Developing Your Skills
People who are successful tend to generalize about strengths or things that they do well. For example, "I am good at writing, so I'll do well as a reporter." They also consider mistakes to be isolated incidents, not overgeneralizations of general worth.
Less accomplished people tend to do the opposite. For example, "I am bad at bowling, so I will probably be bad at most sports."
Let's Try an Experiment!
List three skills you do well in the left column and the skills you want to improve or master in the right column.
Then select one of the skills you want to improve or master and adopt the mind-set of the successful. Assume you will be able to master it.
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3 Skills I do well |
3 Skills I want to improve or master |
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List two positive thoughts and two activities to help you master your skill.
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List 2 Positive Thoughts |
List 2 Activities |
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Answer the Following Questions:
How & when will you implement this plan?
There are many obstacles to learning something new such as:
- Lack of time to devote to the new activity.
- Feeling too tired.
- Lack of a support group or people who support your change - i.e. people who think you will fail!
Which one of these is most likely to stop you? How could you avoid letting this obstacle trip you up?
Do you know how you learn best? (Select one): Reading a book about something, a demonstration, or a coach/teacher/therapist?
How can you get the kind of instruction that helps you perform best?
How can you break down the task into manageable steps? Can you set up a system of accountability?
Adapted from concepts read in Enriching the Brain by Eric Jensen, (Jossey-Bass, July-2006).
