Tips for Success

Tips for Success

1. One of the really cool things I am learning right now is the power of reinforcement. Reinforcement is a very Skinnerian concept - originating from the work of BF Skinner, a pioneer in the psychology of behavior. He is the originator of operant conditioning. This concept of his has to do with how an organism's "emitted behavior", is reinforced to produce additional behavior of the same sort. For instance, you "catch" someone doing something you like, or desire, and you immediately say or do something which will cause the person to do that behavior again.

2. In bringing this concept into daily practical living, I observe that our conversations are key. We can either choose to use our conversations to reinforce our planned and desired outcomes, or we can give in to the ethos communicated by the other party.

3. Let's use a current situation in the office place. Let's say that staff are de-motivated because of perceived injustice from the management. The work environment is now filled with scepticism and generally, a cloud of negativism hovers. And let's say that I have chosen to disregard this scepticism and negativism, and want to move forward in positivism. In my conversations with colleagues, I can deliberately put forth my positive views, and stand my ground there. What I can share with my colleagues is that there are somethings under our control, and we can choose to deal with it in a positive way. We can also choose to put ourselves into a positive environment by the company we keep.

4. Nothing beats the advise from Scriptures to "pray without ceasing, rejoice evermore, and in everything, to give thanks", or to "always give thanks for all things".

5. The secret is in training that "I" part of us to constantly make this choice to do the above. And so we need to spend time training that "I" part of us, or the executive decision making part of our being. And therefore, Personal Development is a life-long engagement.