Changing this one thing helped me lose weight

Changing this one thing helped me lose weightChanging this one thing helped me lose weightLike many women, body image is something that crosses my mind fairly regularly. It happens for a variety of reasons As a trained Health Coach and health and wellness enthusiast, Im constantly trying out new things to feel and look my best.Im pretty hard on myself about my body wanting it to be a certain shape - I am working on being kinder to myself.I unnecessarily compare myself to other people who are completely different than I am.As hard as it can be and as vain as it feels to say that I care about how my body looks, if Im being honest with you (which I am), I do care. In some ways, this has a really positive affect on my life - I eat nutritious food and move my body on a regular basis. But in other ways, it can actually be detrimental to my mental health and totally exhausting.For the longest time, I couldnt quite wrap my head around weight fluctuations. Some days I would feel great and c onfident, and other days Id feel like I didnt want to catch a glimpse of myself in the store window, bloated, and like I welchesnt even living in my body. There are weeks and months where I feel weightless and others where it feels like everything I eat sticks straight to my you know what.So what gives - why do we feel like weight comes off us effortlessly sometimes and is such a struggle others?I took a step back and started being a bit of a detective to gain a broader perspective of what was happening and why. Heres what I noticed, and maybe you can relate I realized that when Im on vacation, feeling happy, and generally content in my life, weight isnt a problem nor is it something I think about very much. On the flipside, when Im feeling overloaded, like Im losing control, or anxious, not only do I want to eat for comfort, but weight also seems to stick to me.After digging around for awhile, talking to my integrative medicine doctor, working with my acupuncturist, and doing a lo t of reading, I realized it was best explained by stress and feelings of anxiety.Yes, weight gain and stress are directly relatedWhen we start feeling stressed, our brains essentially start sounding a fire alarm triggering distress signals. This is a primal instinct as a result of adrenaline, and we go into fight-or-flight mode. While our bodies have adapted and evolved from our primal beginnings, our brains mucksmuschenstill register that fight-or-flight trigger as an indicator that we dont have enough food, sending our bodies into fat reservation. This was necessary for our ancestors because food was scarce and the body knew it needed to tap into reserves in order to survive. However, for many of us today, food is abundant, and we can access what we need at the snap of a finger. But because our bodies still register this primal instinct, reverting to fight-or-flight starvation mode can happen every time you have a stressful day or experience a stressful situation, which Im guessin g is a lot.On top of tapping into our energy reserves, our bodies also release cortisol, which tells your body that you need mora energy in the form of calories - which makes you feel falsely hungry. When we feel this schriftart of ravenous hunger, were more likely to reach for foods that arent the best for us. If youve found yourself reaching for a box of gummies or something sugary before a stressful meeting or presentation or want the biggest sandwich youve ever had in your life for lunch because you skipped breakfast, youve already met your new enemy - cortisol.Considering the fact that stress, for some awful reason, has become sexy and a commonplace indicator of success in our society, this spells trouble for our waistlines.Due to the high levels of stress in our society with the pressure of work and balancing other commitments, many of us are operating with adrenal fatigue and constantly pumping high levels of cortisol through our bodies. When cortisol is developed, testoste rone slows down, which decreases your muscle mass and calorie burning potential.When I discovered the science behind all of this, it made complete sense - but was really scary at the same time During this time of my life, I didnt feel like I had control over my own body or the things that made me feel stressed or anxious - stress was just parte of life.However, I discovered that I do have control over my reactions to situations and how I let things affect me. It didnt happen overnight, and eliminating all stress, worry, and anxiety isnt possible - life happens - but there are simple things we can do every day to balance our stress and hormone levels.Here are six ways I manage my stressMoveyour bodyPhysical fitness is crucial for stress reduction. When you exercise, your body starts pumping out endorphins, which I like to think of as happy hormones. These hormones tell the rest of your body and your brain that you feel good and happy. When you exercise for stress management, it s hould be something that makes you feel good, not something that adds more stress to your body. Keep in mind that this is different for everyone. For me, I love to mix it up depending on my mood with running, yoga, pilates, and spin. Some people like really intense workouts while simple walks work best for others - you do you Exercise has also been reported to improve sleep, and lets be honest, were all better people with a solid 7-9 hours of REM.Practicemindfulness and slow down.When I first started meditating, I thought there was no way it was going to work for me. I figured it was a bunch of hocus pocus, a new fad, and something I wouldnt be good at. I started small with just five minutes a day usingHeadspace. Over time, I noticed really profound changes in how I approached my day. My anxiety about things that would normally make me feel incredibly anxious werent nearly as high, my attitude towards others was way more positive, and I moved through the day with a bit more grace an d positivity.Through meditation, I learned actions I needed to take when things started feeling stressful. For me, I take a step back, remove myself from the situation, and gain a different perspective on whats going on. Ill take a few deep, quiet breaths, and return myself back to the situation or event. This has helped me improve my work efficiency, productivity, and relationships.Understanding how to slow my body down during stressful times gave my nervous system the break it deservedEat slowly.Trying to slow down in general is definitely one way to reduce stress, but incorporating it into your eating practices can be beneficial for your body and your mind. I know I can speak for myself when I say Ive finished a meal with Instagram in one hand,Real Housewiveson TV, and my computer on my lap - and not even remembered eating. Not a good situation. This is just another time when our brain is on overdrive doing too much at once, and it can cause our digestion to be less effective - leaving us bloated, foggy, and feeling just plain awful.A meal is also a great time to socialize with friends, laugh, and be present, which allows us to feel like were part of a community and increase our happiness.Make yourself a priority.Many of us often overlook our own needs because were so busy taking care of others. Whether its children, a significant other, friends, or co-workers, it can seem like theres very little time for our own needs during our busy day. However, self-care is an important factor for stress reduction. When youre operating from an empty vessel, you have nothing left to give others, which leads to burnout and increased stress levels.I love to indulge in hot Epsom salt baths, getting into a good book, a yoga class, journaling, massages, and even just simple alone time aka Netflix and chill.Take a new perspective.Does your view of life or the expectations you set for yourself stress you out? I know mine sure do Ive started adjusting my expectations and persp ective by setting challenging yet achievable goals for myself. This often comes in the form of saying NO to events, deadlines, and people.For the longest time, I would say yes to everything, realistic or not. This added so much stress to my life because once I commit to doing something, theres no way Im backing down. I was literally burning myself at both ends from sunrise to sundown, and it wasnt sustainable. As a people pleaser, this has been incredibly hard to embrace. I was afraid people would be upset with me for saying no. Lo and behold, they werent. In fact, they actually respected me more for standing up for my own needs.Utilize herbal support.If youre on Instagram or read any wellness websites, youve surely seen the craze of adaptogens. While Im not one to spend a lot of money on superfluous smoothie add-ons, I do utilize a few herbs here and there for natural stress support. I really like taking Ashwagandha and Adrenal Support, but deciding to take a supplement is definite ly a personal choiceThis article was originally posted on TheEveryGirl.

The Benefits of Job Rotation for Your Staff Management Resources

The Benefits of Job Rotation for Your Staff Management ResourcesThe Benefits of Job Rotation for Your Staff Management ResourcesAssembling an all-star team for your finance function takes a lot of time and effort. So, when you finally have a deep bench of skilled and experienced employees who work together effectively, the last thing you want to do is to deploy your staff to other parts of the organization, right? Well, you actually might want to change your mindset, because job rotation can benefit your employees and the geschftsleben.Tim Hird, executive director of Robert Half Management Resources, explains, Job rotation is an effective way to strengthen the organization by providing access to diverse viewpoints, building employees skills and grooming future leaders.Many finance leaders appear to recognize the value of allowing employees to move into roles in different areas of the company. In a recent survey of U.S. CFOs, respondents cited the following as the top five greatest be nefits of practicing job rotation in companies1. Job rotation offers staff exposure to different business areasThis benefit is one reason many internal audit leaders, for example, encourage their star employees to move out of the function and into the organization. They know that if those workers come back to the department someday, they will return with knowledge of the organization that can help them be better internal auditors. And if they decide to stay in another function, their audit expertise can help them spot business risks, and they can help internal audit teams to work mora effectively with that department because they understand both points of a view.2. Job rotation provides fresh perspectives on existing rolesWhen an employee takes on a new role, they bring their own work style and way of thinking to the job. A fresh perspective can lead to innovation, problem solving and greater efficiency. It also can result in re-evaluation of the current job description for the posi tion, which can help to ensure you are setting the right expectations (and compensation level) for professionals hired for this role.3. Job rotation accelerates professional developmentProfessional development is all about helping employees to grow. But managers often find it challenging to provide meaningful and hands on learning opportunities. Job rotation is an answer. Employees will gain new skills fast - and be more likely to retain them - if they are immersed in a situation where they must ramp up their knowledge quickly and start applying it.4. Job rotation strengthens succession planningRobert Half Management Resources research found that just 8 percent of executives in the accounting and finance profession have someone on staff who could take over their job immediately if they were to leave the firm. Obviously, not having a succession plan for key roles in the organization could prove disruptive and costly. With job rotation, you have the opportunity to not only identify future leaders, but also provide them with valuable training that will enable them to step smoothly into roles of greater responsibility when the time comes.5. Job rotation enhances recruiting and retentionCompanies that promote role rotation can make themselves more attractive employers. Professionals want to work for organizations that help them advance their careers. Job rotation can also be an effective retention strategy It can help meet the needs of in-demand professionals who are looking for new challenges or want to round out their skill sets in preparation for leadership positions.Dont let the value of job rotation go unrealizedWhile the CFOs in our survey were able to list many benefits of job rotation, less than half (44 percent) actually promote it in their finance teams. Those that do most often encourage transitioning into accounting operations positions - such as payroll or accounts payable- and accounting. Far fewer appear willing to allow staff to move into compli ance and tax. This is understandable given how challenging it can be to find this type of skilled talent.Still, considering the potential benefits of job rotation, its important to determine whether any of your employees would be interested in this opportunity. Ask your team if they would like to move elsewhere in the organization, and to which departments and why. Then, talk to line managers in the business to get their input on how behauptung arrangements could work, and whether their employees would be candidates for job rotation, too.If an employee finds job rotation appealing, but isnt sure what to do, consider offering job-shadowing opportunities so that person can get a firsthand look at different positions. Pairing the employee with a mentor in another area of the business that interests them is another strategy. The mentor can explain job responsibilities and pressures, and the skills needed to succeed in his or her role or department.Remember, job rotation can enhance your department, as well, by connecting you with new talent for your team - without needing to look outside the organization. And by being willing to let go of talented staff, you may find the company is able to hold on to these employees for the long term. Theres also a good chance that some of these staff members will want to come back someday and work specifically for you because you supported their professional development.View our infographic with the full survey results here.Resources for finance leadersThe People Puzzle Building and Retaining a Talented Accounting and Finance Team Looking for additional tips on recruiting and retaining top performers? Read this report from Robert Half and the American Institute of CPAs. It provides essential insights into what factors make employees want to build a career with a company.Download the ReportHow to Create a Staffing Management Plan Staffing management means more than finding the right people to fill each role in your finance organi zation or to provide support on a special project. It also requires a strategic plan. The advice outlined in this post can help you to develop one.Improving Cross-Departmental Collaboration Tips for Finance Leaders See this post to learn about the top challenges to cross-departmental collaboration, and the strategies finance leaders can use to help accounting and finance teams overcome these barriers.Career Ladders Offer Milestones for Improving Employee zurckhalten Career ladders can be an effective retention tool. They can help your employees to better visualize their future at your firm, and understand the steps they need to take to reach their professional goals. Learn more in this post.

Heres how to supercharge your resume in 38 minutes

Here's how to supercharge your resume in 38 minutes Here's how to supercharge your resume in 38 minutes So what makes a good resume? I’ve written this simple 8-minute guide to walk you through the steps: it’ll take you 8 minutes to read, and about 30 minutes to complete. It will also provide years of benefit in reducing your resume anxiety.My recommendations below are for a professional with 10 to 25 years experience. For those with fewer than 10 years, you’re likely better off with a 1-page resume, for those with more than 25 years and at very senior levels, three may sometimes be appropriate. (But seriously, if that’s you, you shouldn’t be relying on your own typing skills to market yourself.)As with any “do-it-yourself” project, the key to success is to not get in over your head. So the instructions below are a simplified version of my best advice, tailored to be achievable by you on your own. If you’ve got the commitment, moxie, and willpower for “do it yourself”, here goes!….Resume GoalFirst, the goal of your resume is to get you an interview for the job. You may believe your resume has other purposes: To showcase your every achievement To justify why you’re changing jobs To explain why you’ve left so many, or so few, jobs in your career To mention when you received promotions, awards, or recognition To describe the size of organization or team or budget you had responsibility for To land you a job offer without an interviewTrust me, none of those are the goals of your resume. Actually, don’t trust me. Read our research on how long recruiters spend on your resume. The answer is 6 seconds for the first pass.The goal of your resume is to get you the interview.You get the interview by persuading 3 layers of HR people that time spent with you will be worth more than time spent with another candidate. I’ll describe below who these 3 layers are - screeners, recruiters, and hiring managers.You’ll persuade those reviewers by providing quantifiably proven results that you can do the job very well.Resume length and structureYour resume will be 2 pages total. (Again, if you have less than 10 years experience: 1 page only.)Your resume will be composed of a professional summary and a chronological detail of your professional success. You should have your contact information at the head of the resume, and your educational background at the bottom of the resume.Profes sional SummaryYour professional summary is a separated list of two or three lines that summarizes your professional ambitions, background, and talents. You’ll include 12 -15 phrases of two or three words each in this section. On your resume, you should begin this section with the three or four job titles you want most, and then intersperse the skills and successes…Job titles: list 3 to 5 job titles of jobs you would actually accept as your next job. By clearly identifying the title you want next, recruiters and HR people begin seeing you in that role, and that helps give context to a diverse work history.It does not matter that you have never actually had this job title in the past, but it is important that it is a plausible next step in your professional career. A job search that includes both small and large companies will have a broader range of job titles than one specifically focusing on, say, the Fortune 500.Examples: VP, Marketing Director, Marketing Brand Marketing Lea der CMOProfessional competencies: list 4 to 6 core competencies that you possess that are important to your success in the jobs outlined above. They should be skills you currently possess and should be “level appropriate”. I.e., don’t list competencies that are obvious or would be assumed for your level. If you’re applying for C-suite jobs, listing “time management” or “presentation skills” would be far too junior to mention in your summary.Examples: Agile Development Software Architecture Engineer Recruiting Technology InnovationDescriptions of your past success: list 3 to 6 phrases that describe your demonstrated past success. Any type of achievements or attributes for which you have received recognition are appropriate.Examples: President’s Club Top-producing Saleswoman Exceeds Quota Consultative Selling ExpertChronological detail of your professional successIn this section you will provide a chronological detail of your professional success, starting wit h your most recent job first. Notice the word choices here, please. We are detailing your success. We are not listing your past job titles or duties. We are not describing your staff composition or budget size or administrative systems used.Again, your resume is a marketing document and needs to persuade your reviewers that time spent with you will be worthwhile, so we are going to detail your success.You’ll have about 30 ~ 40 bullet points across all your current and past positions, and each of these will be a marketing bullet point that will make one persuasive argument on your behalf.After you list company name, employment dates, and your title for each role, the bullet points will be distributed as follows:â€" Your most recent, most important, job gets 8 bullet points.â€" Your next job also gets 8 bullet points.â€" Your next two jobs get 4 bullet points each.â€" Everything else â€" all of your past jobs together, even if they were your favorite, most nostalgic, most enjoyable times in your life - get just ten bullet points total. Nobody is hiring you today for the job you had a decade ago.It’s important to note that this distribution is across each job or title, not company. So if you’ve been at the same shop for 20 years, you should be splitting up your 30 bullet points across the different job levels and titles you’ve had.The basic structure of a marketing bullet point is a success verb and a number.Every bullet point in your success resume must include a number expressed in dollars, percentages, or a simple, “plain old”, straight-up number.Importantly, every bullet point in your resume must include a success verb. These are verbs that show success â€" something got better. So verbs such as increased, decreased, improved, reduced, etc., are what we are looking for. Explicitly forbidden are static verbs - “managed”, “my responsibilities included”, “I was hired to…”, etc. Verbs that merely describe a fact of the matter rather th an show you in a heroic light.Rather than leave you wondering what success verbs might be, I’ll give you a precise list of 24 verbs you can use on your resume. The simplest way to do your resume right is to use these, and only these, verbs.This seems boring, but it really doesn’t matter. Unless you are applying to be a thesaurus writer, nobody cares how clever your success verbs are. The millions of hours lost each year to professionals like you looking up synonyms for “improved” is a complete waste of time - none of the three layers of reviewers are grading you for verbal facility.List of Success Verbs Achieved Added Awarded Changed Contributed Decreased Delivered Eliminated Exceeded Expanded Gained Generated Grew Improved Increased Introduced Maximized Minimized Optimized Produced Reduced Saved SoldSo your typical 8-bullet point job achievements on your 8-minute resume will read like this: â€" Increased x by % â€" Decreased x by % â€" Improved x by $ â€" Reduced x by $ â€" Introduced new x that led to # more…. â€" Eliminated old x that led to # less… â€" Successfully added # new x…. â€" Achieved the removal of # new x…“x” can be profits, costs, clients, vendors, products, practice areas, strategies, risk, volatility, etc.And, of course, it’s important to have a number, dollar, or percentage increase / decrease mentioned in each bullet point. You’ll be surprised at how many you can write using this template, and how this process jogs your memory for all the great stuff you’ve done…â€" Increased new customer visits by 17% without increasing ad budget. â€" Decreased AWS bill by 42% through improved architecture (vs. 19% industry average). â€" Improved revenue per SaaS client by $4,250 through consultative sales training. â€" Reduced cost-per-hire by $7,010 through employee referral program â€" Introduced 2 new products that led to 2,500,000 increase in MAUs. â€" Eliminated old systems that led to a 75 FTE reduction in offshore headcount. â€" Successfully added 3 productive warehouses to our nationwide network. â€" Achieved the removal of 5,000 external firm billable hours per year by reorganizing internal staffing.But, you might say, I brought amazing non-quantified value to the organization! I introduced Agile Development, led a huge bond offering, brought innovative logistics strategies to bear, or reorganized our selling methodology.Yes. I agree those are impressive and important achievements.But they are only impressive and important to the extent they are quantifiable. New methodologies, exhibiting leadership, or bringing innovation to a company are interesting to your bosses’ bosses only to the extent they improve, quantifiably, the outcome of the company - more users, more revenue, faster turnaround, higher client satisfaction.Ideally, every bullet point has a number. I’d strongly prefer if you had 100% of your bullets “quantified.” During the past year, I’ve seen a lot of Members struggle with this advice, so let’s say this about numbers in bullet points:â€" 100% is id eal â€" 66% is pretty good â€" 50% of your bullets quantified is minimumMost everybody is able to achieve at least half of their bullet points mentioned a number or a percentage or a dollar sign, so I’m pretty confident you can get there.Overall, the above outline is remarkably simple because the job search process, despite all the anxiety and confusion, is remarkably simple. You want to do work similar to the work you’ve done before but at a new place and a new level. To do so, you need to explain to new people what can give them confidence that you will be able to contribute to the new team. The easiest way to do that is to share numerical data that show you have contributed in the past and can, therefore, contribute in the future.Your audienceYour resume is a marketing document that needs to get past three people to get you your interview:A junior resume screener who is comparing your resume to a list of skills, titles, or companies that he or she is given by the recruiter. Overly clever resumes or cute sy positioning can really kill you with this person, because they don’t understand the nod and the wink that comes with writing “Chief Bottle Washer” when you really mean “Co-Founder”. For these reviewers, the choice of phrases in the professional summary is especially important.A recruiter, whether internal or external, who, on average, will give your resume 6 seconds first screening. And then, later, another 2 â€" 3 minutes to make sure you’re worth presenting to the client or hiring manager. By giving them easy-to-digest numbers they can share with the client or hiring manager, you make it much easier to present you, rather than a different candidate, for the interview.The hiring manager who will be interested in finding out “what can this person do for me and my team in the next year or two.” This person will review your resume in more detail. She will be looking for indications that you have previously solved the types of problems this job will have to deal with .Your goal is to quantifiably prove that you can. Numbers are the most persuasive friends you have in this situation. Every bullet point spent on describing historical circumstances, promotions, or scope of responsibilities is wasted and lost on a hiring manager. They already know what the role does… they need to know if you’ll be any good at it!Eight minutes to a better resumeBy following the above, you’ll be in a much, much better place than with other methods of do-it-yourself resumes. Of course, there’s a lot of nuance that 8 minutes can’t get you, but the above is ? of the way there.

Bacteria Wind Farm

Bacteria Wind Farm Bacteria Wind Farm Bacteria Wind Farm Like any moving creature immersed in a fluid, bacteria can whip up flow. But the flow created by groups of bacteria is turbulent, unorganized, and useless, like the choppy, chaotic water of an overpopulated pool party. But if you line those bacteria up into a nice little array, suddenly the fluid theyre in will begin to flow in an organized, and therefore useful, manner. Thats what researchers at Oxford Universitys Department of Physics have shown with a simulation. Theyve effectively demonstrated that microorganisms can be used to create microscopic wind farms. What we have is a simulation of a dense suspension of bacteria, kind of a mob of them, and they are all swimming, says Tyler Shendruk, a physicist at Oxford who studies soft, condensed matter systems and ran the simulation. Birds move together, but bacteria dont move in as orderly a way. Theyre not going down south, theyre just going about their lives. Shendruk put the virtual bacterium in an eight-by-eight grid. Each bacteria was really a smooth disk, or rotor, free of any teeth. On its own, a single such rotor would rotate freely, like a weather vane in a thunderstorm, with no actual order to the spinning, says Shendruk. But in the array, one disk would spin one way and the others would start spinning the other way. That was surprising to us, because we didnt need to make the disks something fancy, didnt need fancy gears, didnt have to engineer it into a micro machine. Theyre just smooth disks. Antiferromagnetic spin state in an array of rotating discs. Image: Oxford University To create the most orderly flow, with the fastest spinning, and the greatest potential for power generation, Shendruk had to find the ideal amount of separation between rotors. If the disks are far away from each other, they act as if theyre alone, spinning willy-nilly with plenty of turbulence between them. Put the discs really close to each other and the size of the swirls in the flow will be bigger than the space between disks, so the disks have to work too hard against their neighbors. The sweet spot depends on the viscosity of the fluid and, more important, how active the bacteria are. For dense suspensions of well-fed bacteria, the number is somewhere around 50 microns, says Shendruk. Thats the right size, perfect for making a microscopic machine. The power created by that machine is somewhat beside the point, and is certainly not enough to power even the smallest of cell phone screens. Whats exciting to me is that you spontaneously get this self-decided organization. A physicist would call this self-assembly, says Shendruk. Animals are self-assembled. We start out as a bunch of cells, our cells come together, some of our cells are a brain, some of our cells are a kidney. Thats really complicated. But there are far more simple systems that self-assemble. This is one where we have the swirling randomness of active turbulence forming a partnership with our micro machine to self-assemble into something useful. Thats the cool thing about what we found, rather than generating this ungodly small amount of power. Though Shendruk works entirely in the world of simulations, he thinks its not unlikely that researchers will soon take up the obvious challenge and build a microscopic microbial wind farm in the actual world. When we biophysicists look to biological materials, the stuff that biology is made of, its amazing to us that it can organize itself, that it just intrinsically, from the materials of it, knows how it should be and constructs itself, says Shendruk. And we want to design man-made systems that are able to do that, too. What were dreaming of is micro robots that build themselves. Were nowhere near that, but this is a nice simple halfway step. Michael Abrams is an independent writer. For Further Discussion We have the swirling randomness of active turbulence forming a partnership with our micro machine to self-assemble into something useful.Prof. Tyler Shendruk, Oxford University

4 things every college graduate must do

4 things every college graduate must do 4 things every college graduate must do Graduation is the prime time to think about your future- about the things you want to accomplish and the kind of person you want to become. After reflecting back to when I was 22, here are a few things I have learned over the years that would have helped me then, and might help you now.Think bigAs you make your future plans, many people will tell you to “think big.” Well, I want to tell you that however “big” you’re thinking right now, it’s probably too small. There’s always a bigger big. Success can be defined in many ways, and I’m not telling you how to define it. I’m simply saying to take your definition of success and raise the bar on it. Ask yourself, “What is even bigger than what I’m thinking, because that’s what I really want to do?” If you can’t imagine it, you will never achieve it.Choose to be extraordinaryYou’ve read about or seen extraordinary people. It could be a world leader working for a global cause, or just the person down the street h elping to make life better for community members. When we hear of these extraordinary people, we often think, “I could never do that because I’m just an average person.”In reality, there is no such thing as an average person; there is only average thinking. You can be extraordinary! The key is to realize that being extraordinary is a personal choice you make every day.For example, if you’re furthering your education and will be enrolled in a graduate or doctorial program, ask yourself each morning, “What would an extraordinary student do today given the subject we’re discussing in class?” Entering the job market? Before you apply to a position, ask yourself, “What would an extraordinary candidate do or say to get the job?” Do some research.Take a few minutes each day to think about what an extraordinary person in your situation would do. Then do that, rather than what you were going to do. Soon, people will look at you and think, “Wow! That person is extraordinar y!”Direct your talents to support your unique giftThe secret ingredient to making the daily choice to be extraordinary easier is to identify and leverage your talents and your gifts. You have to tap into that inner magic that comes from deep inside of you.You have multiple talents, but the key is to understand that you also have a unique gift. Some people drift into various positions using their talents, and they usually end up struggling because there are others who are equally talented and who can do the same thing. This is because talent relates to competency, not your unique inner magic, and it can only take you so far. When you identify your true gift, you can then direct your talents to support the gift. That’s when your creativity, innovation, and career really soar.So what’s your unique gift? What makes you different from all the others who have the same talents as you? When you focus on your unique gift as you create your future, you become a true innovator- one that others try to emulate.Discover what’s inside of youKnowing all your many talents and your unique gift takes time â€" and some trial and error. To really uncover what makes you unique, explore what is inside of you by learning new things every year. Most people will find one activity they like, such as golf or painting, and that’s all they do all their entire life. While that’s good, they aren’t discovering all that is hidden inside of them and all they can be. And the thing they haven’t discovered might be what they’re truly great at.For example, maybe you learned to play the piano when you were young but didn’t enjoy it, so you gave up music completely and never picked up another instrument. However, you might be the world’s best violin player, but if you never pick one up, you’ll never know. So make it an annual journey to learn one new thing every year. The more variety and learning you add to your life, no matter how old you get, the more deeply you’ll discov er what’s really inside you.It’s all up to youThis is an exciting time in your life, because you really can shape your future. By thinking bigger, choosing to be extraordinary, leveraging your unique gifts and committing to learning new things every year, you will have the keys to creating a very successful life- one filled with amazing opportunities and unforgettable memories that are worthy of a life well-lived.

Japanese women protest work dress code discrimination

Japanese women protest work dress code discrimination Japanese women protest work dress code discrimination Women in Japan are tired of the de facto rule that they wear high heels on at many jobs and when going on job interviews â€" and with the #KuToo campaign, they’re formally protesting it.Over 18,000; women signed an online petition, submitted it earlier this week to the government’s Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, asking for laws that stop employers from requiring high heels at work. The #KuToo group’s founder is Yumi Ishikawa, an actress and freelance writer.Follow Ladders on Flipboard!Follow Ladders’ magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and more!Ishikawa told reporters after meeting labor ministry officials, “Today we submitted a petition calling for the introduction of laws banning employers from forcing women to wear heels as sexual discrimination or harassment.”#KuToo â€" which references the MeToo movement â€" is a play on words from the Japanese kutsu, which means shoes, and kutsuu, which means pain. Ishika wa started the campaign in late February of this year after she Tweeted a complaint about the requirement to wear high heels for a hotel job went viral.“As I realized that so many people face the same problem, I decided to launch the campaign,” Ishikawa told the Guardian about #KuToo.The next day, on June 5, Japan’s health and labor minister, Takumi Nemoto, responded. Defending the requirement of high heels at work, he called them “necessary and appropriate,” reported the South China Morning Post.Nemoto told   a legislative committee that women wearing heels at work was “socially accepted as something that falls with the realm of being occupationally necessary and appropriate.”There is a precedent here: in 2016, London office worker Nicola Thorp was sent home without pay for wearing dressy flat shoes instead of the heels the job required. She started an online petition, which 150,000 people signed. In response, there was a parliamentary investigation into dress codes a nd discrimination was found in UK workplaces that required heels, but no law was passed that would ban companies from forcing women to wear high heels at work.It doesn’t end with shoes. Relatedly, a company in Russia, aluminum manufacturer Tatprof, is facing criticism after opening running a campaign offering female employees cash incentives to wear skirts or dresses to work.A company spokesman defended the campaign to a radio station, saying “Our team is 70% male. These kinds of campaigns help us switch off, rest. This is a great way to unite the team. Many women automatically wear trousers to work, which is why we hope that our campaign will raise our ladies’ awareness, allowing them to feel their femininity and charm when they make the choice of wearing a skirt or dress.”Tatprof is currently taking fire from the local and international press, plus Twitter.You might also enjoy… New neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happy Strangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds 10 lessons from Benjamin Franklin’s daily schedule that will double your productivity The worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs 10 habits of mentally strong people

5 Steps to Prepare for Your Future Career

5 Steps to Prepare for Your Future Career 5 Steps to Prepare for Your Future Career 4When you think about your future career, what comes to mind? If you’re like many people, you might envision a steady stream of jobs in one industry, each one bringing you to the next level of success. Then, you hit retirement age and you most likely enjoy your golden years with your grandchildren. Here’s the thing: that type of career, for the most part, doesn’t exist anymore. In the Fortune article, “Sallie Krawcheck: This Is The Future of Work,” Krawcheck, an investment banker turned serial entrepreneur, draws upon her own business experiences to explain how careers will be crafted in the future. If you’re looking to invest in your future, here are five steps to prepare for your future career. 1. Know the keys to success. In the past, success came from sticking it out at one company for 30+ years until you retired. Not so anymore. Ditch the rigid way of thinking and adopt a more flexible-minded mentality, since future employers favor curiosity, genuine interest, and the ability to understand others’ perspectives. Being able to go with the flow will help you to better navigate the ever-changing world of business. 2. Embrace mistakes. Ideally, your career will look like a string of carefully crafted job experiences, with each previous one providing a stepping stone to a better (and better paying) position. But real life doesn’t work that way, and there will be times that you make mistakes, either in picking a job, or even trying on a career that you thought that you would love- but don’t. Instead of beating yourself up about it, learn to embrace your mistakes and learn that in hindsight, mistakes are never truly mistakes after all. 3. Ignore the naysayers. When you announce that you’re looking for a new job (or even planning on finding a new career), there are going to be those who cheer you on and are thrilled when you succeed. Unfortunately, these people are few and far between. You may find that most people are Negative Nancy’s and will try to squash your dreams. But if you’ve been dreaming about being a teacher all your life, you should without a doubt pursue your passion. The truth is that people sometimes feel threatened when someone else tries to go after their goals, so pay them no mind as you forge ahead in realizing your flexible work dreams! 4. Take your time. The entirety of your career is based upon years and years of experience in various jobs and positions held. So there’s really no reason to rush into a job simply to have a job. If you want to have a career to be proud of, it’s important to take your time to really figure out what you’d like to do, particularly if you’ve held ho-hum jobs up until this point. Ask yourself what you’d like to do if money were no object, then look for ways to find work in that field or even incorporate various aspects of your passion into a profitable job- and a satisfying career. 5. Be prepared. In today’s job market, it can sometimes feel like feast or famine- and that’s because sometimes it actually is. That’s why you need to make sure that you are prepared to ride out the lean times, both financially and emotionally. And even when you are employed, you should always be ready in case you lose your gig or you don’t get that raise you were hoping for (and counting on). So sock some money off to the side to get you through your job search, and be prepared to negotiate salary when you do get a job offer in hand. Your future (financial) self will thank you. It’s always a good idea to be strategic in your job search, and that’s especially true when you’re planning your career. By making smart moves now, you’ll invest in yourself (and your career) for years to come! Looking for a new career? Start by searching telecommuting, part-time, and flexible jobs in over 55 categories!   Readers, how do you plan for your future career? What are some steps that you have taken in the past? Let us know in the comments below!