January 2008 Newsletter
Whether you are looking to gain some new habits or lose old ones, this month’s training news will help.
Gain some good habits for 2008…
You’ve made the resolutions, but how are you going to actually keep them?
So you’ve decided to start the new year by turning over a new leaf, or a pile of leaves as the case may be, and you’ve got some great plans for the ‘new you’ in store. How are you going to make this year the year of kept resolutions?
The more you make, the less you keep
Cut them down by asking yourself the following questions:
• Which one will have the most positive impact on my daily life?
• Which one will advance my dream career/ me the most?
• Which one will be easiest to stick to?
Now weigh up the benefits and pick no more than 3 that serve you best.
Do it now
One of the main reasons for failed resolutions is people’s reluctance to get straight to it. It is important that you take some sort of action today, even if it is only five minutes of planning.
Be accountable
Find some one else who has made some resolutions and agree to hold each other accountable. You can do this by a simple daily text or a weekly meeting, whatever suits you best. There is nothing better than a nagging friend to keep you in check while you go through the process.
Patience is a virtue
Take one step at a time and be kind to yourself. If you are trying to give up a habit that affects you physically (e. g. smoking, junk food etc.) the positive effects will take a little while to kick in. Be prepared to feel worse rather than better for the first couple of weeks.
Make it fun
Changing your life in any way can be exciting if you take the right attitude to it. Think about the parts of each resolution that you can make enjoyable. For example, if you are giving up eating junk food find some healthy food that you love, buy a great cook book and organise a healthy dinner party for friends.
Know you can
Think back to some of the things you have done in the past that you are proud of; you managed to achieve them so there is every reason to feel confident in sticking to your resolutions.
Don’t be put off
If you do find that one of the resolutions is not working for you at this time, cut your losses and move on. There is no reason that you cannot come back to it later or stick with any other resolutions that you have made – all is not lost.
No time like the present…
…and lose the bad habits
Top tips on how to break a bad habit
1. Think Big. Don’t be afraid to recognize what you really want and make that your goal and nothing less. You will not be able to keep up motivation for something that is only a substitute.
2. Start Small. Break it down into small, manageable steps and you will feel much more confident about reaching each separate target.
3. Slowly. Don’t expect too much. Sometimes when we set ourselves a task we get so excited about the prospect of achieving our aim that we convince ourselves it has already happened. Take each day at a time and be prepared to fight to the end.
4. Talk. After the first couple of weeks a significant amount of people will lose the will to carry on and go back to their habit. Don’t be one of them. When it starts getting harder, call a friend. A good dose of support will have your tail up before you know it.
5. Help! If talking to a friend hasn’t done the trick, why not go a step further? Ask them to call you for a daily report on progress or sending you texts to remind you how well you are doing.
6. Poke. With the busy lives we lead it is easy to forget things that are not already built into our daily routines. Don’t let breaking your habit be one of them. Try sticking post-it notes on the doors and mirrors, it doesn’t do wonders for the décor but at least you’ll remember.
7. Tweak. After a week or so you will have picked up a couple of methods that help you to deal with your challenge. Now take a step back and look at them objectively. Are they helping? How could you improve them?
8. Change. If any are not working, cut them out. It doesn’t matter how reliable the source was that you got them from, each individual has their own way of problem-solving. Don’t make the mistake of assuming that if it worked for them then it will work for you too.
9. Reward. One of the best ways to get a child to learn quickly is by rewarding them for their efforts…same with dogs….same with you. Make sure you get what you deserve as you achieve your targets, it will help to maintain positivity and get you ready for the next hurdle.
10. Do It. You have your ten top tips, you’re in the right season, in fact all the signs are screaming at you to break the habit now and take one more step to becoming the dream you. What are you waiting for?
Impact and Influence
A snippet of one of our trainings
In the workplace having an impact and being able to influence others is a vital skill for everyone, whether you are working in a team or leading one. Impact and influence training sets out to help participants learn how to get what they need and influence others in a positive way.
Our trainer Jacqui Dove headed over to Standard Bank, a worldwide financial service group, to help their London team have great impact and lasting influence.
Setting personal intention
As with all our workshops, we invited participants to think about their "intention" and what it is they really want to get out of the session. By encouraging personal engagement we could deliver individual benefit to attendees, as personal intention encourages participants to take responsibility for their learning.
Ethical Influence
Sometimes we mistake manipulation with having been influenced in a way that will benefit us. For this reason it is important when we are trying to influence others that we make sure that they realise the benefits for them. Participants were asked to jot down some past experiences of having been manipulated and influenced in a good way, and analyse why they felt differently on both occasions and what the person influencing them had done in both cases.
What makes it for them?
After having thought about things from their own point of view, it was time for the participants to think about the person they want to influence. Asking questions such as ‘what are their interests, beliefs, needs and wants?’ and ‘how would they benefit from taking on what I want?’ them to gage the impact of what they were trying to achieve.
Managing Impact
Next the participants had a think about how to manage their impact. Voice tone, body language and words are all a factor here, and participants had a think about how to use each tool to its maximum capability, whilst learning when each one was most appropriate. One of the main points that the trainer focused on at this point was the motto ‘go hard on the issues and soft on the people’, which exemplifies how we should use our assertive, credible nature when we are dealing with hard issues and our more approachable, friendly side when we are building client relationships.
If you’d like to talk to us about impact and influence training please contact:
john@you-unltd.co.uk or call on +44(0)20 7407 0044.
Managing challenging people at work
Join us for a free taster and learn how to “Herd Cats”
Rather than simply tell you about our training we like to show you.
Our Herding Cats event will give you a 90 min taster of what we do every day. You'll meet some of the you:unlimited team, mingle with other training and HR practitioners who are considering using us and discuss any specific training needs you have.
Apart from giving you a taster of our training style, this workshop will also equip you with tried and tested techniques to help you improve communication with important and challenging individuals.
Our Herding Cats taster session will be running in central London from 9am – 11am on Wednesday 27th February 2008.
Spaces are limited, so if you are a Manager or HR & Training professional with responsibility for booking training contact john@you-unltd.co.uk or call on +44(0)20 7407 0044 and we’ll book spaces for you and / or a colleague.
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Fascinating ... very relevant and easy to follow ...
a worthwhile learning experience.
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