8 Dimensions of Crisis Mastery
My work in the business world, that has included helping companies survive crises of all sorts, has revealed eight dimensions that distinguish those who respond well to a crisis from those who don’t. Your ability to reject the crisis mentality and cultivate an opportunity psychology depends on your developing these essential capabilities. Emotions. Emotions are the most primitive and visceral part of human functioning, emanating from the lower brain long before the higher-order cerebral cortex ever began to assert itself into our lives. Making the transition from the crisis instinct to an opportunity psychology begins with emotions. In other words, when faced with fear, frustration, anger, or despair, you have to keep from being overwhelmed by these negative emotions before you can do anything positive. Easier said than done, of course. Do you feel threatened or challenged by the crisis? Are you stressed or calm? And do you feel like a victim or a master in the face of the crisis? Mindset. Once you have your emotions under control, your mindset is the next step in changing a crisis mentality into an opportunity psychology. Unfortunately, a crisis, and activation of the primitive brain, tends to turn a mindset immediately and powerfully negative, which can then create a destructive self-fulfilling torrent. Do you interpret the situation as a crisis or an opportunity? Are you despairing or do you have hope? Is your thinking rigid or agile?
Read MoreRaise Children, Not Consumers
Popular culture, few could argue, attempts to manipulate your children’s needs and wants and motivate them to buy food, toys, clothing, electronics, and other products that have no redeeming value, are unhealthy, or send them the wrong messages. Popular culture is big business, to the tune of $1.2 billion a year in advertising in 2010, a double-digit increase over 2009. Research has also shown that children have influence in their family over the food and drink purchases of $100 billion each year, much of it unhealthy. Popular culture wants you to raise consumers, not children! The line between entertainment and advertising is becoming increasingly blurred. For example, The Hub, a television network aimed at children that has a 50 percent ownership stake by the toy manufacturer Hasbro was launched in 2010. Commercials aside, this channel’s programming is basically a direct marketing platform for selling Hasbro toys. Additionally, the recent technological advances have enabled companies that market to children to create “supersystems” around their brands that incorporate 360-degree multimedia universes devoted exclusively to selling their products that include television shows, web sites, YouTube videos, fan clubs, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, and video games, as well as traditional advertising. As Robert Iger, the President of Walt Disney, comments, “Reaching dramatically and deeply,…” has allowed Disney to, “...enter the hearts and minds of people all over the world.” Do you really want Disney and the like to enter your children’s hearts and minds? I sure don’t.
Read MoreLatest News: Invited to Speak at International Sports Conference in Qatar
I have been invited to speak at the Aspire4Sport International Sports Conference to be held in Doha, Qatar (the host of the 2022 soccer World Cup) on November 12-14. I have been asked to speak on the role of sport psychology in maximizing athletic performance. I will also participate in a panel discussion exploring the […]
Read MoreParenting/Education: Play, not Flashcards, Promote Healthy Academic and Life Development
A great read that invalidates the current parenting and educational zeitgeist of rushing children into academics. As the article describes, play, and the life and cognitive skills it teaches, is the best predictor later educational attainment. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/23/simon-says-dont-use-flashcards/ The lessons to be learned: Put away the iPads and flashcards, fire the tutors, choose preschools and kindergartens […]
Read MoreParenting: Parents Must Step Up to the Technology Challenge!
It’s hard enough these days for parents to even keep up with all of the latest technological developments. It’s even harder to stay informed of the latest research on the effects of technology on our children. In our already incredibly busy lives, it’s downright exhausting trying to stay abreast of what technology our children are […]
Read MoreTechnology: The Growing (and Dangerous) Gap Between Information and Wisdom
The Internet is a truly remarkable advancement in our ability to access information. Just about anything we could possibly want to know is now just a few keystrokes away. But , as with most technological innovations, for every benefit to our lives, there is a potential cost as well. With the universe of information now […]
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