Thoughts on the aging work force

A few months ago I was asked by one of my students how old I was and when I told her, she said you must be the oldest teacher at this school. 


I laughed and said I probably was but I still loved teaching and getting up and going to work. The next day as I was driving to work I heard the radio announcer asked "Do employers discriminate against older workers? As I was driving to work and I thought the answer is obvious to me. 


Of course they do. I cannot speak for all employers but I will speak about my experiences in education, teaching in the largest school district in BC.


The District refused from about 2002 to about 2006 give or take a few months to hire older teachers who had retired, back as Teachers on Call until the union grieved the policy as age discrimination. So for a short time after the ruling and the need for qualified Teachers on Call in areas such as Science, Math, Computers, Learning Support and English as Second Language, the district hired a few retired teachers. 


From what I understand, this change of policy by the district lasted about two years and then the freeze on hiring older workers went back into effect, the district does not discriminate, they do other things like ignoring applications by older workers, or they find other ways of discouraging older workers from working


This is part of a trend started in the US with the removal of Tenure for teachers.  "Tenure protections were created in the early 20th century to protect teachers from arbitrary or discriminatory firings based on factors such as gender, nationality or political beliefs by spelling out rules under which they could be dismissed after a probationary period. The changes are occurring as states replace virtually automatic "satisfactory" teacher evaluations with those linked to teacher performance and base teacher layoffs on performance instead of seniority. Politically powerful teachers' unions are fighting back, arguing the changes lower morale, deny teachers due process, and unfairly target older teachers". (Source: USA Today)


The prevailing attitude in my district of administrators to older teachers appears to be"These people  are over the hill." Most of the Administrator in my district, I think, believe that younger teachers have more energy, work harder, and contribute more to their schools than older workers.  


Given the choice between an older and a younger worker, with equal qualifications the administrator would hire the younger teacher. One of the reasons is that younger teachers are more willing to do what they are told to do without queston, older teachers will question the administrators decisions.


The employer along with the government, in its latest round of bargaining is trying to strip the union of the right for teachers to be considered for transfer based on seniority, and the removal of tenure for teachers. This position is put forward because of the attitude of the admin that older teachers are not worth having on staff.


Rather than embrace the experience of the older worker, senior management and administrators in my district, at least discount and devalue their older workers.


As I have left the profession, I am sad for my colleagues who are in their late forty's and early 50's who will be coming up against the age discrimination that exists in education--at least in my district.


I suspect that the attitude of our senior management and our administrators is one shared by most employers in BC not just in education. The fact is that many older workers face challenges in staying at work, and if they are not working, they face many challenges in overcoming challenges of attitude many employers have. 


The Boomers have never shied away from fighting discrimination and bigotry, and I suspect the battle to end age discrimination will be hard fought. There are many other battles that will have to be refought, at least in Canada. With our current government, the social progress we have made over the years are being slowly dismantled as Harper tries to turn Canada back to the 40's.

Who will stand up for the dreamers?

Listening to Those were the days by Mary Hopkins reminded me that me that although we are older but some of us (including me) are no wiser and perhaps that is a good thing. We may have yet time to fulfill not just the opportunities of youth, but the promises we mad to ourselves in our youth.

I believe that we have an obligation as Boomers to stand up and be counted. On my walks I used to see a graffiti sign that said, "I wish I could be the hero I thought I would be when I was ten!"


Who will stand up for the dreamers the poor, the music unsung?
These frail words   stand in the context of  LOVE 
piercing through the Frail curtain of humanity's weight.


Illusory shadows of live have
hidden our soul
and we need to
stop our insane dance of consumption
and act and fight

under starry, starry skies and star-lit candles
Will we again stand up
for the Dreamers
the eccentric wheelers
for silences unsaid
for the words unheard

At one point in my life I believed that we all had the same ability to  grasp the opportunities that came along, I did not realize that was not true. Opportunities are always there, but because of many factors in our life we build a way of seeing the world that does not allow some of us to see these opportunities, or does not allow us to act on the opportunities that come along.

Those of us who were lucky seized some opportunities, ignored others; either way we continued to live our life's and engage with the world and for the most part we were successful or as successful as our view of life allowed us to be

However, when we were young we made promises to ourselves, and my hope is that as we get older, we remember and act on those promises.  Maybe in our 60's we have one more chance to be that hero/heroine once more.

 

What ordinary miracles do you see?

I have heard it said that Zen is the celebration of the ordinary. 

Now, what ordinary miracles do you see at home? Home too can be paradise if you only  look.  I am constantly amazed at how beautful Vancouver looks in the bright Spring sunshine. I was thinking of this as I drove through West Vancouver and stopped to take a look a the view across the harbor to Vancouver.  Everywhere I look, I see the Wonder.

This got me to thinking, what is sacred and magic about the ordinary in your life? Find it. I promise you its there.

One way to do this is to go outside for 10 or 15 minutes, look around you with your artist's eye, and find three things that make you say, "Oh, wow!"

Example: As I was driving home, I saw a man surrounded by trees with the astonishing colors, the beauty of the ocean behind him, as he took a photo from one foot away (15cm) of a pay telephone. I almost pulled over to so I could see what he was seeing as he and I were looking at the ordinary but with through a different lens. Life is full of surprises!

"If we had a keen vision and feeling of all ordinary human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow and the squirrel's heart beat, and we should die of that roar which lies on the other side of silence. As it is, the best of us walk about well wadded with stupidity". - George Eliot

"Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand;instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb-nail. "- Henry David Thoreau

Stories around the fire

Thinking about stories around the fire, as I watch the flame, it is in constant movement. So is it with my soul, my mind and my senses, my body. These are lways in constant movement, and so is everything around me. In addition, like the fire we humans have energy
 Life is full of stories that we create. Our reality is created out of events that unfold around us and the way we interpret, the events create the story of our life. We create stories for our friends, our family, and ourselves. The stories we create and which our mind accepts reinforce our view of the world and as we believe the stories we create, we feel the emotional sensations inside us. The stories that create an emotional sensation within us, also create patterns within us. Some of those patterns are positive and some of the patterns are negative. So when we are aware of the negative patterns we use therapy, rehab, diets, whatever to try to  kill these negative to get back into balance.

The problem may be that since it is just a story that we  have bought into we are only addressing the symptoms not the cause of being out of balance. Perhaps we need to change the story to see a new reality. Change the reality and our senses and feeling, which help create the patterns that threw us out of balance will move us toward balance

 Everyone has a story, where there is life there is a story, the question is what sort of story do you have? Is your story created out of the environment you find yourself in or is your story one that is created through understanding and conscious observations without judgement?

 I have noticed from observations that everything in this world is about maturity. The flowers grow and then blooms, so does consciousness within us. People who are moving toward consciousness have a transformation within; they start to understand the subtle energies that surround us, their minds begin to absorb the vibrations of energies around them. They begin to create images within that are developed and new stories begin to be created and believed.

Stories may be begin as streams of sounds, or images, or words passing but what they do is force us to begin to  question ourselves. As we question we make decisions about which stream, which story should be tapped into, which story should be continued, which should end. If you observe people, you will begin to understand what stories they may have bought into for their lives. Watch how people react verbally, emotionally and physically to the situations they are find themselves in and you begin to understand why for one person they will end up stressed out, depressed, in conflict etc., while another person is not affected

Many people today simply buy into their stories as reality. Is not all life on earth a social experiment? In this experiment, we all know our own truth, so in reality no one knows the whole truth. Freedom of thought is important because with this freedom we can see that everything we see as real is just a moment in time, and we have the freedom to change our truth.

Marketing to Boomers

In one of the Blogs I read Boomers--A trip into the heart of the Boomers, the author Brent Green, talks about a speech he gave in Florida to a Boomer conference geared to business men and women who want to learn to market to us. I was struck by the following statements:

Individual men may feel powerless against external forces of unemployment, layoffs, downsizing and chronic diseases. But when a generation of men known to challenge authority confronts this evolving life-stage, transformative beliefs and actions can emerge. A generation of men that embraced feminism and racial inclusiveness can create new constructs for male aging, conceptions that are engaging, uplifting and liberating.


I agree with his assertion but I also suggest that this view should include the Boomer women; men accepted and embraced feminism, but the women were leaders because they lead the way for us men to follow. In these times of uncertainty that the writer above discuss, women as well as men feel powerless and women will live longer than us males, so they will need to construct new conceptions of aging, which we men will adapt to and embrace.

Brent Green, the author of the blog, goes on to say:  "Author Cogswell identifies Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 – 1900) as the “soul of existentialism,” a thinker who has influenced contemporary psychology, literature, spirituality, art and music. Nietzsche wrote that “society everywhere is a conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members.” And it seems true today that millions of Boomer men, vital and engaged as many now are, must nevertheless consider how traditional habits in western society could conspire to strip them of their opportunities to thrive beyond 60 and into bonus years promised so many....As the great writers about existentialism would urge, Boomer men must not become standardized old men.

Society has advanced and women are engaged in every aspect of society, so the ideas that Nietzsche and others argued, need to be expanded to include women. Nietzsche is right, society forces are conspiring against the boomers, and I agree, but would argue that it will be both men and women boomers, that will not allow society to strip us of the opportunity to thrive beyond 60. (I suspect it will be the women who will lead this battle, not the men). We will find a way not be become seniors and to remain boomers!

The work-life balance

Balance

It is a nice word but the reality is hard to pin down. It may not even put us on the right track in our 21st century quest for fulfillment and happiness. Generally, than people talk about work-life balance, they mean the challenge of managing their family commitment when they have children, while juggling the demands of a career. That is the traditional focus, but the concept has evolved quite a bit. There are now many younger people in the workforce, in their late 20s and early 30s, who may not even have home or family but they want a sense of balance in their life.

Often we are thinking of some sort of perfection, where nothing is out of place, there is no stress, and this of course is unrealistic. It automatically means a trade-off between work and life. If I give more time to my family, I will not be able to do my job properly, or if I spend more time on the job, my family will suffer. Yet I want to be able to have it all, to do it all, right now.

Let us think about integration, which means bringing the various pieces of our lives into a cohesive whole. We each have many roles, goals, responsibilities and life plans. We have to get it together. The attractive idea of finding ways to bring life into a unity will give us the harmony and happiness we seek.

Experience shows what people who have very clear priorities and their own clear definition of success succeed best at balancing their lives. They know what is most important in their lives. These are people who can say, before it happens: If I have to make a choice, if work and family come head to head, I know what my biggest priority is. People who realize it may have slow their career for a period, perhaps while a child is younger, and have a less demanding job so they can have more time at home. In addition, they can be at peace with that, because their definition of success is not necessarily the one that society tells them.

Usually we have to just go through life and let the new promotion or the new demands of the job dictate what you do, to feel you do not have a choice. This is not balanced life road. We need to stop and reflect, communicate more with your husband, your wife, your manager at work, and be more pro-active.

The today's truth is that we have too much to do. Technology has changed things and made people accessible 24 hours a day, encroaching on the peaceful time people used to have. Yet some things do not change. We still have 24 hours a day. We all have the same amount of time and how we use it comes down to a personal choice.

The disorganization traits usually come from avoiding the choice and try to do too much. Even a simple thing like, deciding what are we going to have for dinner tonight, can become a huge job if we feel, Oh, I've a lot of work and will not be able to do grocery shopping. Obviously, if we have the knowledge and skills to make something simpler than we are going to gain more time.

For balanced life-planning and other basic management skills have to be used at home as well as in the workplace. One of the reasons why many people prefer going out to work to working at home is what we are very organized in the workplace, we use time management there, and then we come home and just ride the waves, consuming ourselves with the latest problem that has cropped up.

However, there is nothing wrong with wanting to go out to work. We do need multiple interests to enrich our lives and many times, we have talents that we need to give to the workplace and to the world. Nevertheless, it is true that work on the job is often more attractive because it is more project-oriented and very linear, and at the end of that piece of work we get the praise and a sense of accomplishment, whereas at home every day it is the same thing.

Human beings have certain basic needs that have to be taken care of every day, and although we can feel a sense of accomplishment that we have organized something at home, it is soon going to be dirtied again, or another meal is going to have to be put on the table. Moreover, this means changing your sense of where you get your satisfaction - not just from accomplishing the task or from the process of doing it, but from the motive.

We are all expecting a reward or praise for completed work. Lack of reward will kill our desire to work what leads to reduced productivity. This is why we prefer working for others than doing something for ourselves. Promise yourself a reward for completing each task or finishing the total job. For example, let yourself watch an interesting movie when you finish developing page or new promotion plan.

Dance of life

Waking up as a little boy the excitement for the day's adventure pumped through my veins and lit up my eyes. I'd look out the window at the bright sunshine, the fields, and the expansive blue skies and magical clouds.

Once out in the freedom of the day, with no responsibilities, I'd hop, skip, jump, and run with joy, wonder, and excitement. Somewhere along the way, I began to remember and learned about cause and effect. Suddenly some limitations came into existence. Continuing to grow and mature, I learned to reason and apply my own critical thinking to situations that may or may not happen. I was creating a new reality within the context of my mind and my past experiences. The horror!

Now, with another level of awareness that has developed, the spiritual awareness, it's like walking the tight rope between this world we live and work in, and the uninhibited freedom of a child at play. There is something more to this experience of life. We are not just conditioned beasts of labour and love. We are not just confined to living a life sentence in suburbia. There is, and always was, so much more available to us. It exists everywhere, including suburbia, at work, in the mundane, at the most extraordinary and ordinary. The only way I can explain the discovery is to dance.

One day hopeful, the other day destitute, one day in love, the next day hateful, one moment playful, the next moment serious, and one day success, the next day failure. We're constantly moving and changing. The only constant is the silence, the stillness, the quiet place deep inside where spirit connects spirit. We feel it in the closest moments of intimacy with family or significant others. It is experienced in the greatest profound moment of joy and all words, all senses, all comprehension has escaped us. There is nothing left to figure out, there is only to forget.

Everyday we would do well to forget many of the happenings of our yesterday. No bias, no fear, no limitations, no expectations, just wonder. Wonder and curiosity accompanied by joy and love. This intrigues me greatly. How would tomorrow look? How would my world interact? This ideal leads me to believe that more is available for all of us. As an idealist, many things I say may seem unattainable. This is the peak possibility, of that there is no doubt. While the ideal is beautiful, any measure or occurrence of that ideal is welcome. A grain of salt to flavor each day for a fantastic experience of life. Each day, I need to be that grain of salt too, and dance!

Grandparent day

As I sat at lunch yesterday with an old friend, we talked of life, opportunities, sadness and joy. As the conversation moved to its natural pauses, I found my sight wandering to the young mother and her baby at the next table. I found myself thinking of my new grandson and the joys and sorrows that he would have as he grew into a man, and I thought about how I had missed the privilege of knowing my grandparents. I was intrigued when one of my cousins posted information about grandparent day on my Facebook page, so I did a little research when I came home.

I missed grandparent day in 2010 as I was not yet a grandparent, however, I will not miss it in 2011. For those who are not aware, here is a brief history.

In 1970, a West Virginia housewife, Marian Lucille Herndon McQuade, initiated a campaign to set aside a special day just for Grandparents.   Through concerted efforts on the part of civic, business, church, and political leaders, this campaign expanded statewide. Senator Jennings Randolph (D-WV) was especially instrumental in the project. The first Grandparents Day was proclaimed in 1973 in West Virginia by Governor Arch Moore. Also in 1973, Senator Randolph introduced a Grandparents Day resolution in the United States Senate. The resolution languished in committee.
Mrs. McQuade and her team turned to the media to garner support. They also began contacting governors, senators, and congressmen in every state. And they sent letters to churches, businesses, and numerous national organizations interested in senior citizens. In 1978, five years after its West Virginia inception, the United States Congress passed legislation proclaiming the first Sunday after Labor Day as National Grandparents Day. The proclamation was signed by President Jimmy Carter. (September was chosen for the holiday, to signify the "autumn years" of life.)
Today this event, begun by only a few, is observed by millions throughout the United States.
In Australia, Queensland was the first Australian state to officially celebrate Grandparents' Day - on the first Sunday in November 2010. I missed it but my wife was there for it, but I don't think she and my daughter knew to celebrate it.
National Grandparents Day began in Canada in 1995. Motion Number 273 submitted in the House of Commons by Mr. Sarkis Assadourian read:

That, in the opinion of this House, the government should consider designating the second Sunday in September of each year as grandparents day in order to acknowledge their importance to the structure of the family in the nurturing, upbringing and education of children.

The motion was agreed to, but Grandparents Day remains relatively unknown in most parts of the country as of 2010, so I am spreading the word so more of us will be aware of National Grandparent day. Finally,  more pictures of Ryder

Try this

Treat everyone you meet as if you know it will be their last day on earth, and the last time you will see them, --even if they do not know this themselves.

The above is a variation on the Golden Rule and I thought it was an interesting variation. Here are some other thoughts on the Golden Rule taken from the Versions of the Golden Rule Websites

Bahá'í Faith:
"Ascribe not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have ascribed to thee, and say not that which thou doest not." "Blessed is he who preferreth his brother before himself." Baha'u'llah

"And if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy neighbour that which thou choosest for thyself." Epistle to the Son of the Wolf. 1


Brahmanism:
"This is the sum of Dharma [duty]: Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you". Mahabharata, 5:1517 "

Buddhism:
"...a state that is not pleasing or delightful to me, how could I inflict that upon another?" Samyutta NIkaya v. 353

Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful." Udana-Varga 5:18
Christianity:
"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." Matthew 7:12, King James Version.

 "And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise." Luke 6:31, King James Version.
"...and don't do what you hate...", Gospel of Thomas 6. The Gospel of Thomas is one of about 40 gospels that circulated among the early Christian movement, but which never made it into the Christian Scriptures (New Testament).

Confucianism:
 "Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you" Analects 15:23
 "Tse-kung asked, 'Is there one word that can serve as a principle of conduct for life?' Confucius replied, 'It is the word 'shu' -- reciprocity. Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.'" Doctrine of the Mean 13.3

 "Try your best to treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself, and you will find that this is the shortest way to benevolence." Mencius VII.A.4
 
Ancient Egyptian:
"Do for one who may do for you, that you may cause him thus to do." The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant, 109 - 110 Translated by R.B. Parkinson. The original dates to circa 1800 BCE and may be the earliest version of the Epic of Reciprocity ever written.

 Hinduism:
 This is the sum of duty: do not do to others what would cause pain if done to you. Mahabharata 5:1517

 Islam:
"None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself." Number 13 of Imam "Al-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths." 3

 Jainism:
"Therefore, neither does he [a sage] cause violence to others nor does he make others do so." Acarangasutra 5.101-2.

"In happiness and suffering, in joy and grief, we should regard all creatures as we regard our own self." Lord Mahavira, 24th Tirthankara

"A man should wander about treating all creatures as he himself would be treated. "Sutrakritanga 1.11.33

Judaism:
"...thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.", Leviticus 19:18

"What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man. This is the law: all the rest is commentary." Talmud, Shabbat 31a.

"And what you hate, do not do to any one." Tobit 4:15 4

References used:

The following information sources were used ( The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.)
NationMaster.com has an encyclopedia reference that lists many Golden Rules, sorted chronologically at:

Paul Halsall "Ancient History Sourcebook: The Tale of The Eloquent Peasant, c. 1800 BCE," Internet Ancient History Sourcebook at:

This is Number 13 of a collection of 43 sayings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)  that was compiled by the great Islamic scholar Yahya bin Sharaf Ul-Deen An-Nawawi. It is is now known as "Al-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths" See:

The Book of Tobit is deuterocanonical, i.e. contained not in the Canon of Palestine but in that of Alexandria. It was accepted by some Jewish, Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions as part of the official canon but not by others. http://www.dartmouth.edu/ http://www.fordham.edu
http://www.nationmaster.com/

Predicting Part 3

4. Confidence in Intuition

 Intuition is an effortless, quick, and automatic form of thinking (our “gut feel”) that we rely on frequently to guide our actions. This is in contrast to analytical thinking which is deliberate, unhurried and detail-oriented. People who have a lot of confidence in their intuitive side tend to prefer this way of thinking over more analytical thinking and their confidence in the accuracy of these intuitive decisions. Having this confidence in one’s intuition can help immensely with creativity, as creative thought often involves tapping into intuitive, “gut” thinking. 

 Confidence in intuition can be developed by gradually using and testing your intuitive judgements in low risk circumstances, then using any successful intuition-based decisions as encouragement for more important tasks. The next time you have an opportunity to make a low-risk decision using your “gut feel” (when trying to answer a question on a game show or when you’re asked a question you’re not too sure of, for example), ensure you make the decision instantly then check to confirm the correct answer. More often than not, you will find that your instinctive answers are correct. The next step is to start deploying these automatic judgements at work when trying to solve problems or when brainstorming, and to consciously acknowledge the benefits of your instinctive judgements when they pay off. This gradual approach will ease you into a pattern of trusting your intuition and will help to develop your creative aptitude. 

5. Tolerance of Ambiguity 

 Tolerance of Ambiguity relates to how people react to problem solving tasks where the information provided is vague, incomplete or inconsistent, and where the solution and path to get to the solution are not immediately clear.  People who are very tolerant of ambiguities are not bothered by problems that are perceived as open-ended or ambiguous as they tend to be highly flexible and dynamic, and they enjoy the autonomy and creativity ill-defined tasks require. Being open to ambiguity and feeling comfortable with these types of problems is key to creative performance, as a large part of creative thinking involves being able to sit comfortably with problems that have no obvious solution. 

Changing the way you perceive unclear objectives is one way of becoming more comfortable with ambiguity. Initially, you must challenge your automatic tendency to view vague instructions negatively; instead, try to be neutral and open to ambiguities. The next step is to realise that the more ambiguous your directives, the more scope you have to impose your personal touch and talent on the brief. That is, ambiguous briefs give you much more opportunity to work outside organisational constraints and norms, and to do things the way you think they should be done. If you consistently approach ambiguous directives in this way - openly, positively and confidently – your habit of perceiving ambiguity negatively will be replaced by a tendency to view ambiguity as an opportunity for you to shine. 

6. Cross Application of Experiences 

 Cross-application of experiences occurs when a person draws on experiences from seemingly unrelated parts of their life in order to solve problems at work. People who demonstrate this behaviour frequently apply knowledge and concepts from outside of the work environment to solve work-related problems. 

The obvious solution to improve upon this area is to start deliberately applying knowledge and experiences from outside of work to tasks requiring creative problem solving at work. A common and effective strategy is to use analogy, that is, try to identify similarities in the problem you are working on and a problem you’ve solved previously outside of work. Once similarities have been extracted try to see if your previous solutions would also work in the problem you are attempting to solve. You can also draw analogies using your knowledge of seemingly irrelevant topics, such as history, politics or popular culture. The more similarities you can identify between projects at work and your knowledge and experiences, the better you will understand the problem you are faced with and the more likely you are to be able to solve it. 

 So What Now? 

The six points outlined above are some of the main findings to come out of our research, which should hopefully give you and your team some direction for enhancing your own creativity. There were also several other variables that were linked to creative performance in the workplace, however, the above variables were some of the main ones.

 You might also start to think about how you could incorporate these things into your recruitment process when you are looking for new staff who will be great creative thinkers, or alternatively, you might seek out a formal way of measuring these traits as they can be tricky to assess. 

predicting--part two

2. Creative Self-Efficacy

Creative self-efficacy relates to a person’s confidence in their ability to think creatively. A person’s creative confidence is important because it directly influences the motivation and ability of a person to get stuck into creative problem-solving tasks. People who are high on this dimension have a strong belief in their ability to generate creative ideas, will immerse themselves in tasks that require creativity, and will seek to get the best ideas out of themselves. Simply having this self belief has been shown to significantly increase a person’s actual ability to think creatively.

 If you currently do not see yourself as being an effective creative thinker, it is important to recognise that this is merely a negative frame of mind that can be changed using positive reinforcement. Research has consistently shown that creativity is malleable and our creative potential can be manipulated using a variety of strategies. So next time you do something creative, like solving a problem or participating in a brainstorm, make sure you acknowledge this creativity, give yourself a pat on the back and nurture your creative confidence. By reinforcing your creative triumphs, no matter how small, you will increase your awareness and confidence of your creative potential. 

3. Resilience 

Resilience is all about a person’s psychological ability to deal with stressful situations. People who are high in resilience bounce back easily from disappointments and failures, and can remain optimistic when things are not going their way. We found that people who showed high levels of resilience were significantly more creative at work. This is because creativity often involves experiencing failure, such as having ideas rejected and having implemented ideas perform poorly. Being able to bounce back from rejections is critical to maintaining creativity and enthusiasm. Starting to see failure as going hand in hand with creativity can help with setting more realistic expectations which will help boost resilience. In addition, reminding yourself that rejections and failures are not personal should also help build up a level of resilience. 

 

To A Child. . . Love Is Spelled T.I.M.E.

By Lance Wubbels

In the faint light of the attic, an old man, tall and stooped, bent his great frame and made his way to a stack of boxes that sat near one of the little half-windows.

Brushing aside a wisp of cobwebs, he tilted the top box toward the light and began to carefully lift out one old photograph album after another. Eyes once bright but now dim searched longingly for the source that had drawn him here.
It began with the fond recollection of the love of his life, long gone, and somewhere in these albums was a photo of her he hoped to rediscover.

Silent as a mouse, he patiently opened the long-buried treasures and soon was lost in a sea of memories. Although his world had not stopped spinning when his wife left it, the past was more alive in his heart than his present aloneness.

Setting aside one of the dusty albums, he pulled from the box what appeared to be a journal from his grown son's childhood. He could not recall ever having seen it before, or that his son had ever kept a journal. Why did Elizabeth always save the children's old junk? he wondered, shaking his white head.

Opening the yellowed pages, he glanced over a short entry, and his lips curved in an unconscious smile. Even his eyes brightened as he read the words that spoke clear and sweet to his soul.

It was the voice of the little boy who had grown up far too fast in this very house, and whose voice had grown fainter and fainter over the years. In the utter silence of the attic, the words of a guileless six-year-old worked their magic and carried the old man back to a time almost totally forgotten.

Entry after entry stirred a sentimental hunger in his heart like the longing a gardener feels in the winter for the fragrance of spring flowers. But it was accompanied by the painful memory that his son's simple recollections of those days were far different from his own. But how different?

Reminded that he had kept a daily journal of his business activities over the years, he closed his son's journal and turned to leave, having forgotten the cherished photo that originally triggered his search.

Hunched over to keep from bumping his head on the rafters, the old man stepped to the wooden stairway and made his descent, then headed down a carpeted stairway that led to the den.

Opening a glass cabinet door, he reached in and pulled out an old business journal. Turning, he sat down at his desk and placed the two journals beside each other.

His was leather bound and engraved neatly with his name in gold, while his son's was tattered and the name "Jimmy" had been nearly scuffed from its surface. He ran a long skinny finger over the letters, as though he could restore what had been worn away with time and use.

As he opened his journal, the old man's eyes fell upon an inscription that stood out because it was so brief in comparison to other days. In his own neat handwriting were these words: Wasted the whole day fishing with Jimmy. Didn't catch a thing.

With a deep sigh and a shaking hand, he took Jimmy's journal and found the boy's entry for the same day, June 4. Large scrawling letters pressed deeply in the paper read: Went fishing with my dad. Best day of my life!

This article was excerpted from the book To A Child Love Is Spelled T-I-M-E by Lance Wubbels and Mac Anderson it is reprinted here with permission. You may share this story as long as you do not edit the content, leave this link and resource box intact. Click here to purchase the Book from Simple Truths

The universe is answering

Some people believe in the law of attraction, and beleive that they must do everything in their power to right, and if they do they believe  that the universe is lining it up just right, and the timing will be just exactly right. And if I'm not doing anything wrong.  And I'm doing everything just exactly right then the universe will answer in time. And in thhis perfect timing, a timing that I cannot even quite see yet, this is going to happen. And meanwhile there isn't anything else for me to do.


The Law of Attraction is a huge Law. So next time you find yourself thinking: 'Well, I should write one more affirmation, or I should do one more Virtual Reality. I need to do something. I must be doing something wrong, or what I'm wanting would be,' I say, what you need to do is chill out. What you need to do is relax and accept that you've done your work. You've asked; the Universe is doing its work; it is answering. Your job is to get into this place where you joyfully receive it.

You can't take score about when it's coming or where it's coming, or how it's coming. In other words, you accept,  it is coming and all is well. And as you do that, ahh.

Then, when you really get there, then it doesn't matter how long it takes--but it doesn't take any time, then. If you could say, 'I don't care how long it takes,' you're there! And then it takes no time. But as long as it matters how long it takes, you're not there--and it's going to take a long time. The Universe is anwering, but we have to be in a mind set to accept the answer when we receive it.