Your View of the Future Is Shaped by the Past

Your ability to envision the future depends on the past.

It seems easy to think about what you will be doing next week. In general, your life next week feels like it will be a lot like your life is this week. You will have the same friends, the same job, the same home. Your distant future is a bit murkier. It is hard to picture where you'll be living, what you'll be doing, and who you will be spending time with.

How do you envision your future? This question was explored in a paper in the August, 2011 issue of Memory and Cognition by Kathleen Arnold, Kathleen McDermott, and Karl Szpunar.

They start by pointing out that your ability to envision the future is strongly influenced by your memory for the past. That is, you tend to use memories of past experiences to predict what your life will be life in the future.

It is easier to use your memories when the future you are predicting is close in time. Chances are you have experienced many specific locations and events that are like the ones you will encounter next week. As a result, you can do a good job of simulating what your life will be like next week. It is harder to guess what memories from your past will be relevant for understanding your life in the distant future, and so it is harder to make specific predictions.
Indeed, in one study, people were asked to envision an event that was going to happen next week or in five years. After thinking about this future event, people were asked whether it was set in a familiar location. People were far more likely to set a predicted future event in a familiar location if they were thinking about the near future than if they were thinking about the distant future.

Another study demonstrated that it is possible to make more specific predictions for the future by imagining that future in a familiar place rather than an unfamiliar place. For example, college students asked to envision an event happening five years from now in their current dorm room were able to make much more specific predictions about that event than those asked to envision an event happening at the Egyptian pyramids.

Why does this matter?

We use our ability to envision the future to help us make plans. Our beliefs about what might happen in the future help us to plan for obstacles that will confront us. A lot of good research on planning suggests that those people who prepare for failure are the ones best equipped to handle problems when they come up.

By setting your predictions for the future in a familiar landscape, you allow yourself to use your memories of the past to help you predict what might go wrong in the future. If you are only able to think abstractly about the future, then you are much less likely to find specific problems that may arise.

Clearly, the future has ways of surprising us, and nobody can be completely prepared for what the future will bring. But, it is important to recognize that the only way you can plan for the future is by drawing on your memories of the past. Envisioning your future in a specific location gives you the best chance of helping yourself succeed. 

 

Source: Psychology Today

25 Reasons Not to Trust Spell-Check When Job Hunting

You've probably pored (or is it poured?) over your resume and cover letter hundreds of times, fine-tuning them, updating them, making sure they're so perfect that even the most trained eye could find nary a mistake.

And you've heard it before, but it never hurts to hear it again: Don't. Misspell. Anything.

It's one of the first red flags that'll get your resume thrown into the trash instead of into the hands of your potential new boss.

And even with all the electronic advances we're making in the spelling department (good-bye Oxford English Dictionary print version), these words can still slip by spell-check, making you look like a complete idiot.

It's called spell-check, not grammar-check, for a reason.

Note: If you don't already know the differences between your & you're; and their & they're & there; and its & it's; and two & to & too, for all that's good and holy, please look them up.

Check out our list and feel free to add your own:

1. Pubic vs. public: This is my favorite one.

2. Manger vs. manager: Let's hope you don't confuse your boss for where the baby Jesus used to chill out.

3. Diffuse vs. defuse: Diffuse means to spread, as in diffuses the light. Defuse means to make less harmful, as in "defuse a crisis," or to defuse a bomb, which is important if you're applying for a bomb squad job.

4. Stationery vs. stationary: You exercise on a stationary bike. You print out your resume and cover letter on high-quality stationery.

5. Desperate vs. disparate: "My desperate ideas have always been embraced by my manger." Oy, spell-check won't catch those. See ya.

6. Loose vs. lose: Don't be a grammar "looser."

7. Allot vs. a lot: And please never write "alot," though your spell-check may be able to find that one.

8. Accept vs. expect vs. except: All three of them sound alike, and the last two look a lot alike, so be careful.

9. Fro vs. for: A lot of people just fly by these small words.

10. Preventive vs. preventative: Look at this example from TalkTalk: Preventive medicine regards vitamin C as an effective preventative against colds.

11. Site vs. sight vs. cite: Did you forget to cite your sources and then lose sight of your goals at your next job site?

12. I could of vs. I could have: Eek, this is not Twitter, folks -- have always wins.

13. Infamous vs. famous: Did you just have lunch with your infamous client? Meaning the worst kind of client ever? Infamous means not good. You don't want to say in your cover letter that the "infamous Mother Teresa" was one of your idols.

14. Flesh out vs. flush out: You can flesh out a great plan, while you flush out the insects from your baby's formula.

15. Access vs. assess: Assess your resume by accessing this post.

16. Definitely vs. defiantly: So many people still try to spell "definitely" with an "a" and get "defiantly" instead. Head. Meet. Wall.

17. Then vs. than: Perfect your resume, then apply for the job. It's better than sending one full of mistakes.

18. Lead vs. led: Colonel Mustard may be in the dining room with a lead pipe, but hopefully you led your team in sales last year.

19. Insure vs. ensure: You insure your car. A mistake-free resume ensures a shot at an interview.

20. Form vs. from: Again, always check even the most common and smallest of words!

21. Lay vs. lie: You lay down your paper. Hopefully you won't be lying down with your potential boss in your bed to get this job. Try to remember that "lay" needs a direct object.

This one needs a little bit more explanation though. The past tense of "lie" is "lay." I know, who exactly invented the English language?? You lay down on your bed yesterday. As for the past tense of "lay"? You laid those papers on your coworker's desk a week ago. Make sense?

22. Less vs. fewer: Yes, there is a difference. Check out Grammar Girl's take. All those signs in the grocery store? They should say "10 Items or Fewer."

23. Principle vs. principal: "My strong principals make me a great candidate." Nice to know you're so well acquainted with school leaders on steroids.

24. Farther vs. further: Use "farther" only for physical distance, "further" for everything else. And please don't type in "father" by accident. Trust me, you'll go so much further in life.

25. Alter vs. altar: You altered the course of your company's future. Then you went home and sacrificed a pig on your altar for dinner. You badass woman, you.

So, back to the first sentence of this post, is it "poured over" or "pored over"? Pored over means to read something carefully, while you use "pour" as in pouring yourself a margarita if you made it this far down the list. Feel free to pour me one too, thanks!

Okay, after all this seriousness, I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Family Guy, said by the famous (or is it infamous?) Stewie, as he established his rules after becoming "President of the World":

"Any person who uses the words 'irregardless,' 'a-whole-nother,' or 'all-of-the-sudden' will be sent to a work camp."

Now go check your resume and make sure you didn't commit any of these grammar and spelling faux pas!

Source: theStir

3 Personal Branding Secrets Revealed By NFL Superstars

The NFL regular season has just kicked off, much to the relief of football fans everywhere who were worried about the lockout that consumed the summer. But the NFL has more to offer us than just football...in fact, we can learn valuable lessons about personal branding from some of the players. Below are three personal branding secrets we can learn from NFL superstars:

1) Social Media is a great way to bypass traditional media and connect directly with your audience. NFL stars such as Chad Ochocinco (@ochocinco), Arian Foster (@ArianFoster), and Mike Vick (@mikevick) have built tremendous followings and have used the platform to engage with their audience.  Chad Ochocinco, in particular, is a prolific tweeter and is able to interact with his fans in ways that traditional media doesn’t allow.  

2) It’s never too late to turn around a struggling brand.  Just recently, Mike Vick signed a new contract worth $100 million dollars.  Yes, this is the same Mike Vick who, only four years ago, was convicted of dog fighting and spent time in jail.  He was on the verge of bankruptcy and his professional career appeared all but over.  But instead of giving up, Vick took responsibility for his mistakes and set out to make things right.  He has become an advocate for animal rights and a contributor to many charities.  By and large, his audience has forgiven him and embraced his return to superstardom.  

3) Sometimes, branding can even trump performance.  Last year, Denver Bronco quarterback Tim Tebow started only one game in the NFL. Despite that, he led the league in jersey sales for 2010. That’s right--Tebow sold more jerseys than Aaron Rodgers, the quarterback who led the Green Bay Packers to the Super Bowl title. He outsold superstars such as Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Adrian Peterson. Why? Because of the power of his brand. Tebow is no doubt working hard to make a real impact on his team in football terms...but the power of his brand is unquestioned.

NFL players aren’t only strong, fast, and talented--some of them are branding geniuses. We would all be well-advised to pay attention to the tactics they employ!

Source: Fast Company

Force Yourself!

That's a 20 minutes video but it's worthwhile your time. Mel Robbins talks about how to do what you want to do: force yourself out of your head, feelings and comfort zone. It's so simple but not easy.

7 Not So Obvious Habits To Maximize Your Productivity

I was a big fan of productivity, and, in some respects, I still am. I’ve been a very early adopter of GTD, and, for years, I did my weekly reviews with the discipline of a zen monk. But, eventually, I hit a roadblock. GTD is about getting things “done”, but in life we have much more to experience than “doing”. We feel. We dream. We enjoy stuff without the pressure of an empty inbox. And, most of the time, we simply are. We’re existing. And that’s ok.

So, I confess I fell out from the GTD wagon. Gradually, I developed my own framework, which evolved from a productivity-based approach, to a life management based approach. I’m using it for about a year now and, as much as I can tell, so far, so good. If I compare what I accomplish now with what I used to accomplish a year ago, I’m stunned. Not only because I “do” much more than before, but because I actually live more.

But enough with all this shameless self-promotion intro. I understand that my framework may work perfectly for me, but may be of little, if any, importance for you.

So, instead of doing a presentation of the Assess – Decide – Do framework, I chose to isolate only 7 simple tips for today’s post. They don’t need any framework to be integrated with and they can be implemented by anyone, with a little bit of awareness. Try them for a week, one for each day of the week.

As a matter of fact, they’re even organized as such. As you will see, there’s a reason why each tip is assigned to a specific day, but then again, if you feel this isn’t really your Monday cup of tea, for instance, feel free to rotate them as you see fit.

1. Monday – Ignore The Unimportant

I firmly believe that the art of ignorance should be taught in schools. We live in such an information-rich society, our focus is so deeply challenged by dozens or hundreds of stimuli each and every second, that we have a really hard time focusing on what really matters.

Especially on Mondays, when all the previous week unprocessed stuff seems to crash on us, try to apply this. Focus only on what matters. If you have a presentation to finish in one hour, cut out everything – and I mean: EVERYTHING – that is not connected to it.

Slash out Twitter, Facebook, email. Turn off the music. Close the door after putting a big sign with “Abandon hope all ye who enter here” on the other side. In time, you’ll become better at this. The hidden frustration that “you’re missing something” will fade away.

2. Tuesday – Reward Yourself Constantly

Each tiny task that you finish is an achievement. We forget too often that our big successes are in fact big chains of small tasks performed on a daily basis. So, in order to keep this chaining process running, put a little reward at the end of each small task.

Tuesdays are great for this habit, because they’re the first link after the week hast started. Just do something nice at the end of each task. Listen to your favorite tune or read your favorite blog (and that would be, of course, Stepcase Lifehack) for the next five minutes.

As much as we won’t want to admit it, that Pavlov guy was right. And I’m not talking about the dogs here. I’m talking about you. Because you gotta be your own Pavlov and the dogs will be your productivity habits. Train them constantly. And, if need will be, feed them some sugar every now and then.

3. Wednesday – Negotiate The Expendable

It’s the middle of the week, and, by now, there must be some garbage accumulated. Some stuff that you don’t really need to do, but, somehow, it’s still in your to do list. It’s a perfect time to negotiate that stuff. Does it really need to be on your to do list?

The pressure of constantly doing, delivering, accomplishing made us forget that we do have this option too in our arsenal. I’m talking about negotiation. “Talk” with the task. Or with the person at the other end of the task. Does it really need to be done right now?

I compare this negotiation process with taking out the water from a gulf. If you’re lucky, you will see an ancient shipwreck. That’s your task. It’s not a yacht anymore, it’s a shipwreck. You will start to realize that what you thought is important, may not even be there anymore. It’s just the ghost of the task.

4. Thursday – Reuse Past Approaches

This comes from a long history of programming. I’m still doing it, this programming thing, by the way, because I enjoy it so much. Just try to look at what you have to do and compare it with previous experiences. Like “Have I done this before?. How did I do it?”

Thursdays are perfect for that, because you now must have a consistent “week work history” to dig through. And, allegedly, you’re also pretty much at the top of your potential. From now on, it will start to go downhill, somehow.

So, try to identify similarities in your work before you will do the same thing twice, just because you don’t remember doing it before. Pay attention to the circumstances, because they’re never the same, but isolate what you can repeat.

5. Friday – Ask For Help

If I would have a dollar for each time I didn’t ask for help when I should have, I would certainly be a millionaire. Seriously. Being “productive” has this aura of “I’m doing all the stuff by myself. I’m so cool.” Well, maybe you’re cool, but you don’t have to do anything by yourself.

You have a unique set of skills. Other people have their own unique set of skills. If you combine your set with their set, it’s absolutely obvious that you will get far better results than by using only yours. It’s just simple mathematics here.

And Fridays are perfect to test this habit, because, admit it, you’re a little bit tired. And it’s also a good pretext for some social interaction. Isolate some task that you know somebody else may be doing better than you and ask for their help.

6. Saturday – Switch Workplaces

Ok, we don’t have to work on Saturdays. As I told you, you can just put this tip on any other day of the week. But I chose Saturdays because they are perfect for traveling. Short trips around the town, seeing some new places, meeting some new people.

Try to do the same with your workplace. See if you can work for a day somewhere else. From home, or from a coffee shop. Or even in another office. Or, if you can’t live your office, on a different chair. Just change something in your surroundings.

All our habits are shaped by our surroundings. The more you’ll change the surroundings, the better and more consistent your habits will become. This constant stimulation will summon energy resources that you didn’t even know you have.

7. Sunday – Change Deadlines Into Livelines

I kept this from my GTD routine, you know, the weekly review. I did this on Sundays, trying to project the next week. I still try to have a look at the week just before it starts. And now, a little bit of explanation about the word “liveline”.

I stopped use the word “deadline” long time ago, because it has “death” in it. The “task slasher” approach. I don’t do this anymore. Because crossing off tasks from your to do lists will eventually end up with crossing off your entire life from your to do lists. Rushing straight to your own death, one crossed task at a time. Change this perspective. A deadline is not the end. Make it a liveline. Make it a beginning.

And by that I mean something connected with something else. A new start. Think in terms of new beginnings not in term of endings. If you really need to reach the end of something, use the word “milestone”. And replace “deadline” with “liveline” every time you can.

It will be enlightening, believe me. :)

Source: Lifehack

Leadership Lessons From Burning Man

Think the annual arts fest in the Nevada desert is nothing more than a week-long bacchanal? Think again. It's a a master class in how to create awesomeness. 

It’s easy to dismiss Burning Man as nothing more than a bizarre hippie love-fest that takes place deep in the Nevada desert every year the week before Labor Day. But doing so misses the fact that it’s an amazingly successful enterprise--and, as such, has a thing or two to teach about how to inspire creative people and create a great product.

Since it first began 25 years ago, Burning Man has grown larger every year (if you ignore the slight dip in recession-scarred 2009). It’s grown so much that this year, for the first time ever, the organization had to cut off ticket sales early, for fear of finally hitting the 50,000-person limit authorized by its federal land-use permit. And those tickets aren’t cheap either--they now cost an average of $300 a pop.

Granted, Burning Man's overall intention is not to create a "product," per se. (Not one for trite labels, it calls itself an "experiment in community.") But its growth numbers--in terms of customers and revenue--are ones any business could envy. So how does Burning Man do it?

It starts with culture

One of the first things to understand is that Burning Man isn’t actually just a festival. In many ways--in keeping with its mission--it’s actually more of a town. In fact, it's the 11th largest in Nevada during the one week of its existence. 

 

The horseshoe that makes up "Black Rock City" (named for Black Rock Desert) gets delineated into "blocks" and "neighborhoods" where attendees (dubbed "participants") set up their camps--often elaborate compounds complete with sitting areas and play areas in addition to tents, yurts, and RVs. The "town" even has its own post office (send a letter and it will reach its destination, complete with a "Black Rock City" cancellation mark), as well as an airport.

As a result, many of the people who choose to go to Burning Man do so not just for the revelries and the festivities but simply because it’s a place they like to visit, like the Eastern seaboard, the Gulf Coast, Las Vegas, or the Poconos.