Gaea's

Archive for the ‘Communication’ Category

I’m starting to think that I need to change the heading of these weekly posts to something other than Monday Motivation because I always seem to write something that doesn’t quite fit the motivational category.

Anyway, this week’s post is intended to help you write better and more achievable objectives.

Are your Objectives SMART?

Research tells us that clear objectives with effective ways to measure them means that objectives are easier to achieve. Different studies give different successful results, but all the evidence seems to point to

Specific objectives + ways to Measure them + can you Achieve them + are they Relevant + is there a Time frame= increased chance of successful attainment of objectives

The acronym SMART is a well known term and a term I come across constantly and I have found that the concept of making objectives SMART is deceptively simple. Whether you are preparing personal or business objectives, my advise to you would be to take enough time to work through the process of developing your objectives and applying SMART principles – don’t just throw stuff at it. Read the rest of this entry »

As these posts are called Monday Motivation, I thought I’d write a little about becoming motivated.

If you want to make things happen the ability to motivate yourself and others is a crucial skill. At work, home and everywhere in between, people use motivation to get results. Motivation requires a delicate balance of communication, structure, and incentives.

So how do you obtain and, more importantly, maintain that delicate balance? Read the rest of this entry »

I often get ideas for posts from conversations with other people. I was chatting with a friend earlier today about the connection between reading minds, being psychic and understanding or interpreting human behaviour. We wondered if there was some truth in what the cynics say in that psychics are just good at reading body language, facial expressions, tone and pitch in voice, basically non-verbal communication.

This post has been written to provide a little bit of information specifically about non-verbal communication. The term “non-verbal” acknowledges that people don’t just use words to communicate. We also use voice (tone and pitch), actions and activities to communicate and sometimes these are more open and honest than we would like. Understanding both what other people and yourself are unconsciously saying and doing is a step in the direction of benefitting from improved communication.

Good communication skills can help you in both your personal and professional life. I would say that this is made up of being aware of how you communicate as well as understanding how others communicate.

Communication is broadly categorised into verbal and written communication, however the area of non-verbal (body language) communication is really important as it makes up a large percentage of our daily interpersonal (person to person) communication.

I looked around for a good definition of non-verbal communication and found what I think is the best definition in answers.com which defines non-verbal communication as the Act of imparting or interchanging thoughts, opinions, or information without the use of spoken words. Read the rest of this entry »

Jesse Owens, athlete and Olympic champion in 1936 once said “One chance is all you need.”

I agree with that statement but have to ask the question – how many of us really see that chance and are prepared to accept it even if we do recognise our chance.

Being afraid of the unknown is a normal reaction. We need to learn to over-come the reaction in a positive and constructive way. I think that the way to do this is to understand what the chance is and what its impact will be. Think through the various scenarios so that you know how you will react to the outcome or alternative outcome/s. Think about what you are capable of and be prepared to work harder if need be. Be flexible and ready to revise your actions or approach if need be.

I’m sure that I have mentioned before that I read a lot. My mother encouraged me to read as much as I could and I did. I find it really sad today that so few children read, even my own – despite encouragement and occasionally threats. Anyway, I was browsing today trying to find some books that a friend recommended. I Googled best selling books and was duly rewarded with extensive search results. So I thought that I would compile a list of books that seem to be on many of the best selling lists. I have read some of the books on the list but haven’t yet decided what to order. The inclusion of a cookery book (Miss Dahl’s Voluptuous Delights) is not an accident… I love the presentation of this book. I saw one of my favourite books, The Time Traveller’s Wife is on Amazon’s top 10 best-selling books of the decade.

I have linked the books listed below in a new category called Best Sellers in my Amazon Store and have added some of the titles in audio books – I have bought quite a few audio books lately and am enjoying the experience and then with some of the titles, I’ve also added in the additional support / other products such as The Secret Daily Teachings. The Goddess Experience offers “more than 1000 valuable tips that anyone can afford, to bring a little Goddess magic into your life” – I have started putting a few of the tips into practice.

There are so many categories of best sellers out there, but here’s a selection I picked from various best selling lists, all linked in My Amazon BookStore for your convenience (although I have linked some books specifically for your convenience): Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve come across many articles recently bemoaning the fact that we so seldom use a desk telephone anymore because our communication consists largely of e-mailing, texting, social media and social networking. I was an early adopter of the mobile phone and loved telling people to “call me on my mobile” and felt so important when I got a call on that mobile. Like many other early adopters, I embraced texting or sms’ing. I reached a point though a few years ago where I hated my mobile. My boss always complained that I had the highest bill in the company and that it surely wasn’t possible to send so many messages. I countered that I was busy working and had no choice but to use my mobile as I travelled a lot for business and that he only had to look at the costs associated with my desk phone to see that I hardly used it so surely the lack of cost on the one offset the cost of the other. Even then though, I recognized that my mobile had taken over both my work and personal life. Read the rest of this entry »

I had to deal with a really unpleasant event during this past week, something that had me querying whether honesty is seen in the same way by everyone. I understand honesty to mean not lying, cheating or taking unfair advantage. So,  I went online and looked at several definitions – truthfulness and sincerity are closely linked to honesty and are sometimes used interchangeably although there are fundamental differences.  According to brainyquote.com, honesty is “The quality or state of being honest; probity; fairness and straightforwardness of conduct, speech, etc.; integrity; sincerity; truthfulness; freedom from fraud or guile.”

Reflecting on the above definition, I can conclude that the other person was dishonest because he was not free of fraud or guile and his conduct was certainly not straightforward. Read the rest of this entry »

I have linked some of my favourite books and other items that I think you may like in My Amazon Bookstore. I’ll keep updating the store and posting links for books as required in posts, so check back regularly.

You can view my choice of products using the tab above, the link in this post,  the carousel on my blog’s homepage for my current favourites or browse the “My Amazon Bookstore” category.

If you order via my my Amazon Bookstore, you will receive the same excellent level of quality and care that you usually receive from Amazon.

Is it coincidence, a warning? Is Gaea (Mother Nature) in distress trying to tell us something or merely just case of seeing what you want to see? A few weeks ago the Metro (UK) published the amazing picture of a ‘crying face’. It is revealed in an ice cap located on Nordaustlandet in the Svalbard archipelago in Norway.

 The metro reported  ”A melting glacier has amazingly taken on the form of a face – and some think it shows Mother Nature in tears at the state of our planet.”

 The stunning image shocked onlookers who felt the vivid pattern in the melting glacier looked like teary-eyed nature staring straight at them in a foreboding manner.

The ‘tears’ were created by a waterfall of glacial water falling from one of the face’s ‘eyes’.

I can’t help but feel moved by the above picture and feel that there is a power higher than ourselves really trying to tell us its time to take the world we live in a little more seriously. Often people I meet or consult with ask for signs that are irrefutable. How much more ‘in your face’ do you need the message to be from Mother Nature before we take the abuse of our planet seriously?

I never thought I would love Blogging as much as I do. Over the years, I have accumulated a lot of knowledge and experience on many different subjects. I find blogging an effective way of sharing this knowledge in addition to expanding my own knowledge as I research many of my blog topics before posting the information. I have presented many short courses on a variety of topics and know that personal interaction is invaluable. For this reason, I would like to ask that if you have a specific question or would like to know more about a topic, please e-mail me. I’d prefer to answer the question in the form of a blog (because someone else may be asking the same question/s), but if you prefer to keep the correspondence private, just include in your e-mail that the communication is confidential. Of course, whatever knowledge I share has to be used in context with your own personal life, health and circumstances.