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Name of author Rick Baker, P.Eng.

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When you are afraid of losing your job

by Rick Baker
On May 12, 2014

Fearing job loss:

Many people go to work, every day, fearing they will lose their jobs. Sometimes the fear is so strong it affects their behaviour and it becomes a 'self-fulfilling prophecy'...the thing they fear visits them...they lose their jobs.

I have seen this happen many times over my career.

I have noticed an interesting nuance. Sometimes the person who fears the job loss so much and then loses the job actually benefits from the albeit-unpleasant-at-the-time experience. Sometimes, after all the dust cleared, the person realized he or she really didn't fit the job and that 'disconnect' expressed itself as fear. Sometimes, after all the dust cleared, the person realized they didn't fit the organization - they didn't mesh well with the other people. Other times the person realized he or she needed to make some personal changes in order to be comfortable at work.

Clearly, there is a better way. People can seek self-discovery and work at self-improvement. People can reduce their fears. People can become fully confident in the value they deliver in their role.

People can employ their talents & strengths.

People can replace their bad habits with good habits.

People can reduce and remove their fears.

People own these choices.

 

 

Thought Tweet #991

by Rick Baker
On May 5, 2014

Thought Tweet #991 Take a chance...take off that fear coat.

 

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

When fear of change gains too much power over people it sucks the joy out of business.

It's a matter of choice; we do not have to wear fear coats; we can choose to take them off.

Tags:

Emotions & Feelings @ Work | Thought Tweets

Big Changes, Difficult Changes...never Impossible Changes

by Rick Baker
On Apr 22, 2014

"It is very difficult to make really big, important, life-changing decisions because we are all susceptible to a formidable array of decision biases. There are more of them than we realize and they come to visit us more often than we'd like to admit."

Dan Ariely

'The Upside of Irrationality' (2010)

 

While, in relative terms, it is easy to make small, less-important decisions these decisions too are affected by our biases. And these small decisions too can be life changing.

Here's why/how they can be life changing:

The small changes happen bit by bit over time. We have a word for these changes. We call them "habits". Some of them are good; some of them are bad; all of them change our lives by influencing our thoughts & actions and by influencing how we are perceived by others. To the extent the small changes are founded on emotions they contain more lasting power. So, small changes - especially those small changes that grew out of an emotional base - have the ability to influence our thoughts & actions for long periods of time.

Big decisions & small decisions and big changes & small changes: all can contribute in long-lasting ways to develop a person's character. [In fact, when you stop to think about it, what else contributes to the building and maintenance of a person's character?]

Regardless, it is possible for people to make permanent & positive adjustments to their character.

Yes - easy to say, difficult to do...

One simply needs to commit to creating better habits then do the repetition of thought & action required to generate and solidify those better habits.


Thought Tweet #982

by Rick Baker
On Apr 22, 2014

Thought Tweet #982 When growth is stalled, many argue in favour of the status quo; fear of change often trumps common sense.


The Thinking Behind The Tweet

This is not a horrible dysfunction, it's just an all-too-common bad habit.

Why would a person not want to take chances, make changes, and grow?

Perhaps we should first explore the extent of their Fear of Criticism and their Fear of Poverty...see Napoleon Hill's 1937 classic, 'Think and Grow Rich'.

Linked to Fear of Poverty - according to psychologists, we fear losing existing things more than we desire gaining new things. Fear of loss outstrips desire for gain by a factor of about 4-to-1.

Do you feel that way?

Do you favour the status quo over change?

Thought Tweet #980

by Rick Baker
On Apr 18, 2014

Thought Tweet #980 How do we rebuild trust? One small, well-thought-out, personal, positive step at a time. 

 

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

Maybe you care about the damage trust has experienced?

Maybe you want to repair that damage?

Maybe you do not know how?

Thought Tweet #975

by Rick Baker
On Apr 11, 2014

Thought Tweet #975 Emotions + Stress = Irrational Behaviour

 

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

Emotions cause us to do illogical/irrational things, things we regret.

Stress can act like a hair trigger, accelerating and expanding this effect of Emotions. 

Can you keep a finger on your Emotion pulse?

Do you know when Stress is getting the better of you?

Typically, people answer "Yes" to both those questions.

Typically, people are wrong on both accounts.

Tags:

Emotions & Feelings @ Work | Questions?: The Art of Asking Good Questions | Thought Tweets

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