opinion? Like for instance: "Shouldn't we visit the café at the market today!"? How often do you still mitigate that which you are saying in the same sentence by using phrases like "it is quite far and so . . ." or, "I may be wrong, but I think . . .". Try and occasionally say directly what you mean or want.

During the next group situation when the leader throws a question into the room creating an uncomfortable silence keep still. Wait until someone else raises his/her hand.

Once a week decline someone's request although you could grant it if you wanted.

Three times a day stop what you are doing and ask yourself: "If it were now only up to me - would I continue doing what I am doing?"

4. The Driver: Hurry up!

This driver forces you to do everything you do quickly. He/she does not only forbid you to be slow and do things slowly, but also to linger in the present. With that he prevents you from truly immersing yourself in anything and in a manner of speaking get truly close to others. The good news: He/she is also the basis for decisiveness and efficiency in your life.

5. Driver: Try hard!

This driver talks you into believing that only something that has been achieved with lots of effort and sweat is worthwhile and deserving recognition. He/she encourages you to never relax in your efforts or to quit prematurely. Under his/her influence you are not permitted to let yourself go or enjoy the fruits of your labor. His/her positive aspect: He/she is the source of your extraordinary perseverance and endurance.

Tags: drivers

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Blog by psychologist and author Felicitas Heyne about personality, health, love and work.

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Habit 2 of : 7 Habits Highly Effective People

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Habit 2 of : 7 Habits Highly Effective People

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Begin with the End in Mind | Habit 2 | Ep 7/13

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THINKING, FAST AND SLOW BY DANIEL KAHNEMAN | ANIMATED BOOK SUMMARY

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Daniel Kahneman: "Thinking, Fast and Slow" 

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Daniel Kahneman: "Thinking, Fast and Slow" 

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Thinking, Fast and Slow | Daniel Kahneman | Talks at Google

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Loving yourself changes it all

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A Realistic Guide to Authentic Self-Love

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It’s said that self-love is the key to happiness. What’s the secret to getting there? Here’s an ultimate guide to starting a lifelong romance with yourself.

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Flourish - Positive Psychology |Martin Seligman

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Flourish - Positive Psychology |Martin Seligman

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ddroy's diary | Glück, Psychologie, Theorie

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25.01.2014 - Martin Seligman coined the term - Positive Psychology. It focuses on positive functioning of human being.  He suggested self-help techniques...

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Martin Seligman talks about psychology -- as a field of study and as it works one-on-one with each patient and each practitioner. As it moves beyond a focus on disease, what can modern psychology help us to become?

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Martin Seligman helped launch positive psychology. In Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being, he redefines it. The book is important, and strongly recommended for anyone interested in deeply understanding positive psychology. That said, it is not a self-help book, and may not be terribly useful to the average person who wants to be flourishing more in life!

For years, positive psychology was essentially equated to the science of happiness. Scientists have always preferred the term " subjective well-being " to get at the fact that it's positive emotions but also life satisfaction. Seligman extends that definition using the acronym PERMA:

Like any good mental model, I find this one useful and, at the same time, incomplete. Are these really the key components to flourishing in life? What about health? But despite PERMA's imperfections, it's a memorable way to extend our concept of positive psychology. It's not just about happiness, it's really about thriving in life.

Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being is an important contribution to an important field. It describes the work that Seligman has led with the US Army's resilience program, the Master of Applied Positive Psychology program that he leads at the University of Pennsylvania, and more. If you are intrigued by the history and future of positive psychology, I highly recommend Flourish. If you want practical suggestions for being happier at work and in life, I think you can do better with other books.

As the Founder and Chief Happiness Officer at Happy Brain Science, Scott Crabtree empowers individuals and organizations to apply findings from cutting-edge neuroscience and psychology to boost productivity and happiness at work.

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Book Review: Flourish by Martin Seligman - Happy Brain Science

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Martin Seligman helped launch positive psychology. In Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being , he redefines it. The book is important, and strongly recommended for anyone interested in deeply understanding positive psychology. That said, it is not a self-help book, and may not be terribly useful to the average person who wants to be flourishing more in life!