Category Archives: Attitude

Four Easy Ways to Remain Hopeless

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There’s a scene from the movie Braveheart when William Wallace loses all hope and lays down to die at the hands of the enemy. The gleam in his eye for the mission is extinguished. I’ve seen that deflated look in the eyes of some people. Many people have lost hope for a better future or job. Some have lost hope that their finances are going to improve. Some have just lost hope in hope. I myself have experienced the feeling of wanting to lay down and just give up.

It’s easy to become hopeless and stay there. It’s much harder to fight the tough realities of our lives and see the mission through. Here are some easy ways to remain hopeless:

  • Clam up with significant others and keep your struggles in an iron clad safe in your heart. Let them fester there.
  • Keep yourself from living with a faith in a loving God.
  • Maintain a mindset that chooses the defeatist attitude and loses it’s fighting spirit. Throw in the towel and call the fight.
  • Don’t fully commit to the journey you’re on in life. Play it safe at the margins and don’t invest in it fully.

What are some other easy ways to give in to hopelessness? Comment here>>

 

Two reasons why the leader becomes the leader

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Research by Cameron Anderson and Gavin Kilduff explores social status in groups. In one experiment they wanted to answer why some people become leaders in groups and others don’t. In an experiment where the group had to solve a problem, the researchers observed their behavior and monitored their conversations. Their observations yielded two surprising answers to why the leader becomes the leader of a group:

The leaders were the first ones to speak, and the dominant personalities always spoke first.

In addition, the first answer to the problem was the one the group usually went with when all was said and done. This creates a bit of challenge. The first answer isn’t always the best one, so the leader has to be humble enough to relinquish his idea. Also, there is a propensity by the leader to dominate the discussion. Good leaders, rather, will encourage facilitation. It’s the difference between monologue and dialogue.

Leadership is critical for groups to function well and good leaders will use their dominant personalities in the service of the entire group.

What other characteristics define a good leader? Comment here>>

Why working faster will make you less caring

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An interesting study by John Darley and C. Batson entitled “The Good Samaritan” involved having seminary students write a speech. One group was assigned the topic of jobs available after graduation. The other group was given the task of giving a speech on the Good Samaritan. The parable of the Good Samaritan is about several holy men coming across a wounded person on the road and passing him by. A Samaritan comes across the man and does stop to help.

The students were to deliver the speech in an auditorium on the other side of the campus. They were then given three levels of urgency in giving their speech:

  • Low Hurry: “It’ll be a few minutes before they’re ready for you, but you might as well head on over. If you have to wait over there, it should’nt be long”
  • Intermediate Hurry: “The assistnat is ready for you, so please go right over.”
  • High Hurry: “Oh, you’re late. They were expecting you a few minutes ago. You’d better get moving. The assistant should be waiting for you so you’d better hurry. It should take only a minute.”

The students passed a person who was part of the experiment. He was groaning, coughing, and huddled in a distressed position. The experimenters wanted to know if they would stop to help this person on their way to their speech and whether that action was based on the topic or the urgency.

The results were as followed:

  • Low Hurry: 63 percent
  • Intermediate Hurry: 45 percent
  • High Hurry: 10 percent.

The topic had nothing to do with the caring response as much as the hurry they were in. Working at a high speed, under stress to get things done quickly, will ultimately reduce the amount of care you exhibit to your co-workers and clients. Personal life is the same way. Not taking time to slow down will diminish your ability to care for those around you. We need to manage our time well.

So, what are some practical ways we can slow ourselves down. What works against our ability to slow down and, as they say, smell the roses? Comment here>>