A Change in perception

Since the crisis started- and I cannot for the life of me set a specific date on when it started but rather just give a rough time period when people started fearing it- I hear people talking about doing everything in their hands to keep their jobs; jobs they were not too comfortable or happy about to begin with.

This got me thinking- why is it that regardless of the situation we are in, we tend to complain?Why do we stay in a situation even if it goes against our principles? Well, I found a few answers to these questions but I'll focus on the most prevailing reason I can think of.

Sometimes, we get distracted with the day to day and forget to stop, think and actively decide what we want and how we can get it. By not deciding, we just let our lives pass in front of us thus, becoming mere spectators of our own lives!

Often times you can hear someone talk about the long hours they work, how their work is not valued enough, how little they make for such a big effort, how their family members suffer their absence and worries and on and on.

In our society it seems like the longer you spend at work, the better you are at what you do.The less time you spend with your family because of work, the more you love them because you are sacrifying yourself for their sake. The less time you have for yourself, the more generous you are... and the list is endless. How did we arrive at these conclusions? The answer is simple. We have- for whatever reason- adopted a set of values that are misleading us.

Let me explain. Our values determine our priorities in life and our priorities determine the actions we take. By values I mean the driving force behind the decisions we make. Look at what happens when we shift our focus:

If our values are:

• Feeling worthy of others
• Being number 1
• Being right
• Being in the right circle of people
• Making "a lot of money"
• Achievment
• Being loved and loving by pleasing others
• Having the greatest amount of friends
• Learning things

then we will probably struggle in some areas of our lives because we will always be trying to adapt to others' demands. If we are working long hours to prove ourselves to our bosses and be considered worthy, right, competitive, etc, we are at risk of neglecting our families and friends. When we realise we are doing this, we may then pay close attention to what they need, only to neglect our own personal needs.

By changing our values or the driving force behind what we do, we will soon see how everything gracefully falls into place allowing us to enjoy our work, our family and our "playtime".

I changed my list of values to look something like this:

• Feeling good and happy
• Growing
• Learning new things and meeting new challenges
• Loving the people around me
• Making money to pay for my list of wants
• Having fun
  
  

As soon as my values (or driving force behind what I do) changed, I was then able to decide what would help me achieve them in a more efficient way and take the necessary steps.

Believe me when I say that as soon as you decide how your list will "play" your perception and life start to change. Incredibly enough, instead of losing your job, friends and family, this new shift will actually strengthen the bond and empower you to do what you want!

I never usually have any New Year’s resolutions. Mainly because I don’t believe in waiting until the last day of the week or year, for that matter, to commit oneself to changing physically, mentally and spiritually when in reality one has spent all year figuring out ways of indulging in “self sabotage”.

But hey, we all change and I do too. So, this year, the omnipresent feeling of doom, gloom and ruin that “the crisis” has given most people in this country, has actually served a purpose as, for the first time ever, the thought of doing something totally different started to attract me. Yes ladies and gentlemen, I do have some New Year’s resolutions and as I don’t usually go for the humble¹ side of things my list now includes improvements in all areas of my life and business.

I will not bore you with all the sordid details on what or how I plan to change but what I will do is show you how some of these changes may affect you, our student! You heard me right. The changes in me, will affect you! And this is what the Chaos Theory states- when a butterfly flaps² its wings in Brazil the effect will be noticeable in some way or another in China- or Spain for that matter.

To become a butterfly though, one must first be a caterpillar. Well, Emerson has been a caterpillar for a long time. And, during that time, it has invested all its energy in listening to its clients and their needs- to you. This has definitely provided us a solid ground on which to develop the NEW Emerson spirit and services.

The time has now come, and at Emerson we are proud to present the new services we are sure will lend you, our students and clients, a competitive edge³.


Business and Leadership Skills Seminars

Emailing skills & netiquette
Killer presentation skills
Effective negotiation techniques
Time management

On this blog, we will be including the previews for all of these seminars. You can already look at the one for presentation skills- it is an example of a presentation style called Pecha Kucha. It summarises a four hour seminar into a little over 6 minutes!

All of the seminars are in English, aimed at students whose levels are Intermediate or higher and for people who seek to challenge and exceed themselves.

So, if you still haven’t made your New Year’s resolution for improving your English, start now with Emerson. It’s never too late!

¹ humble: modest
² to flap: movement needed to fly
³ edge: in this case it means advantage- look at dictionary for more definitions.