Tuesday, February 27, 2018

The Lost Art of Criticism


The Lost Art of Criticism


But a lot of these people openly criticize newly released movies without real concrete reasons to back up their points of view. Most of the time, people only see things from a personal perspective and their own feelings about it rather than forming different perspectives and providing a critical structure towards the film. Criticism is an art but an art that’s getting lost in a sea of personal opinions.
Roger Ebert was the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. The Pulitzer Prize for Criticism is a prestigious award presented since 1970 to critics who have demonstrated ‘distinguished criticism’. Ebert won due to his “relative, not absolute” critical approach to films.

In other words, when he reviewed a film, he did it from the point of view of its prospective audience as well as the film’s value as a whole.

The Damage of Biased Opinions

We all have opinions and like to express them and the internet makes it much easier for more people to voice their strong points of view. There are many people who are more informed or knowledgable than others but this isn’t a ticket to being right with their opinions. It’s still subjective criticism if it isn’t done in a professional and trained way therefore bias rears its head in most cases resulting in a limiting, single perspective.

Bias is natural for us and hard to rein in. In neurological terms, the brain has limited information processing capacity.1 This means we actually believe we know more than we actually do and we have a tendency to embrace only information that supports our own belief and so “confirmation bias” is formed. This allows many of us to enter a state of assumption or relying on common ‘facts’ to back up our belief without seeking disconfirming evidence. It’s in this state that we create the “I’m right and you’re wrong” way of thinking.
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Average Couples See Chores as a Cornerstone, Happy Couples See Them as the Gem Stone
RELATIONSHIPS
Published: November 02, 2017

Average Couples See Chores as a Cornerstone, Happy Couples See Them as the Gem Stone


Chores may seem trivial, but are a big deal

After faithfulness and sex, sharing household chores is one of the most important components of a successful marriage.1 Many people hold a perception that a healthy relationship centers around the major milestones. Engagement, marriage, romantic dates, anniversaries, and gift-giving are obvious points of discussion in our relationships. These are big things because they seem to have the greatest impact on our lives with our significant others.
Some may think that it’s better to talk about work, what’s on TV, or what’s happening over the weekend instead of devoting some of the conversation to cleaning the house.

But think about it, about 80% of our lives are made up of chores. Everything–from what you eat to what you wear to how clean your house is–comes down to how proficient we are with our chores.
To put it into perspective, think about how much time you spend doing basic things like feeding yourself. If it takes you an hour to make a meal and you eat three meals every day, you’ll spend three hours on meal prep daily. Over the course of 365 days, that comes out to 1,095 hours, or 45 days in the kitchen.
Even those clothes on your back create a serious time commitment. If you spend an average of an hour per day on washing and ironing, by the end of one year, you will spend 15 days on laundry. Cleaning your house for three hours per week takes 156 hours of your year, which comes out to nearly 7 days.
From these few tasks, we’re spending two months per year on chores. This isn’t even considering other duties such as child care, lawn care, or vehicle upkeep. If couples can’t agree on the chores, that means that they will spend at least two months of their year resenting their significant other for their lack of contributions to the household. Without a plan, the chores can quickly become overwhelming for at least one partner. Whenever there’s an imbalance, the relationship suffers.

Happy couples run a household like a business

Instead of waiting for the dishes to pile up, and allowing the resentment to stack up along with them, couples should enter into a business agreement about chores. The “business” is making a couple’s home run efficiently so that both of them can live happily in it.

Usually when couples don’t talk about the chores, one person ends up doing most of the work. They wind up managing the finances, making repairs, cooking, and cleaning. This is exhausting, and even the best partner is prone to becoming overwhelmed or making mistakes.
When one partner feels under-appreciated, he or she might lose motivation to continue with the business of running the household. This sentiment will ultimately erode the partnership.
A fair distribution of responsibilities will help the business run smoothly. Both partners will feel that their needs are met, and they’ll be happy.
The first step in all of this is shining light on what you both do around the house. Chances are, you and your partner are both contributing to the household, but you don’t even realize it. When you show one another what you’re doing to make the house work, you can use chores to help you play as a team.
As the 5th and final stage of a romantic relationship, playing as a team makes you to unite as a common front. As a unit, you can work to achieve a happy, organized, and loving household. Read more about the 5 stages of love here: There Are 5 Stages Of Love, But Sadly Many Couples Stop At Stage 3
The process of figuring out who should do each chore will differ based on the couple’s needs. Both of you will need to decide on responsibilities at home, and it doesn’t matter whether you are the boss at work or the entry-level worker. You leave your rank at the door and become a business partner with a vested interest in your household as soon as you get home.

Talk about chores, bond with chores

I have a few tips to help couples to establish the ground-rules for the business of keeping up their house.

1. Be clear about what needs to be done and when.

The more specific you are about what needs to be done, who will be doing this, and when it needs to be completed, the better. Each partner needs to talk about their expectations and priorities for the household. In addition to thinking about basic things like the who/what/when of doing the chores, spend some time talking about why it’s important to do these things and how the tasks should be completed.2
You both may have different expectations, and this could be a cause for bickering down the road. Prevent problems by talking through chores in detail. Make a list of what needs to be done, and identify which chores are the most loathsome for each partner. You can compromise so that neither of you is stuck doing chores that you can’t stand.
You wouldn’t run a business without discussing the various aspects of it’s day-to-day operation with your partner. When it comes to running your house, you should be just as explicit about what needs to be done.

2. Review and adjust your plans as necessary.

If you were running an actual business, you and your partner would work together to maximize strengths and work around weaknesses. You’d divide labor to get the best results. It’s worthwhile to periodically discuss whether you are accomplishing your tasks in the most efficient way possible. It works the same for chores.

Making a plan is only half the battle. You’ll need to revisit your plan from time to time to make sure that it’s still working. For example, if you partner has to work late on a major project this week, you might agree to temporarily take on more chores to assist.
Checking in with one another prevents frustration. If you can work together to get more work done in an efficient manner, it’s going to make your relationship stronger.

3. Take time to acknowledge effort.

In business, leaders know that acknowledging hard work builds loyalty and mutual respect.3Loyalty and mutual respect are powerful components of a healthy romantic relationship as well. So at home, couples should acknowledge each other’s effort too.
Show your appreciation when your partner keeps up his or her half of the bargain. When you express your gratitude over the effort your partner exerts to make your home a nice place, you make them feel appreciated and motivated.

Run the chores or the chores run you

Instead of letting chores get out of hand until one partner grudgingly does them all, come up with a plan. Together, you and your partner can establish expectations that will lead you both to have a more comfortable home, and a more supportive relationship.
Chores may seem like little things, but they have so much influence that we ought to consider them big things. Work as a team to figure out how you will clear these tasks from your schedule in an efficient manner. You’ll have more time together, and you’ll appreciate one another more if you treat your household like a well-run business.

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The Art of Not Knowing

The Art of Not Knowing

But the work landscape has changed.
In today’s workforce, having in depth expertise is less valuable and has become a distant second behind potential. A person’s potential and capacity to learn is more important and far more valuable than encyclopedic knowledge on a particular topic.

The Beauty of Not Knowing

The birth of the internet created a huge shift in the information paradigm. Now, information, data and knowledge are literally at your finger tips. The impact of the information sharing on every level and subject, which is readily available 24/7, is a remarkably wonderful double-edged sword.
Things that were privy only to certain people and shared within closed circles is now accessible to all. If you want to know —you can.
The amount and magnitude of information available is overwhelming and incomprehensible. It has become almost impossible to be a true “subject matter expert.” The paradox is that both everyone and no one is an expert.
The shift in information sharing has also impacted workplace norms. Where it used to be frowned upon and taboo to use the words, “I don’t know” in a professional environment, it now has become acceptable and expected. Today people are hired based on their ability to process information not to memorize it — which is a far more remarkable and better use of the brain.
Our brains have gone from being storage containers to multifaceted microprocessors. Your ability to gather, comprehend, evaluate, synthesize, apply and create new information is your most attractive attribute — not your current knowledge base.2

Embracing “I Don’t Know”

The quicker you embrace the fact that you don’t know everything about anything, the better off you and those around you will be. You will unburden yourself of undue stress at work and you shift your brain into a continuous state of learning.
The value in embracing and saying “I don’t know” lets you off the hook and helps reduce all of the misinformation pervading our information system. The truth is, your boss doesn’t care whether or not you can produce information on the spot, he or she is more interested in whether or not you can find the correct information quickly and apply it properly.
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Great Leaders Remember to Offer These 10 Things All The Time
PRODUCTIVITY

Great Leaders Remember to Offer These 10 Things All The Time

1. Remember to offer leadership by example.

The hallmark of a great leader is leading by example. Practice what you preach. Your actions can be a powerful source of motivation or demoralization to the team. Be mindful and let your actions send the message that you believe in your own directives. Remember teams create a work ethic that imitates their leader’s work ethic.

2. Remember to offer opportunities for growth.

We all want to learn new things and grow and develop in our jobs. Great leaders know this and offer opportunities for growth and development all the time. Be the first to create and/or point out areas for growth, depending on prevailing circumstances, individual interests and skill requirements. This will not only motivate your team to apply themselves, but also ensure no one stops growing or becomes extraneous.

3. Remember to offer positive energy and inspiration. 

Great leaders create a positive and inspiring work environment and culture all the time. These leaders use their executive presence not to threaten or intimidate, but to encourage positive thinking and attitude at work. Offer this positive energy and inspiration by encouraging everyone to be themselves and freely voice their opinions and suggestions without fear of reprimand. You will earn the team’s respect and boost their overall productivity, innovation and job satisfaction this way.

4. Remember to offer continuous (and constructive) feedback.

Great leaders remember to offer continuous and constructive feedback all the time. Feedback shows the team the leader cares and is paying attention. It also helps build and improve other people’s strengths and abilities. Give constructive feedback continuously without resulting to personal attacks. It will earn you respect, trust and performance.

5. Remember to offer kindness and consideration.

Kindness begets kindness. If you offer kindness to those you lead, they will in turn offer kindness to those they work with and serve, including clients and fellow employees. Great leaders know this and use kindness to build a healthy and productive work environment for all. Be kind and considerate to your team even when they screw up. Don’t be harsh and bashing them too much, otherwise they will hate you and their job for it.

6. Remember to offer patience and sanity.

Great leaders are patient and encourage their team to also exercise patience. They remind the team patience is a virtue because many projects will take time to develop and complete. Sometimes it will take more than 24 hours to find an answer to a single problem. Instead of being agitated and angry, let the team come together, brainstorm and agree upon reasonable solutions and time expectations. This will maintain harmony and bring sanity in the team.

7. Remember to offer fun and humor.

Laughter is medicine to the soul. It strengthens bonds and can heal deep seated resentment in the workplace. Great leaders use both laughter and humor to defuse tension and encourage creativity. They offer moments of fun and humor all the time because these moments often make stressful and challenging situations seem less daunting. Organize fun activities for your team and let those who can crack ribs do so freely to put things into a humorous perspective. Of course, this should all be done within the boundaries of proper ethics and mutual respect.

8. Remember to offer order and respect.

People achieve more where there is a clear course of action characterized by order and respect. Great leaders, therefore, offer order and respect all the time. They make everyone feel valued and their skills and knowledge required for success. They extend basic courtesies like friendly greetings to everyone from the cleaning person to the top executives because they respect them. Treat everyone like an adult and don’t try to micromanage and dictate to them. Respect their personalities, judgment and knowledge and they will feel obliged to make their individual input count.

9. Remember to offer help and encouragement.

Great leaders are proud to offer support and encouragement to their team. They help whenever they can and encourage those they lead to keep moving and not give up because they genuinely care. Offer help and encouragement with a cheerful heart whenever your team is feeling down. Remind everyone why you have faith in them and why they are the best for the task, especially when you notice people are running out of energy. Just be that listening ear and helping hand your team needs.

10. Remember to offer praise and gratitude.

Great leaders remember to praise and express their gratitude for the efforts others make on their behalf. They know they would not be the leader they are without the people they are privileged to lead. As a result, great leaders humbly offer gratitude and praise all the time. Praise is an acknowledgement of positive deeds. Say “thank you” even for small things like someone holding the door for you. This reinforces positive behavior and proves you appreciate. Don’t be afraid to hold the door for others, as well. Those little, thoughtful things are the marks of a truly great leader.
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