Is There Anything Wrong with the Advice, “Just Follow Your Heart?” EQ 15 Reality Testing
One of the popular pieces of advice given to people who are trying to decide what to do, who to date/marry, where to live, what major to choose etc. is to “Just follow your heart.” How wise is this counsel? When someone advises another to do this, I believe they are basically saying, “Follow your.. read more →
“The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway” EQ #14 Optimism
You want to be that person, don’t you? Facing storms, facing cold you look forward with determination and resolve and exclaim in the face of it all, “the cold never bothered me anyway.” Those lyrics from the song, “Let it Go,” have been popularized by the Disney smash hit, Frozen. An important EQ quality, optimism,.. read more →
A Simple, Childhood Test that Might Have Predicted your Future-EQ #12 Impulse Control
I couldn’t stop eating treats! My parents said that when I was young if I had 25 cents in my pocket (equivalent to 1.5 RMB), I would walk the nearly twenty minutes to the candy store and spend it, as quickly as I could. Money never stayed in my pocket. I couldn’t save for something.. read more →
Why Are Employers So Obsessed with Finding Problem Solvers? EQ #11 Problem Solving
What are today’s employers looking for? According to the Job Outlook Survey conducted by the National Association of Employers (2013), the second most important quality, after leadership, is problem solving. Scientists note two different types of “distractions.” I’ll also note that these “distractions” could also be labeled, “problems.” They are sensory and emotional. Sensory problems.. read more →
Life is What Happens In Between Your Plans- EQ #10 Flexibility
A U.S teenager will change careers six times in their lifetime. That is not six job changes. This is six career changes! An overwhelming majority of Americans are not presently serving in careers that they sought through their university education. All this underscores the need for all people to comprehend that change is a part.. read more →
Want to be the happiest person on earth? Research says……..EQ 9 Interpersonal Relationships
Interpersonal Relationships A person’s degree of happiness in life is most critically determined by the depth of their relationships. I read research years ago that indicated this in a concise little book called, The Friendship Factor. So, our happiness is not mostly determined by our material possessions, our circumstances or even our career or prestige… read more →
The $10,000 Dollar Cinnamon Rolls– EQ #8 Social Responsibility
My family recently attended the funeral of a close friend of ours, Joan Middleton. Joan was a truly selfless person, seeking to make the lives of others better, up until her own death. Even while she was battling cancer she would lament that she felt so powerless not being able to help care for others… read more →
“Feeling” the American Dream……..with others. EQ #7 Empathy
One of the great joys I have had this spring is volunteering in a Teaching English as a Second Language Class. Thirty six students from thirty countries are represented in the class. Most are immigrants or refugees. Some were highly educated with great jobs in their home countries while others were illiterate. One thing holds.. read more →
Career Success is Very Seldom Based on Career Duress EQ#6 Self-Actualization
From youth I had a high amount of energy to do things that made me happy. Along with my friends we dreamed of being jet fighters. We couldn’t fly and we didn’t have equipment, so we improvised. We used bicycles for locomotion and put underwear over our heads for pilot masks (the leg holes of.. read more →
Lessons Learned While Pole Vaulting a Sewer– EQ #5 Self-Regard
Bob Seagren was an Olympic Gold Medalist in the Pole Vault. My brother and I were young boys, idolizing great athletes. After seeing Seagren pole vault so well, we decided we wanted to take a try at it ourselves. When you are a young boy and don’t have the fancy poles, track shoes, standards to.. read more →