Why Lifelong Learning Leads to Success

Whether personally or professionally, success is something that people strive to achieve their entire lives. Since success looks different for everyone, finding it can be a challenge that you can only overcome through hard work. In a world that is constantly changing at an incredible pace, becoming a lifelong learner can boost your chances of success.

 

Builds Your Skillset

 

The more skills you have, the better chance you have to become and stay employed when it comes to the workplace. Discovering new learning opportunities is the key to increasing your skillset.

 

If you are a lifelong learner, you can increase your level of knowledge and skills to the point where you are more marketable to future employers. In addition, if you are already employed, your potential for advancement is more likely if you take the time to learn new skills.

 

It is important to keep in mind that you should continue pursuing knowledge even if you get promoted to a significant position. This is especially true in a marketplace where things change so rapidly.

 

Increases Your Ability to Communicate

 

Communication is a key factor in creating the success you desire in your personal or professional life. This is because it allows you to send information out into the world and understand the world around you.

 

If you are a lifelong learner, you tend to gain knowledgeable information about various topics that you can then communicate effectively with others. Being seen as a source of valuable information is a trait that many successful people hold.

 

Good communication effectively comes from having confidence in various areas of interest. Additionally, when you are familiar with a topic, you will convey the information so that people will understand and can apply it directly.

 

Creates Opportunities

 

If you ask most people why they are not taking risks in either their personal or professional lives, they will probably say they are afraid of failing. This is especially true in the world that is moving at lightning speed.

 

Lifelong learning creates opportunities that you might not have had the opportunity to partake in prior. This is because by acquiring new knowledge and skills, you may seek out new career opportunities.

 

Employers are typically looking for people that have versatile abilities that will, in turn, be better for the bottom line of the company. People who are willing to continuously learn new skills are extremely attractive to businesses.

 

Overall, understanding that lifelong learning leads to success is vital for anyone wanting to boost their success. Taking the time to learn new things is a sure-fire way to show others that you are a great resource for knowledge.

 

We Often Learn Too Late That Priorities Are Important

What's the most important commodity in your life? It's time. You can never get back any time you wasted or spent inappropriately. A lot of us beat ourselves up when we think about all the time we've wasted in our past.

 

That's okay, as long as we've learned our lesson. It's a shame this isn't something that's taught early in life. Your parents might have told you as a child that you need to have a list of priorities. That probably didn't mean anything to you at the time. You were young and had your whole life ahead of you.

 

Then you blinked your eyes and winded up far removed from your childhood. You've got several decades behind you as an adult. You regret not having paid attention to priorities over the years.

 

You know that what you prioritize highly gets the most of your attention. This happens subconsciously and consciously. The person who prioritizes becoming wealthy above all other things is very likely to achieve that goal. His relationships may suffer, unless he places them high up on his list of priorities as well.

 

Have You Written down Your Priorities?

 

You don't have to do this with pen and paper. You can use your smartphone or your computer. That way you'll always have your list of priorities available. By the way, this should be something you review constantly. You're an entirely different person now than when you were younger. You're going to be a different person in a few years in so many ways.

 

This means you should constantly check your list of priorities and see if you've got them in the right order.

 

At the top of your list you want to jot down the things that are most important to you. When you first do this, don't worry about misspelling words or making complete sentences. You just want to get your thoughts down on paper. Prioritize the top 10 things in your life. These are your values. They are the things that are important to you.

 

When you're finished, rank them. Put your most important value or goal at the top. Look at the list. What do you think? What are you going to spend the most time on? 

 

Can you make a plan to spend more time and effort on priority number one than number five? That's what you should do, because your highest priority is the thing in life that is of the utmost importance to you.

 

Repeat the Process for the Next Few Days

 

Do the same thing again tomorrow. You want to do this because things may pop into your head that you didn't think about. You might think that won't happen with goals or values that are super important to you. Believe us when we say that it does. When you go through this exercise for three or four days in a row, you'll have a very clear picture of the things that are important in your life.

 

Then you can move forward with more focus and productivity. It's a shame this isn't taught to children. When it is taught, young people are so busy with so many things that they might forget the lesson. No matter where you are in life right now, take this to heart. Your actions create your reality and priorities can help you decide what receives the most action in your life.

 

10 Easy Ways to Develop a Lifelong Learning Habit

If you were to develop one skill to help you to get ahead in all aspects of life, what would it be?

 

Studies have shown that by far, the best advantage you can give yourself is to become a lifelong learner. Why? Because without learning, the mind stagnates.

 

Thankfully, becoming a lifelong learner isn’t hard. Below are ten easy ways to build a habit of learning that will serve you in years to come.

 

Commit

 

Unless you make lifelong learning a priority, you’re not going to enjoy success. You start with committing to change and then go from there.

 

Create a Personalized Learning Environment

 

True learning results when you take charge of your learning environment. Sit down with your mentor and make concrete goals. Set up a system that enables you to learn and a setting in which you can learn. Once you have this, you are truly ready to begin.

 

Read

 

Read books, magazines, news articles, academic journals, and anything that catches your attention. If it’s interesting to you, then it’s worth perusing. 

 

Keep a List

 

Have a question? Write it down. Come back to this list later and Google the answers. Let this become the jumping off point for learning new things.

 

Create

 

Create a project out of one of the things you find interesting. Set goals, give a timeline, and a final deadline to complete it. Invite others to take part in your project with you. You learn so much more when you collaborate. Create milestones and celebrate each one on your road to completion.

 

Socialize

 

Hang out with smart people who also enjoy learning. These will become your encouragers and mentors along the way.

 

Become a Mentor Yourself

 

We all have something we’re good at and could teach. Your particular skill set might be what someone else needs to succeed. By getting involved in mentoring, you find yourself not only cementing the knowledge you already have but learning new things as well.

 

Try Different Learning Styles

 

If you’ve always thought of yourself as one kind of learner, try a new way to learn. You’ll stimulate your brain in new and exciting ways.

 

Study with Others

 

When you work with a group, it’s generally easier to learn as you can draw upon the base of shared knowledge. That, in turn, helps you to discover new things yourself.

 

Seek out a Job that Encourages Lifelong Learning 

 

The final step toward lifelong learning is to find work where you are encouraged to learn new things, and which continually challenges you.

 

Remember, building habits that lead to lifelong learning rely on repetition. Engage in these activities as often as possible, making them a part of every single day if you can, for optimal success.

 

Life Coaches Can Help You Deal with Adversity

When you discover a good life coach, they can help you with several aspects of your life. They will show you methods to overcome aspects of your life that are holding you back. They can also help you when you face adverse situations and can give you the guidance you need to help you pick up the pieces and get back on track.

 

They may start by teaching you to be positive and use techniques such as affirmations to retrain your brain to think positive thoughts. That is one of the biggest means to deal with adverse situations. It won’t prevent you from dealing with them, but it will help you focus on what is important. You need to practice these affirmations for them to be effective. It’s not a casual exercise that you do whenever the mood strikes. Make it a daily habit. Your mentor will know if you are not practicing them.

 

Prepare for your life coach to be truthful. The truth hurts, but it may be what you need to get past your situation. When you get caught up in blaming others and not taking responsibility, they will be quick to point this out to you. A good coach will present it in such a way that you will come to the conclusions yourself. And that makes it easier for you to accept and counter the action.

 

When you decide to use a life coach, don’t blame them if it doesn’t work out. That is, of course, assuming you chose a qualified coach. It’s not difficult to find a good coach if you take the right steps. Ask friends and family. Do a bit of digging to learn about their background.

 

Coaches are going to encourage you to step outside your comfort zone. Most coaches will use this to help the people they coach break away from bad habits and form new ones. It is called a comfort zone for a reason. It will be awkward, and at times, you may get angry at their suggestions. 

 

If the adversity you are dealing with is from the result of a traumatic experience, a life coach may not be qualified to handle such a deep situation. In this case, seek out a professional who has qualified in that area. You can still choose to use the life coach for other aspects of your development.

 

Why Is Mentorship Important?

Maybe you've been struggling a bit in life, and a friend or family member has suggested that you try out a mentor. You might be hesitant, wondering why a mentor is even important. But mentorship is important for several of the following reasons. 

 

Mentors Provide Knowledge

 

No matter who you are or what field you are in, you don't know everything there is to know. Even if your mentor is on the same level as you academically, they may have knowledge different from yours that could help you achieve goals both on the job and off. Having a mentor can also help shorten the growth curve when you take on a new project or set an ambitious goal. 

 

Mentors Can See Things You Can’t

 

One of the most difficult things in life can be clearly seeing yourself or your journey. A mentor can help with this since they can provide feedback about things you are doing from a third-party outsider's perspective. This can give you a valuable leap ahead when competing for a competitive position or another dream that depends on someone else’s selection to achieve. 

 

Mentors Offer Encouragement

 

Beyond just providing an outside perspective and giving you advice on decisions, mentors can also offer you daily encouragement. In fact, a good mentor will know you so well that they will know how to offer you the exact kind of encouragement that will get you going when you are stuck in a rut. This encouragement can help you to better stay on your path towards success. 

 

Mentors Introduce You To A Network

 

One of the other things that makes a mentor great is that they usually have a network of people behind them who are also available to you. They may introduce you to new people who can help you along your path. They may know people who can advise you in difficult situations. Either way, a mentor will introduce you to people who will be invaluable to your journey! 

 

Overall, if you find yourself struggling, it may be important that you find someone to mentor you. A mentor is a valuable person who can provide you with knowledge and help you see things that you normally can't. Not only that, but a mentor can offer you encouragement as well as introduce you to other new people who can be a great addition to your life. 

 

Achieving Success Through Career Coaches

No matter at what level presently you are in the career you have chosen; or maybe by default you have landed in that particular career; it is always worth it to consider the training and advice of a career coach. This would surely help you in reaching the next level and achieve success. 

 

Generally, career coaches would be referred to at only critical times. More often than not critical situations can be avoided by using a career coach. This as well forms a part of any ongoing program for personal development. In a lot of fields, preparedness and planning are a must have during critical times. 

 

It makes the progression of any career smooth if there is a regular use of a career coach. They help not only in finding a way to success not just in the current career but also if one is planning a career change soon. A professional coach could also guide you on the right path if you want your career to progress on a particular path keeping in mind ambitions like retiring early. 

 

The major area where a professional coach would make a difference is when you are trying to get a promotion. They can help with development and training, thus improving your conditions and pay. If the career coach you approach is experienced enough, they would help in more than one area and they may also encourage and advice by drawing on the experience he has had in his past from his clients. 

 

If the career coach is well trained professionally, he would bring long-term benefits that would be more than what you expect for the fee. Hence, investing in a professional career coach can be advisable. As well an experienced coach would help you to draw a chart of your weaknesses and strengths while helping you to focus on the main aspects you would need to achieve success. 

 

A few consultants, if noticing some potential in you, would advise you of career paths you haven’t even thought of considering such as starting a small business or trying consultation rather than a regular job. 

 

Before you select your career coach, it is advisable that you look around and make sure to compare qualifications, course charges, training and experience.

 

A Definition of Mentoring

When people say that “no man is an island,” they don’t only mean that no man or woman should live alone. That much-used phrase also refers to the fact that men and women are perpetually learning creatures: they need the help of someone to guide them through life, and to help them make wise decisions. Moreover, as these same men and women grow older, they also have the chance to be a guide for someone who is younger and less experienced than they. This need for people to feel connected, loved, and taught by someone better than they are has given rise to different concepts such as mentoring.

 

Mentoring, or the process of mentorship, is really a growing, strengthening bond that occurs between a mentor, who is more experienced, not necessarily older, but who is certainly wiser; and his or her protege, a mentee or someone who is less experienced and wise, and who therefore needs to be guided by the mentor. The concept of mentorship has long been known and tracked in history. In fact, it was Homer’s Odyssey that first gave rise to the term “mentor” through its character called Mentor, who, despite the fact that he is presented as a somewhat debilitated old man, is actually used by Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, to guide Odysseus’ son Telemachus through a difficult time in the young man’s life.

 

The concept of mentorship also takes various forms in different cultures and periods of history. The Ancient Greeks had the concept of pederasty, in which teachers could hone young men to greatness. The Hindu and Buddhist religions have the concept of the guru, where a wise, religious man serves as the spiritual guide of someone who is misguided or who needs to know the Truth. In Judaism and Christianity, the concept of discipleship forms both history and current practice, as clergy or deeply spiritual people guide their respective flocks or followers. Lastly, in the medieval guilds, an economic system was built in order for apprentices to learn from guild masters and thus ensure the longevity of their respective crafts.

 

There are many famous mentor-protege relationships in history. Take, for instance, the triplet of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, three great minds in philosophy who actually preceded each other. That is, Socrates was the mentor of Plato, and Plato was the mentor of Aristotle. Aristotle was even the mentor of Alexander the Great. The Christian faiths owe a good deal of their spread to the letters and preaching of St. Paul. In the music industry, the rapper Dr. Dre is mentor to younger rappers Eminem and Snoop Dogg. In the movie industry, the famous and late British actor Sir Laurence Olivier served as mentor for multi-awarded actor Sir Anthony Hopkins.

 

Even fiction has its own share of mentors and proteges. There are the Jedi knights of the famous Star Wars epics, where Qui-Gon Jinn mentors Obi-Wan Kenobi; when Qui-Gon Jinn dies, Obi-Wan Kenobi takes on Anakin Skywalker; Luke Skywalker, Anakin’s son, is mentored by Yoda. The master-padawan relationship in the Star Wars series is actually akin to that of a mentor and protege, not so much fighting or sparring partners.

 

In the employment arena, there are also mentoring programs to help employees do better. For instance, in new-hire mentorship, new employees are taken on by experienced persons in the company in order for them to work better and be accustomed to the company culture and climate. In high-potential mentorship on the other hand, existing employees that show promise are taken on by experienced persons who may be interested in seeing them progress higher through the company hierarchy. 

 

These are only a few facts that are associated with mentoring. There are many mentoring and mentorship programs available, and you can find out more about them through the Internet.

 

The Concepts of Mentoring, Coaching, and Directing

Being a guide for someone is definitely not an easy task. You have to be experienced and wise enough to be able to share knowledge and wisdom, and moreover, you need to be able to know how to share your knowledge and wisdom well enough in order to be completely understood. You also have to know how to approach people, how to empower and encourage them, and how to make them feel better about themselves without babying them. You also have to tread the fine line between cloistering people and keeping them away from the wrong path in life, while still giving them the chance to learn on their own by making a few mistakes on their way to greatness.

 

There are many different ways that you can be a guide to a potential follower, and it all depends on what you aim to do, as well as on how control you are willing to exert. There are three main paths that you may want to take as the guide, and you can do this through mentoring, coaching, or directing. Although these three different types of guidance are often mixed together or interchanged in both conversation and media, there are actually subtle differences amongst them that you need to understand and explore.

 

In mentoring or mentorship, you are dealing with a relationship between a mentor, who is more experienced, knowledgeable, and wise; and a protege, who is less experienced, probably (but not always) younger, and sometimes flighty and uncertain. A mentor will often be more prominent than the protege, or more skilled in a particular field. The mentor is then the teacher of the protege, and serves as the guide for the protege to do better in the field. Most often, a mentor will teach by example on the job itself: for instance, a mentor opera singer will have a protege who the opera singer will take on while the opera singer is at the peak of his or her career, and while the protege is just starting out. By emulating the opera singer, the protege will hopefully succeed one day as well.

 

On the other hand, coaching refers to a guidance process in which a person, acting as a leader, oversees a group of persons, or sometimes even a single person, with the aim of achieving a goal. Coaching differs from mentoring in that a coach will often be out of or done with his or her career already, and will therefore be teaching a younger generation based on his or her experiences. Another difference between coaching and mentoring is that coaching often has only a single goal in mind, while mentoring might be more abstract and widespread in its aims.

 

Coaching is most popularly seen in sports teams, where a person who has once been a good player is now helping other players to succeed in their game, and with the aim of as many victories as possible for the team. Another popular coaching technique is that of life coaching. In this case, a person is not necessarily dead done with life, and coming back to teach the living. Instead, a person is already successful enough and is probably ready for retirement, but is coaching other people in making their lives start to work. In a variant of life coaching, a person who has already faced all of his or her fears can also coach persons who are still living in fear, helping them to get over their anxieties and emerge as better people.

 

Lastly, the process of directing involves the instruction of a higher person to that of a lower person. In the mentor and protege relationship, the mentor acts as a guide, not as someone who makes orders; a guide will steer a student through to the right path, but not point it out directly. In the coach and team relationship, the coach acts as an encouraging person, and even as a trainer, but not as someone who directly tells the team what to do. In directing, a boss-employee relationship would be closer in definition, especially when the higher person is ordering the lower person on how exactly to live his or her life.

 

Effective Mentoring Relationships

The Mentor-Mentee Relationship

 

The role of a mentor is to aid the mentee in reaching his goals. While the mentor can certainly learn a lot from teaching and leading others, the relationship between the mentor and the mentee should be mentee-centered. So the mentor should listen, guide, and even challenge the mentee to do his best in his job. 

 

The mentorship program requires frequent contact between the mentor and the mentee for the communication line to remain open. Mentoring is an interactive relationship wherein both parties can contribute to each other’s grow as a person. You should take note that mentoring is far different from counseling and neither is it being buddies because mentoring is a tool that is used for personal and professional development.

 

Formal and Informal Mentoring 

 

Anyone can be a mentor or a mentee without joining any mentoring program. For example, just riding a bus and then conversing with a stranger can be a form of mentoring if you learn something important from him; this type of mentoring is known as informal mentoring. Informal mentoring usually just occurs even if you don’t plan it, this can be just as important as a formal mentoring program. 

 

On the other hand, formal mentoring is having an acknowledged relationship between the mentor and the mentee. Formal mentoring would require the commitment of time and effort between the two parties so that they can share and learn from each other. This type of mentoring program can be for a specific project or for a specified time period.

 

Finding a Mentor

 

Having the wrong mentor can be even worse than having no mentor at all. For this reason, everyone should take the time and effort to look for a mentor that will suit their needs, personality, and learning style. You need to look within yourself and the environment around you; then, ask yourself what you really want to learn. Oftentimes, you need to consider the following questions before deciding on a mentor:

 

•  Would the mentor provide me with good and accurate information?

•  Would he support me in reaching my goals and objectives?

•  Would he respect my dreams, my decisions, and my goal in life?

•  Would he challenge me when it is necessary?

•  Can the mentor actually be trusted?

•  Am I willing to listen to this mentor’s ideas and suggestions?

 

Asking these questions before you commit to a mentoring program is essential for you to reap the best possible benefit. It is also important to have a clear communication line between you and the mentor. Even at the start of the mentoring program, you already need to specify your expectations and your goal so that the mentor will know which direction to take. 

 

Ending the Mentoring Program

 

However, all good things must come to an end. You cannot continue with the mentoring program forever; sure, you can still communicate with your mentor from time to time but being in a commitment to be each other’s mentor and mentee can become more like a burden rather than a privilege after the mentoring program ends. 

 

Both parties should acknowledge what they have learned and thank each other for the time and effort that the person has spent for another’s well-being. Even after the mentoring program ends though, the mentor can still support the mentee and be there for the mentee when he is needed.

Tips on Successful Implementation of Mentoring

Mentoring, training and coaching programs for novice teachers are excellent ways to improve the quality of skills and knowledge of a new teacher, his job satisfaction, and his professional competence. These programs available for the new teacher are also effective means of enhancing the student’s abilities and the mentor’s skills as well. In many US schools, these mentoring programs are mandatory to ensure that the new teacher is fully capable of handing the classes.

 

In some schools, mentoring programs are instituted not only to prepare the new teacher for the job but also as a way of addressing the problem of teacher shortage. A recent news published on Contra Costa Times reveals that almost 25% of new teachers in California leave their job in their first four years of teaching because of lack of support from the administration and fellow teachers. Also, the mentoring program adds bureaucratic burden both for the novice teachers and their mentors. Apart from the additional responsibilities that are given to the teachers, there’s a lot of paperwork that needs to be accomplished. This includes preparing lesson plans, evaluations, and progress and accomplishment reports.

 

In order to ensure that mentoring programs are successfully implemented, here are some tips and pointers to remember:

 

• Eliminate unnecessary paperwork and requirements - this has been recommended by UC Riverside researchers after finding out that a lot of mentors and new teachers engaged in the program are complaining about the repetitive tasks and extra paperwork they need to accomplish. Aside from the fact that neophyte teachers are already overwhelmed by their new responsibilities, they are still burdened with lots of paperwork including preparing lesson plans, which usually consumes so much of their time. It is recommended that programs should focus on mentoring itself. The new and veteran teachers may engage in less taxing activities that would allow them to interact and share knowledge, skills and experiences freely. 

• New teachers must be matched with the right mentors - It is important for the new teacher and the mentor to interact without any inhibition. To be able to achieve this, the administrators must strive to match news teachers with mentors who share with them same qualities and interests. This would allow the new teacher to freely ask questions and ask for tips and advices from the mentor.

• Have separate evaluators - In order for the mentor and the new teacher to focus on their main tasks, they must be relieved from doing additional tasks such as evaluation of the program. A separate evaluator who shall meet the veteran and the new teachers to discuss the progress of the mentoring program may be assigned.

• Conduct regular assessment of the whole mentoring program - Campus-level administrators should not only evaluate progress of the newly hired teachers but as well as the whole mentoring, training and coaching program of the school, which includes the mentors capability to coach neophyte teachers, the process of mentoring, the students’ progress vis-a-vis to the new teachers’ progress during the program, and other forms of support and assistance given to the new teacher.

 

It is also important to determine the thoughts or opinions of other teachers about the program and its impact on their desire to stay or leave the school or the teaching profession. These things are vital to the implementation and improvement not only of the mentoring programs of the particular school but of others as well.

 

Peer Mentoring - Helping the Teens Beat Pressures of Adolescence

Teenagers are facing the most critical stage in their life - adolescence. At this stage, they experience the transition from childhood towards adulthood; in the process of transition, teens deal with lots of biological, emotional, social and psychological changes. Often, these changes make a life of a teenager miserable. There is a great desire to fit in, to be accepted for who they are, to find their true identity, and to realize their own strengths and weaknesses. This is where peer mentoring becomes a lot of help. It keeps the youth guided and makes them feel loved, cared for and accepted.

 

Features and of a Peer Mentoring Program

 

Peer mentoring is a kind of mentoring program, which matches older youths with younger ones. The former provide the latter with guidance, advice, and all forms of support they need to be able to meet challenges of adolescent life. The older youths do not only serve as mentors but as role models to the younger ones. They are not perfect but having been through the same stage and most likely, the same problems, predicaments, and challenges in their homes, school and community; they are in the position to provide friendly advice, positive influences, attention, and moral support to these younger teens.

 

Mentoring programs, either in schools, local communities, and youth organizations bear the following characteristics:

 

• Centered on the needs of the youth - Every peer mentoring program is designed to meet the specific needs of the teens to be mentored. Those who come from broken homes, for example, may need more time for counseling and recreation activities that would help them divert their thoughts on sad experiences at home towards happy ones. Those with academic problems may require more time for tutorials.

• Participants voluntarily join a peer mentoring program - A big part of the success of peer mentoring lies on the voluntary participation of the mentor and the younger teens. The student must not be forced to attend the peer mentoring program as this would only make things more difficult for him. The student must first acknowledge the need to have a mentor, someone who is older, wider, and more experienced than him. Only upon acknowledging this need can he actively participate in the activities in the mentoring program.

• Mentors are bound by the responsibility to keep things confidential - Trust is very important in building good relationship between the mentor and the student; thus, it is a must or the mentor to keep things that he and the student talks about confidential. Without trust, it would be hard for the person mentored to talk about the things he feels and thinks especially about very critical issues involving him, a close friend or his family. 

 

Joining a Mentoring Program

 

Joining a peer mentoring program starts with the eagerness to be a part of a support group or program that is aimed at creating changes both on the life of the mentor and the younger person to be mentored.

 

If you want to be a mentor, first you must be prepared in all aspects. Do you have a plan on how to conduct peer mentoring? Do you know what to do when trying situations arise? Do you have the patience necessary for you to deal with persons who might be going through tough moments in their life? How would you handle issues such as early pregnancy, divorce, and drug addiction? 

 

When you are ready, the next thing you should do is to look for a pee mentoring program that is suited to your interests. You can look for these in your school, local community and even online. You may also ask for your teachers, schoolmates, and friends’ recommendations. You can also ask the head of your local community church or youth organizations in your community or neighbouring areas.

 

Conduct and Self-Determination

Learning how to reform your conduct, which makes up your behaviours and habits, can help you successfully maintain self-determination. When you reform your ways, likely you will follow find the strength to advance into the future to find your success. Don’t waste precious time patronizing or allowing others to patronize you, rather find the positive, and use it to your advantage. You cannot change anyone but yourself. Many people make this major mistake in relationships. They often focus on changing their mate rather than changing their ways. The main thing you need to do is to hold on to your self-determination and reform your habits, learn to trust, and respect you so that you grow strong. 

 

Some beneficial conducts you may want to develop is a chaste. Chaste is a pure individual, innocent of lies, or other behaviours that create negative emotional charges. Thus, honesty is a policy you want to conform, relate, and stand up to make your skills stronger. Trustworthy is another good quality. When you demonstrate trustworthy to others, they will honour you and feel good about discussing issues they may have with you. You will find that people are more willing to follow your lead when you are trustworthy. 

 

Virtuous and honest person is someone with righteous qualities, yet not someone that uses biblical commands to their advantage. When you have virtue, you show upright conduct, moral traits, etc that makes others want to fall in your lap and ask you how did you do it? By developing these qualities, you will inspire others to join you. As people, we are by nature gregarious. By this, I mean we as humans will find it difficult when we isolate from others, especially if we are close with others. As humans, we need to love and feel loved. We have a need to express and show and seek companionship, yet our social skills are something we need to review to make sure others will welcome us. Again, you want to build chaste, virtues and other useful qualities that will guarantee take you to success. Therefore, you can develop self-determination if you are willing to work in harmony with the self. When you have synchronization, you can make anything happen. 

 

Moreover, when you focus on the here and now you boost your ability to use your common-sense. Practically, human development is a long process, so hang tuff, and hold on to self-determination. You may use common-sense to compare what your child will need to make you happy. For instance, compare a child to you so that you see the balance and medium of taking care of you, i.e., the equilibrium. Would you like to lie around in wet clothes? Logically, you would not. This is an example, since surely no loving parent is going to permit their child insufficient care by letting them rest in a wet diaper. Therefore, use common-sense when you are taking care of you. 

 

You may not realize it but if you are adjusting, you are dealing with some negative emotions buried in your subconscious mind. These fears develop and hide frustration, uncertainty and the fear of failure. By ignoring these emotions, you only set yourself up for failure. Turn this around by removing any doubts you may have. If you have doubts of your ability, reach inside of you and make an assessment to determine where the doubt is coming from within you. Spending time with you will help you to grow stronger and hold onto your self-determination. You can also ask someone you trust to help you reach inside to find answers. The person can give you some support. 

 

The Concepts of Coaching and Mentoring

Guiding people through the right way through life can be a daunting task for any person who is tasked to do it. A person who has to do the guiding has a lot of delicate balances to strike: he or she has to be strong enough to reprimand the person who is following him or her when that follower is not being obedient or is straying from the right path; on the other hand, he or she has to sometimes allow the follower the chance to stray, so that the follower can gain experience and thus be much wiser. There are many different things that a person has to do to guide his or her follower or followers, and these concepts of guidance are covered under coaching and mentoring.

 

The process of mentoring involves the relationship and bonding between master and pupil, a togetherness that is more commonly referred to as mentor and protégée. A mentor is someone who may sometimes be older, but who is certainly more knowledgeable, wiser, and perhaps even more serene and settled than what might predictably be a less knowledgeable, less wise, and flighty protégée. The mentor’s task is to be the guide for the inexperienced protégée: as the protégée learns more and more from the mentor, the protégée is farther thrust into greatness.

 

The mentor-protégée relationship has long existed in history, and has been glorified by pop media. There are also many different mentor-protégée relationships in the modern world. For instance, when an employee first enters a company or business, he or she is adopted by someone who has been in the company or business for a long while. Because a new employee might experience culture shock, or might not be prepared for the rigors of the current workplace, the mentor serves as a buffer and guide through how the company or business operates, making the transition easier for the protégée.

 

Still in line with workplace relationships, an existing employee might show potential as someone who could one day lead, or who could move on and be great elsewhere. In this case, a person experienced in the company could informally take on this employee and be his or her mentor. In this relationship, the mentor will teach the protégée the necessary skills to advance in the workplace, so that one day, the protégée might perhaps take the mentor’s place, advance elsewhere in the hierarchy, or move on to another company and do even better.

 

The concept of coaching, on the other hand, is quite different from that of mentoring. In coaching, a method is employed in which a leader or overseer directs the movements of a person or a group of persons. In coaching, the instruction and training given are done with a definite end goal in mind. The methods of directing people’s movements and thought process might include giving motivational talks. There are also ways to train people in order to make them perform better, such as through seminars or workshops, or through practice, such as those done by sports teams.

 

In mentoring, a mentor teaches a protégée how to live better or how to function better. In coaching, perhaps better seen as a more specific method of mentoring, the coach guides his or her team in order for them to meet an end goal. For sports coaches, this will mean victory in a game. For marriage coaches, this will mean a stronger marital bond. For family coaches, this will mean a stronger familial bond, between parents and children, and sometimes, amongst the children themselves.

 

There are many different kinds of mentoring and coaching, as well as different techniques associated with each. For more information, you can talk to professional mentors and coaches, or do more research online.

 

Breaking the Ice: An Important Part of Mentoring

When mentoring is mentioned, what comes into anyone’s mind? It could be Socrates and Plato. Or it could be Jesus the Christ and his disciples. Whether these men used ‘ice breakers’ to make their students feel at ease, we would never know. But for sure, ice breaking exercises open doors for both mentor and student relationship or student to student relationship. 

 

Mentoring is doing something valuable such as leading a less experienced individual to improve aspects in his life. It could be his faith, his skills or even simple time management. But even if you are the best mentor in the whole world, you would still need to break that barrier that comes with the stranger whom you will now teach. And this is the area where ice breakers come in.

 

An ice breaking exercise need not be an unruly game. In fact, it doesn’t always come in the form of a game. Sometimes, ice breaking exercises could simply mean the mentor introducing himself to his students and encouraging them to do the same. It could also be storytelling time for everyone. The main purpose is to make the students relax and feel comfortable. 

 

An effective ice breaker is one that suits its participants. A more serious group could feel at ease with open forums or storytelling while an active group could easily relax physical activities. Ice breakers should also avoid activities that coerce communication, games that are not related to the course, games that take too long to finish, or activities that foster cultural biases. 

 

In finding the perfect activities for a mentoring session, it is also important to consider the time factor. How long will the mentoring last? Would it take a week or two? Or will it only last for two days? You should be able to suit the activities to the available time that you have. 

 

Here are some tips on making your games or discussions much more interesting:

 

1. Be enthusiastic. Feel the game. You should be able to explain the mechanics with much liveliness in your voice. An important part of this is to know every detail of the game. You don’t want to be caught unaware that you are confused with the game yourself.

 

2. Experiment with a different game each time. Variety displaces boredom (which the mentor might feel once he gets familiar with the activity). 

 

3. Bring props. Funny props create funny moments. Make fun of anything except someone from the group.

 

4. Encourage each member of the group to participate. Don’t leave anyone out. But if someone is implying that he is still not ready to be open or active, then respect his desire.

 

5. The mentor should actively participate in all given activities and not watch from a corner after explaining the mechanics. 

 

6. Make fun of situations that are outside of the circle. Be careful of sensitive topics such as politics, religion, sexual preference, etc. 

 

The most important part of mentoring is achieving the student’s goal which is academic, religious or social improvement. Although ice breaking exercises are fun activities, they are still a necessary part of the mentoring program. In fact, it’s so important that it’s considered as the key that opens closed gates. With that in mind, participants should pay more attention and participate more on their next ice breaker.