Link to Ezine Articles For Articles Written by Gerry Neale

Gerry Neale has written nearly 80 articles published on Ezine Articles alone. There are more on other internet article directories.
http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Gerry_Neale

Women Ultimate Multi-Taskers, But That’s Not All!

What many men have admitted privately about most women is now apparently proven!  Women are substantially better at Multi–Tasking than men! So say findings from joint research conducted by the BAR-Ilan University in Israel and by Michigan State University in the USA. The study published in the American Sociological Review shows that both in relation to tasks in the home or outside, women scored higher than their partners. But there is much more to it than that which may surprise men and women.

Yes, women may be better at multi-tasking and may do it for more hours each week. And they may appear to do it in a more accomplished and relaxed way. But for many women this just isn’t so.

Analysis reveals that while women regularly multi-task for longer periods per week than men, they do not multi-task in regard to the same functions. Women are much more involved in the unrelenting housework and child care issues. Men tend to deal with more-off situations and conversations dealing with third parties.

Although, not publicised in the report, my suspicion is that men, maybe conveniently, simply see women as better at homecare and day to day child management issues. More, maybe the men make light of what their partners do because it seems of less strategic importance to the family. In consequence it would follow they have less empathy with the woman’s stress over her multi-tasking role when they are more relaxed about their own.

What the research points to is the fact that the woman’s conventional role is more stressful because it is seen generally by them as a negative experience, whereas men see their own role more positively. But an even more significant observation in the report to me throws up a point that may be many men had not latched on to.

The man’s multi-tasking role is not as definable as a woman’s. But nor is it as identifiable and as ‘public’ as a woman’s. Many child-care issues arise and have to be assessed and managed in real-time AND in front of other people. Therein lies a great cause for stress and a negative sense of being judged harshly or unfairly. It could be said that as a result it is easier for fathers to prove to others around them that they are good parents than it is for mothers doing much of their multi-tasking in public.

The thought I want to add to this from my own perception is a simple but critical one. The research serves to indicate how easy it is for women to form a negative and down-beat view of themselves as day after day they deal with family and home multi-tasking. In my view they should not even go there. They should remind themselves that they are developing a cardinal skill: decision-making. Understandably, hour by hour, day by day they have evaluated situations and made decisions relentlessly , and often under pressure..

So where am I heading with this thought? It is this. With children gone and many women rendered empty nesters, they can too easily overlook this skill training. Worse, they can reinforce the negative thought that they hadn’t managed the child and home care particularly well. And now perhaps wondering about going back to work, they can see themselves lacking anything of worth for an employer.

Rubbish! If one thing is lacking in the world of business, politics and economics it is the skill of making an assessment of given situations, evaluating the best (not perfect) solution, and then making the decision to apply it.

These women are needed! We should make way for them for the common good! What they possess in managerial skills far surpasses any lack of awareness of the workings of a particular business.

Gerry Neale
Author "Squaring Circles"
www.squaringcircles.co.uk

Animals May Be Able To Teach Us Even More!

Our prediction skills for Earthquakes still leaves a lot to be desired. But check this out! Even toads may be able to teach us a thing or two!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/15945014

Best wishes

Gerry Neale

The author of self-discovery novel called "Squaring Circles"
www.amazon.co.uk

Self-Worth And How to Improve It

Achieving a great plan, a grand mission or a goal is a more complex process in some cases than we give credit for. Sometimes goals can prove impossible to achieve for reasons we may at first be unaware of – or if we were aware, we are still unable to understand. At the heart of this issue can be the very nature of our sense of our Self-Worth. This can behave like a strange Joker Card in our personality pack.

First, I need to set this in context.

I agree there are many components to a measurable achievement. To start with one needs to have formed a clear vision of what our intent is. In fact the more substantial it is, then the more we need to see it emblazoned in our minds and feel it in our hearts, just as though it’s achieved – or like an already done-deal.

This ‘visioning process’ is possible by fine-tuning our natural skill of painting vivid pictures in our mind. In turn this needs to be reinforced by coupling it to a strong desire to achieve the successful outcome. These aspects drive the motivation within us. Remember it is the strength of the picture that draws us to find ways to make it become real!

Also our self-esteem can have already been high due to previous lesser achievements. So we can bring that added confidence to our new mission.

Not only that, we can have learned in the context of each goal to condition the way we talk to ourselves to ensure we do not sabotage our efforts.

In addition we can have demonstrated to others a greater effectiveness in achieving a goal than they had thought we were capable of. That too can have fed our self-confidence. We can have found that this confidence, this sense of self-efficacy, can be employed by us to support us as we focus on this next grand mission.

In fact everything about us to a bystander can appear as if we are pretty well guaranteed to achieve the targeted success in its due time. Yet it is amazing just how many apparently goal-driven people can gradually build their list of achievements before suddenly and unexpectedly they touch the nerve of Self-Worth.

The impact can be strange and insidious on our path to achievement.

Yes, we may feel that the particular goal we now have in mind can be achieved by us. The cognitive behavioural mechanics we have applied may be excellent. Yet, for some reason, there is a weird problem. Maybe arises from the realisation of the level of our intended success in terms of wealth. Maybe it is the likely attention of the media and press to what we are embarking on. But something could be ringing mysterious alarm bells inside.

Worse, and strangely, we can actually  feel our energy, our drive and motivation being sapped, even though we know that we are capable of success.

Whatever is happening? What is behind this?

It could be our sense of Self-Worth telling us that we do not deserve that level of success we envisage. It could be an inner belief that we are not worthy of that degree of likely public acclaim. In consequence, we feel bound to try to dilute the mission - to take steps to reduce it. And at the same time the lack of belief starts unavoidably striking at the root of our mission and discovering that it continues for as long as it unresolved.

“But where has this come from? Why haven’t I felt it before?”

Probably you have never tested your self-worth to this degree before. Previous goals have been achieved less obviously, perhaps, and with less wealth or overt success attached.

Can this problem be addressed?

Of course! If the limiting sense of what we deserve in life is not too deep seated, we can work to convince ourselves that we do deserve the success and can manage its acclaim.

However, we are far more likely to succeed in that if we try to go back in our mind in order to find the origin for this lack of belief in what we deserve. It could have come from school tutoring. It could have been from parental attitudes or a reaction to a particular experience. It could even have resulted from some idealistic notion we adopted long ago and, whatever the cause, it has lain dormant in us untested until now.

We need then to ask ourselves whether any one of these beliefs is really something we want to continue to live by or whether it should now be reframed to fit the much more capable ‘you’ of today.

Had this been done more often, would it not have saved the good health and even the lives of a number of astonishingly committed and skilled people. Couldn’t it have prevented them from collapsing under the weight of their inevitable success, which in their hearts they felt they did not deserve or could not cope with?

Gerry Neale Author of "Squaring Circles" ISBN 9780956868824

Create Flatter Not Hierarchical Management Structures To Achieve More, Please!

Managing people successfully clearly means different things to different people, whether they are doing the managing or being managed. Some managers look for unquestioning obedience and servitude. They sustain a hierarchical structure. Their writ to their employees states the requirements which are not to be deviated from. For employees preferring to obey more and think less, this can be attractive – however, my suspicion is that the number of these is dwindling fast.

And recently I witnessed graphically the danger in this – achieved even sixty years ago - as I watched the TV documentary on the little known wartime code breaking operation at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire, UK.

The narrator described how the hierarchical structure of the Nazi war machine dictated that there should be total sub-servience and unquestioning obedience to all elements including their top secret communication codes. No-one should question them.

Meanwhile the UK adopted a very different approach to code-breaking. It retained quirky mathematicians and thinkers who would simply not fit into such a hierarchical system. It encouraged them to think outside the box and question everything.

The result? The German code was broken and it is claimed it shortened the war by two years.

It was also intriguing to me to see the elements of intellectual / mathematical intelligence being adopted alongside emotional intelligence, then not truly acknowledged or identified as a valuable human resource.

More and more of us want to contribute to the business process we are involved in. Most of us respond better to inclusive rather than exclusive management styles. True, we do not see things the same way and businesses who see this as a handicap rather than a strength will continue to suffer. Those enterprises adopting flatter management styles will always be able to change far quicker than those very much managed from the top down.

More  to the point, unbeknown to the world, the computer was born at Bletchley on a campus I walked alongside – unknowingly – to catch the train to school!

Gerry Neale author of "Squaring Circles"

www.squaringcircles.co.uk

Psychology Simplified on Achieving Stress Reduction by Rituals

Neuroscience& Biobehavioral Reviews has just published some fascinating research on how we can achieve stress reduction by adopting helpful rituals..

Apparently we can reduce and control our stress in any number of ways unrelated to the challenge we face. For example,  it is now clear that a professional tennis player about to serve a ball, will bounce it one or more times first. Far from this being an attempt to increase the sense of anticipation, it is to reduce and control his stress. The higher the number of bounces the more effective it is!

Even taking a deep breath before starting something testing is a simple example.

Instinctively, and even to the extent we are now unaware of it, we can generate private rituals to reduce our stress. Stopping at a particular point for a break, or even making a cup of tea, can have the same effect.   

The research has been conducted by Tel Aviv University. It took into consideration obsessive compulsive disorder too. Significantly the research centred on the breakdown of the basic ingredients of any human or animal activity.They concluded that there are three parts or stages - preparatory, functional and confirmatory.

The 'functional' activity is the part which must be executed to complete the task. It is separate from and need not be connected or related to the 'preparatory' or 'confirmatory' stages, which can also be termed 'head' or 'tail' stages. So, a tennis player bouncing a ball before the serve is conducting a 'head' function but it does nothing directly to be part of the service action.

It seems that 'head' and 'tail' rituals overplayed can be a sign of obsessive compulsive disorder. But in moderation, 'head' and 'tail' rituals can be extremely helpful in reducing stress before and and after a challenging task.

It can help us too by clearing our mind in better preparation for the testing task we are about to complete.

The research details are now in the public domain.

Gerry Neale
Author of "Squaring Circles" available in paperback from
www.amazon.co.uk
www.squaringcircles.co.uk

Psychology Simplified On The Ten Essential Steps to Any Achievement

The list of steps that follows are not just vital ingredients needed to give you the best guarantee of achieving your mission or aim. There is an added dimension.  It is the simple order in which they are best applied that ensures you stay on the right track to success. Deviate from that and, believe you me, it is like squaring circles! It makes it much harder!

So Step 1 Is Keep To The Order Of The List!

Step 2: Virtualising The Achievement.

Decide exactly what it is you want to achieve. A vague notion, a fuzzy dream, a wish – none of these are enough. It needs to be the clearest picture in your mind of what you want to accomplish. It needs to be pictured as though it is already achieved. Also, it needs to be seen in your mind and felt in your heart as your own great mission. If it would involve, when completed, your heightened awareness of touch, sound and smell too, then include them in your total visualisation. And most significant, there needs to be no thought or concern at this stage for “How It Is To Be Done”.

Step 3: Review Exactly Where You Are Now - Without The Achievement.

See and feel all the downside elements that at the moment dog you, but which would be gone when you had the success you seek. Then focus completely on that gap between that position you occupy now and what it would be like with your mission completed. Really measure this gap in your mind. But most significantly, DO NOT shrink from it and do not try to make it smaller! This is your “Inspiration Gap”! The reason why it is so important is coming in Step 5!

Step 4 Knowing This Is What You Want. 

Here is one question which requires an unequivocal answer of “Yes”. To prepare for it, first restore your vivid picture of your goal to the forefront of your mind. Now your question is this - with that total visualisation described filling your mind and heart, do you feel you really, really want this outcome? However large or small, does it begin to fill you with passion and motivation to achieve it? Even if you do not know how to achieve it yet, does it inspire you to take action?  If you can answer Yes1 Yes! And Yes! Then go on to Step 5. If not, go back and review Step 1 and question yourself on what is failing to give you that energy and drive. Then, address it and insert it in your picture.

Step 5: Setting Yourself Up for A Fall.

This is the potential stumbling block for many people. It is as though suddenly a flawed sense of reality dawns forcing you to ask yourself ‘how am I possibly going to achieve this? How can I somehow narrow this “Inspiration Gap” between the ‘me’ now and ‘me’ with it achieved?’It must be resisted! Why is this so? Cognitive research shows that with achievement we are drawn to our picture of our goal. In other words we are being pulled by it and we are not pushing to get away from where we are. So it is for this very reason that your picture of your targeted achievement needs to be strong and painted first vividly in your mind. It is why it needs to engender that unquenchable desire and motivation to drive you on. Can you see that without that, you are far more inclined to compromise and find ways tp reduce the gap?

Step 6: Live With The Image Of The Achievement.

Have it emblazoned on your mind and then reinforce it by repetition, by review, by mixing with people who have done it already. Do not share it with someone who you know will denigrate it, or who is bound to see it as unachievable for them. Yet do share it with people who will help and encourage you.

Step 7: Set in motion the behavioural mechanics of planned achievement.

Difficult though it may be to accept, the more you enhance and intensify your picture of your plan day by day, three things happen. First it energises you. Second you become ever more consciously aware of opportunities presenting themselves to help you on your journey. So take them! Third, your sub-conscious creativity has been activated big-time! It has been fed the message that you are no longer comfortable where you are. You now want to be drawn towards where you have planned to be. So it goes to work for you! And the more you live with and feed the image of the achievement achieved, the more your creativity will grow to close the gap.

Step 8.  Self-Belief & Self –Worth.

Constantly reinforce your belief that you deserve the outcome and that you can achieve it. And what about negative thoughts? Don’t listen to them or give them air-time! Neutralise them by vocalising your passion and inspiration to accomplish what you have set out to do! Is that easy? No. Is it possible? Definitely!

Step 9:   Fix an end date for the complete achievement.

It sets a time line within which your creativity will produce the result. Big goals can need years! When I was sixteen, I wanted to be a Member of Parliament. I became one – twenty three years later!

Step 10: Start now

And Good Luck! You will need some, but just watch how you will seem to create your own!

Gerry Neale

Gerry is the author of "Squaring Circles", an intriguing novel which is as much of a voyage of self-discovery for the reader as it is for the hero of the book. Details of it can be found on http://www.squaringcircles.co.uk. It is published in paperback ISBN 9780956868824

He writes on psychology and behavioural issues. Articles can be found on
http://psychologysimplified.blogspot.com and as an expert author on Ezine Articles on Achievement and on psychology.

Are You A Busy Bee Who Wants To Achieve More By Finding More Time But Can’t?

Then Answer The Big Question! Do you want to achieve more and make more time to do things you like to do? If you can answer honestly, ‘Yes, with me, it is purely time management,’ then there are some great instructional books available to help you prioritise your tasks, bunch telephone calls, do more things on the same journey and many more tips.

Yet if you have tried all that with only limited success and deep down you think it may be something else sabotaging you, then read on!

Could your problem really not be one of trying to improve your time management. Could it be something quite different? Could it be an unrelated inhibiting attitude?

I wonder if you have felt you were busy, sensed you weren’t achieving as much as you should, have used time management techniques, gained yourself more time, yet filled that time saved with yet more similar tasks, so that now you are more busy than ever?

Could it be that you like to feel busy no matter what?

As a child were your parents always busy? In fact were they too busy to stop and think? Do you think you could have imitated them?

Did you have teachers that made sure you were always busy?

Critically, do you feel guilty when you are not busy doing something, no matter what? Or worse, do you find the level of guilty conscience reaches danger levels if you spend some downtime doing something you want to do entirely for yourself?

Then, if you want it, you have gained complimentary membership of the Busy Bees Club! Please turn it down and reflect!

What has been going on? What are you doing?

Could you have become task list orientated, with too little prioritised? As soon as the list threatens to shorten, do you feel you are under performing if you do not refill it?

Truthfully, can any time management techniques work successfully with this approach?

Strange to tell, the solution lies far less in our ability to manage ourselves and far more in our attitude about ourselves. If we lack the external or internal mentoring which says I am entitled to slow down at times, I am allowed to spend time for myself, I can enjoy myself without feeling guilty because the truth is I make myself guilty – no one else does!

So it can be more than a relaxation issue. It can be one of perceived entitlement. We can have disentitled ourselves unwittingly too by turning this into a self-esteem and self-worth issue..

I would suggest to sufferers that they start by looking at their task list and doing a priority check. Ask yourself: ’Which task actually, truthfully and honestly is important to me in my life and which merely appears more urgent?’

This will help you to find that quality time for yourself.

Sir Gerry is a mentor and despite the time since it was first published recommends you read “First Things First” By Stephen Covey

Gerry is also an artist and an author of a cognitive novel in paperback called “Squaring Circles.” Details can be obtained from http://www.squaringcircles.co.uk

The Implications Of Good Teachers -v- Bad Teachers

If bad teaching is a grouse of yours, whether regarding your children or grand children or just generally and you re looking for evidence of the damage bad teachers can cause, then do please go to the link below. It reports the research of London School of Economics and Stanford  into good or bad teaching. Its results are chilling in their scale. The research was conducted for the Sutton Trust founded by Sir Peter Lampl an inspirational sponsor for educational causes

The impact of a bad teacher is equivalent to knocking half the pupils marks off their annual exam results.Conversely a good teacher could add 25-45% to the performance of the same pupils in maths exams.

Astonishingly, replace a bad teacher with a very effective one and that equates to providing an extra year's learning for the pupil.

I would want to pay tribute to and congratulate the thousands of great teachers in any school anywhere. But to the bad ones I would say, "Please be honest with yourself. If for no other reason, you'll  know you are not good because your heart is not in it anymore. Then have the courage to look for a different direction in life and free up your place for someone who can add dramatic value to the pupils lives".

Sir Peter says: "The single most important way to improve the UK's international performance is to improve the quality of its 400,000 or so teachers." I suspect this is relevant to a number of countries!

The link: http://www.fmwf.com/media-type/news/2011/09/focus-on-bad-teachers-says-report/

Gerry Neale
www.squaringcircles.co.uk

Here's A Thing! Chocolate Is As Good As Exercise!

For Chocoholics like me, this could be the best news if scientists have got this right! Apparently dark chocolate comes with chemicals in it which can stimulate the muscles just like exercising - if we are mice that is! It is all down to a plant substance called epicatechin.



http://www.meassociation.org.uk/?p=8073 Check out this link!#

Squaring Circles Author Gerry Neale is in Top Fifteen Of Ezine Articles Writers On Achievement

Squaring Circles: From The Dark Into The Light is Gerry Neale's first novel to be published recently, yet he has in the meantime become ranked 12th on Ezine Articles Directory out of well over a 1000 authors on the subject of Achievement. He has written nearly 70 articles on Psychology, Achievement, Goal-setting, Self Esteem, Happiness and other subjects. They all have a Cognitive Behavioural theme to them.

His Ezine Profile and Article List is available http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Gerry_Neale

He is a great advocate of the use of simple behavioural psychology to alleviate and even neutralise many behavioural issues and would like to see much greater emphasis made on this in schools as part of the curriculum.

For more details on Squaring Circles, go to www.squaringcircles.co.uk

Cognitive Factoid- Good Decision-makers Are Over S!ixty

University of Texas researchers have found cause for Employers to keep over-sixty year olds on the payroll. Over sixty people are better at strategic decision-making regarding the future as compared with those of university age. The younger group is better at making decisions which are designed to produce immediate results.

This stands conventional wisdom on its head. Previously it had been considered that decison-making ability tails off as people get older. The University researchers were not convinced and believed that previous tests had not allowed for the decision-maker taking future choices into account.. They wanted to test for this aspect, given how this so often effects challenges day to day.

Dr Darrell Worthy has written an article on it in Psychological Science and maintains that the understanding of older people is better on how rewards are structured.

Gerry Neale
www.squaringcircles.co.uk 

Cognitive Factoid On Chocolate Is Wonderful News!

Now! As an incorrigible chocoholic, what about this!

Any Chocoholic Attendees at the European Society of Cardiology meeting in Paris have just been given this wonderful news. Chocolate Biscuits and puddings could cut the risk of heart disease by a third.

A total of over 100000 people took part in seven studies which have then been analysed by Scientists at Cambridge University. Where in people they found the highest intakes of chocolate consumption they also found a 37% reduction in cardiovascular disease and a 27% reduction in strokes, as compared to those with the lowest intakes of chocolate.

I am sorely tempted to leave this factoid at that, but honesty dictates. They also delivered a health warning. The results have to be treated with caution. Commercially available chocolate is high in calories which if eaten too much can lead to diabetes and heart disease.

I am left wondering if a bar of good quality chocolate and a good walk is a solution!

I wish you well

Gerry Neale is the author of a novel recently published in paperback called "Squaring Circles" available from amazon.co.uk or the publishers www.pearlpress.co.uk The website about the book itself and reviews of it is www.squaringcircles.co.uk

Achieving Bad Habits – No Problem – You Can Catch Them!

What is more, you can even catch bad habits from the person you love. Who says? The University of Cincinatti, as a result of an intriguing study they have conducted which tests the commitment to achievement in particular and attempts at self-improvement in general. But watch out! You might choose and marry a partner for their good qualities which don’t rub of on you. However their bad ones could be catching almost as if you have been ‘infected’ by them!  And here is why.

It seems if your partner, wonderful though they are, is a food addict, the chances are disproportionately high you will become one too. Their drink problem could be yours for the asking. Your commitment to personal fitness could be first neutralised by their laziness and then eventually abandoned.

It seems that good habits in our spouses we don’t catch, but bad ones we do.

How was the research conducted and on whom? It involved married couples or those living together for between 8 and 52 years. It centred on their smoking, drinking, patterns of sleep, exercise and additional health habits.

Significant information emerged for all of us interested in psychology. Men are worse as a negative influence on their partners  than women. Yet both when faced with the manifestation of an unhealthy habit or activity in their partner, were reticent or reluctant to comment on it or draw attention to it. It was as though they were signalling their approval. It seemed that that this became a joint consent as one invariably got sucked in to the bad behaviour of the other.

The activity in gay and lesbian couples was more difficult to analyse because it seemed both promoted the bad habits equally.

What I find worrying here is what was not in the research but what could be extrapolated from this.

Imagine a child wanting to run for his or her school - and one day in the Olympics, and the class teacher is a couch potato. More than that he constantly pours scorn on fitness and health, labelling them fanatics.

Think then of how we as parents or grandparents can so easily neutralise the intent and commitment in our children and grandchildren to lead healthier lives. Our smoking or drinking or mere lack of respect for healthy habits could be equally damaging for them. Wouldn’t they too, just like the Cincinatti project proved, be reluctant to try to correct or even criticise their elders, then become complicit and finally prefer to indulge themselves too?

I do hope I am stretching the University findings just too far, but I fear I am not.

I take the message in this as- “Stay well and help find healthy solutions. Don’t become part of the problem however much it hurts for the ones we love.”

Sincerely, I wish you well

Gerry Neale

Sir Gerry Neale is a writer, mentor and artist. His first novel, “Squaring Circles” has been recently published in the UK in paperback (ISBN 9780956868824) It has a strong cognitive behavioural and spiritual theme. More information is available on www.squaringcircles.co.uk. The book is obtainable on Amazon (co.uk) and increasingly in UK bookshops. See other articles by him on http://psychologysimplified.blogspot.com 

View his mixedmedia watercolours on www.sirgerrynealeartprints.com

www.sirgerrynealeartprints.com

Cognitive Factoids - Avoid Stressful Relationships And Live Longer!

Three questions! First, suppose you have always been a happy and unstressed soul. Would you think you would be likely to outlive an unrelated, unhappy and stressed person? I think we all would! Second, if our circumstances changed and we chose to live with such a stressed individual, what then? Wouldn’t we be likely to die sooner and perhaps even a lot sooner? Again wouldn’t most of us say, Yes we would! Third and finally, if we had a stressful childhood, would our lives be shortened even if we then managed to achieve a much more peaceful adulthood? If we were Zebra Finches, then we would be absolutely right on all three answers!

Isn’t that really to be treated by humans as a bit of a laugh? The University of Glasgow would say no. Results have now been published in Proceedings of The Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. And clearly Professor Monaghan sees potential comparisons with humans.

In truth, if we had been told it about humans achieving longer lives, wouldn’t we have accepted it?

Zebra Finches form strong bonds with their mates and appear to respond to stress in the same way we do. In fact if they join with stressed partners it seems their life expectancy is four times worse than that of relaxed birds.

This discovery was aided by some chicks being injected with stress hormone for two weeks and monitored against those without, all being kept in a stress free environment.

After they had fledged it was discovered that not only those injected died sooner, so did the mates they had been placed with.

Extrapolation of these results shows how choosing a mate who helps us to avoid stress could help us as well as Finches to achieve longer lives!

But stepping back from the obvious difference between us, can we really be surprised? Already we have heard so much about the damage stress causes humans.

I have never subscribed to the school of thought which believes that all races of humans comprise such superior species and incomparable to all others on the Planet. Learning from animals can teach us so much on how we ourselves may have unknown latent powers.relating not only to our known senses, but like many animals, we may have others so far untried.

Experts are predicting we will be able to talk to dolphins within five years. Elephants and whales may follow suit. I may not live long enough to hear it or even witness it, but I predict we will discover in these animals an astonishing level of spirituality and wisdom compared with our own.

So all this is “not for the birds”! It is research we cannot afford to ignore.

Gerry Neale is an artist, mentor and writer. His first novel, Squaring Circles, has recently been published in Paperback and is already available on leading online sites such as Amazon (co.uk). The theme of the novel is how our spirituality, awareness of Nature and our emotions can dictate our cognitive behaviour. There are reviews and more information on the book’s website at www.squaringcircles.co.uk. 

His mixed media watercolours can be viewed on www.sirgerrynealeartprints.com

Psychology Simplified On Bringing The Best Or Worst Out In People

Read this newly posted article by Gerry Neale relating to how to behave more productively and change ourselves when dealing with contentious issues with staff and suppliers. Cognitive Mentors

Emotional Intelligence Phenomenon on LinkedIn

 

For those fascinated by developments in our awareness and understanding of human emotional intelligence, what about this! On Linkedin, as with many social networking sites, new groups are and can be formed. Yet surely none can be like the recent launch of the Emotional Intelligence Network which blasts through many misconceptions. From its launch only months ago, some 20,000 LinkedIn members have joined it and more flood in. So which misconceptions are hit?

One is: ‘Emotional Intelligence is not globally relevant and applicable!’ That has been rubbished by worldwide comments and support from members.

‘Interest in it will be job specific.’ Now, self-evidently that is a nonsense, for seemingly every walk of life has joined and expressed interest.

‘Isn’t it relevant only to specific races and creeds?’ That appears to be shot to pieces!

‘Isn’t an issue or interest in this limited to the Developed World?’ No, that seems untrue too from the most cursory check of location of members joining.

The reality is the human emotional apparatus as a phenomenon appears common to all across the world. What is also true is that some ignore it and others, like those LinkedIn members, cherish and nurture its presence within us.

Late twentieth century research into Intelligence first by Howard Gardner and his team at Harvard, particularly on Multiple Intelligences, opened eyes and minds to the full human condition. Then in the1990’s, acknowledging Gardners work, Daniel Goleman published his ground-breaking and best-selling book called Emotional Intelligence. This unleashed an unquenchable thirst for more and more information and tutoring. It has since become an essential primer for anyone interested in this subject and for many satellite cognitive initiatives which have been spawned or strengthened.

But it is not just our growth in understanding that is significant. What Linkedin participation graphically has illustrated is something very special. It is the willingness – and even the joy, of people across the World to share the belief that we can enhance the way we all interact with each other in relationships as partners, as parents & grand parents, as friends, as employers and employees, and as suppliers and customers.

The greatest prize will be to banish the most ill-founded mis-conception of all: ‘that our emotions have no place in our judgements and decisions!’ All aspects of our Intelligence need harnessing. It is clearly a multi-faceted asset we have and includes not just the Intellect, nor just the Emotions, and nor even just the human spirit, but much else.

And who knows what its joint exploration by like-minded and like-hearted people across the world could achieve! The more its study and practice becomes incorporated into the Curriculum of Life the more likely it is that it will benefit us all. Maybe one day we will even be able to detect and treat people successfully before they commit atrocities like that witnessed in Norway.

The extraordinary worldwide response to this group augurs well for us all.

By Gerry Neale 

Author of Squaring Circles www.squaringcircles.co.uk 

Published & available from Pearl Press www.pearlpress.co.uk 

Available direct from www.amazon.co.uk

Schools Are Failing Emotional Boys

Eton School Head, Tony Little, is to be complimented. He has fired the debate on childrens’ emotional development beautifully. To his great credit, he is urging those involved in education to take on board that boys can be more emotionally aware – and more vulnerable, than girls. Also he is championing the fact that just as youngsters come in different shapes and sizes, they can each carry their own level or intensity of emotional awareness. He urges too that boys need to be taught differently to girls, even if educated in the same schools.

More importantly, he advocates that the level of a boy’s emotional awareness can condition the way he learns. He believes that boys reveal greater emotional reactions under stress. Also, boys perform better when they have one point of focus as a target. Meanwhile girls perform best when they are multi-tasking.   

My view is that teaching methods will have to change and change quickly to take heed of John Little’s comments, if more boys are to avoid becoming adults with inadequate emotional patterns in place. These will most often dog them throughout their adult life certainly until they have cause to re-visit and re-frame the patterns.

I believe education at school and university will have to become much more attuned to the emotional needs of the students. Subjective teaching of subjects in one form of intellectual presentation to whole groups will work less and less well. It has long been recognised intellectually that young people learn differently, one to another. Their emotional education and learning processes need to be incorporated into the curriculum in the same way.

More and more, research on human behaviour obliges us to accept the dramatic impact of human emotions on our learning processes, judgements and decision-making powers. Acceptance of the linkage of our emotional intelligence with our intellectual powers as human beings becomes unavoidable.

Reading, writing, and numeracy have long since been acknowledged as critical intellectual components to lay down the basic foundations on which students can build subsequent learning programmes. Now the ways we feel about learning new tasks will need to be incorporated too as a core emotional component.

The current disconnect between intellect and emotion in education has to be cured. To be more contentious still, too few in education are willing to accept that the inability in a student to read is as likely to be down to the way they are being taught rather than to any inherent disability. What has now come over the horizon is the challenging proposition that a students inability to ‘emote’ effectively is equally down to the way they are taught by teachers and parents - or perhaps more to the point, were not taught but in ignorance, copied their peers.

Gerry Neale

Author of  cognitive Novel ‘Squaring Circles: From The Dark Into The Light’
Available at www.amazon.co.uk

What Is The Invisible Killer of Self Improvement Techniques Sometimes?

One may ask, why don’t self-improvement systems always work for me? Aren’t they most often well- reviewed books or courses and don’t they clearly work well for many people? And why doesn’t a particular one I have bought work, when I really, really want it to work?  Is the invisible killer lurking in that book or course?

No! I would wager it is lurking within yourself.

Does it mean my wish to adopt the new skill or process is lacking?

Most often, no, because clearly you do want to change.

Could there be some obvious reason guaranteeing my failure which only I have not recognised?

Again, most often, No! It is likely that no-one else has spotted the real reason either.

Then, you might ask, is it simply because the key to achieve the change does not lie in the book or the course? Doesn’t it lie in my head and my heart? And what has been lacking previously is the full hearted and total intellectual commitment to it. Without that, isn’t  that why I have not succeeded in past attempts?

Yes that is closer to the hidden truth!

But before you rush back to the self-improvement material with not only a new-found  zeal but with your will energised to make it happen this time, there is a formal caution. Please do not think applying all the will you can muster will do the trick. It may briefly, but as soon as you relax the will, your particular normal behaviour will return and the possibility to sustain change will slip through your fingers. So, personally, I would not recommend that approach!

So let’s look at where that leaves you? I suspect that you believe you have acquired the detailed tutorial system as to how to solve a current emotional or financial issue. More to the point you believe you have satisfied yourself that that system involved is effective and workable. And now you really want to solve your issue in order to rid yourself of the inhibitions your current situation causes you. So, you might go back to square one and say that all I need to do now is read it diligently and then apply it

But haven’t you tried to do just that before and it didn’t work?

The surprise is that the invisible killer to self-improvement techniques most often resides within us; it has been harboured by us very often for years and relates to one or more cognitive issues of self-image, self-worth, self-esteem,.or even believe it not spirituarity

So how can one best address this?

As acknowledged, intellectually, we can see our current problem perfectly clearly. Equally we can see how, if adopted by us, the self-improvement technique would work and provide us with a solution. But emotionally or spiritually it is different. Deep inside, we could have a different problem which is handicapping us.

It is this. To acquire the self-improvement technique could put us so far out of a largely sub-conscious comfort zone. We were barely aware of its existence until the current situation unearthed it. No matter what, and no matter how hard we read or study, we are somehow neutered by this.

Consider this! Suppose the new technique is a wealth creation system. Maybe our family was never wealthy, in fact it eschewed wealth creation and counselled a frugal life. So, maybe consciously as a young person we wanted to change all that, but sub-consciously we did not. Why? Because we did not want to be seen to be disloyal to that long-standing family culture.

Maybe the self-improvement technique we have obtained is in itself a self-improvement technique which can be made available to others. Neverthless we have this sub-conscious doubt that if we cannot learn it then nor will they. So as we study, we are actually always doubting and questioning.

Maybe it is admitted by the creators of the technique that it is very profitable largely because so many people buy it although very few actually apply it. While for some that is no issue, ( they say: it is not for me to make a judgement about whether the purchasers adopt it or not’) for you it may be different. Maybe you are not comfortable about that. So your actual buy-in and commitment to the technique is muted and fails.

Of course it could be more simple still. It could be that you want to change, but you have a nagging doubt and lack of any sense of self-worth to pull it off.

I would suggest that you reflect quietly and honestly at the outset. Imagine you have completed the self-improvement. Visualise it completely and in your mind and your heart assess how you feel about that. Notice how little emotional indicators will pop as feelings you can identify. They could be intense or minor.

My advice is that you feel those feelings and decide on one of two outcomes.

First, if the feelings are not all-enveloping or traumatic, then take a deep breath and get cracking on the new technique, silencing yourself when the negative feelings reappear.

Or second, accept the feelings amount to a real emotional block. On that basis, it is best to investigate the origin. So take the preliminary step of seeking out advice or a book on that block before embarking on your main solution.

One amazing feature of our age is that there is not one single narrow aspect of Life that there isn’t at least one book written on it. So obtain it and first enjoy the sense of self-discovery as well as the later and more likely acquisition of your new skill or solution.

Good luck with it.

Gerry Neale

Author of Squaring Circles - A Novel of Self-Discovery www.squaringcircles.co.uk
Available at www.amazon.co.uk

Productivity Shrinks In The Summer!

 Who Says So? Research by Prevalin Allergy Nasal Spray reported in the Daily Telegraph shows we are more easily diverted from the job in hand in the Summer Months - June to September - than we are in the colder Winter months.

It seems the warmth makes us gossip more! And we find it more difficult to concentrate. Perhaps more troubling is that interviewees admitted in many cases that they really worked only one full day in each week of the Summer. They confessed to switching off for the rest of the week.

Day dreaming increased, as did attempting to leave early when the sun was shining. People surfed the web more.

The message for the substantial but increasing minority who work from home, is that the response from large customers or suppliers could be less quick in the summertime. If we want action from them, maybe we need to be on their case earlier in the process to allow for delays.

We are ourselves may notice our work habits change! Can we claim to be entirely immune from this reaction to the Sun, to longer and warmer days. Maybe having a clear action plan for the week, drafted on Sunday night or first thing Monday mornings could help to keep our progress on track throughout the week

And actually making a merit of taking a walk in the sunshine can make us feel that we not exempted from enjoying it. Also I believe one important habit is making sure at weekends, particularly if the weather is good, that we really chill out for at least part of the time in a way we wish we could in the week. Really enjoy it and absorb it. We can then use this to remind ourselves in the week.

Gerry Neale
Author
Squaring Circles  www.squaringcircles.co.uk
Available at www.amazon.co.uk

Vital Need To Have A Work Ethic To Get A Job

82% of UK Employers Cite The Work Ethic As Key To Securing Entry Level Posts!

Teachers and University Tutors, please please note. Instilling in youngsters the reward to be had in the world of work of giving value to one's employer as well as receiving value for that work done is key to reducing UK unemployment. Coupled to this is displaying the right attitude.

Yes I know, there is an issue of parental guidance and example here too, but that should be even more reason for those involved in education to grasp this nettle. Many parents will admit ruefully that good advice to their child is so often more palatable when coming from a third party rather than a parent.

This survey by the Centre for Social Justice - a Think Tank - has to be  a wake up call for all those who can influence the future of first time entrants into the world of work. Adopting low expectations from them, sloppy application to tasks set them and adopting a generally lax attitude to them does nothing to prepare them for work in the real world. And it has to be said that educators who do try to encourage the right approach by their students need applauding not lambasted for trying to create some form of 'elite'.

As indicated in the report, failure does not mean inadequate school and university leavers are getting jobs but merely contributing less than they should. They are simply not getting jobs! And they are being beaten to often by immigrants nursing no illusions. They know that if you want a job in todays' economy, you need to deliver value and adopt the right attitude. 

Gerry Neale

Author  "Squaring Circles"www.squaringcircles.co.uk
A Cognitive Novel Published by Pearl Press www.pearlpress.co.uk
Available from www.amazon.co.uk

Cognitive Factoids! Theory Questioned that One Lazy Worker Can Ruin The Team

A research project by the Australian School of Business at the University of New South Wales claims one lazy member can ruin a team. 158 students in 33 teams took part in their study. What differed in this research to previous studies was the degree to which it looked at the individual personalities and their contribution to overall outcomes. It was clear to them that one lazy member was enough to drag down the team's performance. However the Deputy Director of Coaching Psychology at the University of Sydney expressed caution. Dr Michael Cavanagh warned that while individuals could affect a team like this, it is the nature of the relationships between the team members that will affect the outcome. "Relying on any one factor to fully explain these dynamics is a dangerous game!" He said.

Gerry Neale Cognitive Author of "Squaring Circles"
http://www.squaringcircles.co.uk  for more information on the novel and the Author
Gerry Neale's Blog on Squaring Circles
Available from www.amazon.co.uk

What About This!

 

The Brains of People Living In The Country Are Different To Those In Towns!

Country people are less stressed. Those born in towns seem more susceptible to stress and moods. Research has revealed that the brains of country people work differently to those in towns. Different parts of their brains cope with stress. Anxiety disorders were found to be far more prevalent in towns and cities. This was deduced from comparative brain scans of city and rural dwellers.

This information found by a mental health institute in Montreal Canada prompts some interesting lines of further research on town planning and housing layout.

Squaring Circles: What Does It Mean Emotionally?

 We can feel emotionally disturbed to such an extent that we cannot find any sense of stability at all, This can be hopelessly disorientating, and yet can have far more to do with strategies we put in place as children, which are no longer suited to the trials and tribulations of adult life. Stuck in this state, we seem to go round and round unable to square our feelings with our predicament and so unable to come to terms with it. Only by investigating those childhood patterns can we hope to live more happily, with our emotions and intellect operating in concert, side by side. 

"Squaring Circles." A Novel By Gerry Neale available www.amazon.co.uk  
ISBN 9780956868824 
More information on the Book and the Author go to www.squaring circles.co.uk

Help Is Coming To Enable Us To See Better How We Can Change Our Emotional Responses

There should be an announcement on this blog in the week of the 20th June 2011 which should lead to beneficial reading!