Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
MTL
Maximising
Your Potential:
The E-Manual
Sampler
ManageTrainLearn,
KSA Training Ltd,
113, Main Street,
Spittal,
Berwick-upon-Tweed,
Northumberland,
TD15 1RP
United Kingdom
TABLE OF CONTENTS
3. Affirmations .............................................................. 7
4. Artistry ..................................................................... 8
1.
The A to Z of
Maximising Your
Potential
1. Action, signposts to
There are eight signposts of effective action which point us to our
goals. They are:
1. preparation, which includes tuning in, warming up and
concentrating on what we need to do
2. focusing, which includes single-minded immersion on the
desired goal
3. commitment to the end result, which means no unnecessary
U-turns
4. patience while things fall into place and come to maturity
5. persistence, which means not giving up when things look their
worst
6. learning, which means reflecting on experiences and drawing
useful conclusions for the next steps
7. breakthrough, which means reaching the moment when things
are more easy than hard
8. serendipity, which means finding things on our way that we
never expected.
2. Aerobic Exercise
Aerobic exercise can have beneficial effects on all parts of the
body:
· on the lungs Aerobic exercise draws replenishing oxygen into
the capillaries of the lungs and helps to eliminate waste
· on the heart A healthy heart beats less per minute than an
unhealthy heart. This means that it has less work to do and so is
more efficient.
· on the brain 40% of our blood supply goes to the brain and
feeds it oxygen. The more blood we produce as a result of
aerobic fitness, the more productive are our brains.
· on the muscles The muscles become leaner, finer and longer.
When they are strong, they also act as mini-pumps for the heart.
· other effects Other effects of aerobic fitness are that the
digestive system is massaged and cleansed; we sleep better; and
we feel psychologically better.
3. Affirmations
Affirmations are written or spoken declarations of your goals
used to keep your target in front of your eyes. They can be your
own personal reminder of your goal and are valuable when you
4. Artistry
When we grow and develop, we do not simply acquire new and
improved skills. We gain a depth of understanding that changes
who we are and how we see life: we reach artistry.
The apprentice knows the rules. The craftsman knows the rules
and performs the skills. The master knows the rules, performs
the skills, and sees the point. The artist knows the rules,
performs the skills, sees the point and understands the deeper
meaning.
We can all be artists. In "The Search for Meaning", Charles
Handy quotes a businessman who is awestruck by the
performance of a group of "ordinary people" in the French circus
troupe, Cirque Plume and wonders: "Why do we have to bribe
our people with so much money to work as well as this? Are we
missing something?"
5. As-if Practice
"As-if" practice sessions are rehearsals, no-hit batting practice,
dry runs. They are like fire drills which we run through regularly
to prepare us for the real thing.
· an entrepreneur who dreamt of owning a big house when he
was struggling drove to the gates of his dream house each day
as if he already lived there
· a supervisor who sought promotion to his boss's job when his
boss retired, dressed like the boss, studied problems like the
boss and treated staff like his boss did
6. Behavioural Goals
When we set goals for ourselves, they should be expressed in
behavioural terms, rather than in terms of status, rewards or
position. Behaviour is something that is fully within our power;
status, rewards and position are not.
Not: Billy wants to play for United when he leaves school.
But: Billy wants to be a top-class goal-scorer when he leaves
school.
Formulating goals in behavioural terms also means we present a
strong model of behaviour to our brains. We see it, hear it and
feel it. The brain, not knowing the difference between real and
imagined experiences, seeks to act in accordance with the
presented behavioural image. When a discrepancy occurs
between real and imagined behaviour, the brain tries to close the
gap.
7. Body Proportions
In the early twentieth century, psychiatrist Wilhelm Reich
suggested that our personalities were reflected in our body
shapes. This is because the way we come to terms with the
world around us is the way we use body language.
There are five basic body proportions:
· right and left A strong left side suggests a passive defence; a
strong right side an aggressive defence.
· head and body A large head shows an intellectual tendency; a
large body shows an emotional tendency.
· front and back The front is the conscious you; the back the
hidden, secretive you.
· limbs and body Short arms indicate a fear of contact; thin legs
can mean you are not willing to take a stand.
· top and bottom A well-developed upper half shows an outgoing
life; a well-developed bottom half, a more private life.
13. Breakthrough
Somewhere on the route to your goals, after the initial blip of
excitement, the disappointments of failure and the arid plateau of
learning, comes breakthrough.
"A time comes when you reach a breakthrough point; when
enough things are going right in your world. You are delighted to
be doing your work, yet like everyone else you still face
obstacles; but whereas before you tried to avoid them now they
no longer oppress you. They are part of the grist for the mill of
your life and you no longer need to fight them. They are simply
situations to be dealt with...no more and no less. You have used
the strategies that seemed appropriate...perhaps you have
suffered...and perhaps you have tasted success. From now on,
your satisfaction is not measured in terms of favourable or
unfavourable circumstances: your work has become a natural
part of being alive." (Charles Cameron and Suzanne Elusorr)
14. Celebration
Celebration at achieving our goals is right and proper. For
hundreds of years, men and women have worked for six days
and then stopped on the seventh to give thanks and celebrate.
· celebration marks important milestones on the journey to our
goals.
· celebration marks life transitions, such as birth and beginning,
endings and change.
· celebration is a sacred rite and ritual.
· celebration is a way of sharing goal achievement with those
who have made it possible.
· celebration is where work meets fun.
"There are two things to aim at in life: first, to get what you want
and after that to enjoy it. Many achieve the first; only the wisest
of mankind ever achieve the second." (Logan Smith)
16. Commitment
If faith is a mental belief that we will achieve our goals, no
matter what the evidence suggests, commitment is the physical
act that confirms our faith.
Many people get to faith - a belief they could do it - but hesitate
when it comes to commitment. They prefer to keep a way out in
case it all goes wrong.
When you truly commit yourself - possibly in money, materials,
time, energy, and certainly yourself - you take a leap in the dark.
It is only when you fully commit that you create powerful forces
to help you.
"All epochs which are ruled by belief are brilliant, heart-stirring
and fruitful for their own and future generations. All epochs on
the other hand in which unbelief claims a miserable victory
disappear." (Goethe)
18. Determinism
Philosophers and thinkers have for centuries puzzled over the
extent to which our lives are in our own hands and the extent to
which they are pre-ordained. Their theories give rise to three
views:
· grandfather's genes This view says that we are who we are as
a result of inherited characteristics from parents, grandparents,
great grandparents and so on.
· mother's upbringing This view says that we are who we are
because of where, when and how we were brought up. The
influences of environment, teaching, culture and customs
determine how we think, feel and behave.
· self-determinism This view says that we have enough free will
to determine our own lives. Within the limitations of inherited
genes and environment - you cannot be US President if you
aren't a US citizen - you can become anything you truly want to
be.
19. Diet
The quality, quantity and type of food you eat makes a significant
difference to your health and fitness and so to your energy
levels. Put simply, you are what you eat.
A number of dietary principles have been established for years as
being the basis of good health. The first two are:
· eat fresh food as often as possible Top of the list of nutritious
food are fruit and vegetables grown by you or at least locally and
eaten with little processing such as raw or lightly steamed. Next
on this list is any food such as fish which is found naturally close
to you.
· eat a diet that is varied Varying the diet avoids the risk of
clogging up your digestive system with excessive amounts of one
kind of food or of depleting it because of the lack of essential
nutrients.
20. Excusitis
Finding reasons for not pursuing our goals is one of the chief
blocks to mental energy. It is the disease of excusitis.
Excusitis may be the result of the following blocks:
· fear of failure
· excessive concern for what's going on here and now and little
focus on the future
· blaming others
· unresolved business tying you to the past
· your excuse that you don't have enough information to act
· the excuse that you don't have permission to act
· being too busy doing other less important things
· lack of forward planning
· idleness
"Success comes in cans, not cannots."
2.
The Quizzes
2 THE QUIZZES
Please note that, in this sampler, we
are only showing the entries for
Quizzes 1 to 9.
Try these fill in the blank quiz questions and find out how much
you know about maximizing your potential.
Your second chance to try some fill in the blank quiz questions on
maximizing your potential.
17. The belief that you get what you expect is known as the
self-fulfilling ________.
Put the following numbers against the right boxes below: 100, 3,
30, 40, 80, 90, 10, 250, 25, 12.
Try these true or false? quiz questions and find out how much
you know about maximizing your potential.
3.
The Exercises
3 THE EXERCISES
Steps:
1. Go into paired discussion mode.
2. Ask teams to discuss what they understand by potential.
When they have reached agreement, ask them to put their
definition on a flipchart.
3. Ask teams to place their flipcharts on the walls of the room.
4. Give each team 3 post-it notes and ask them to write "10", "5"
and "2" on the notes.
5. Ask teams to go round the room and read each chart with its
definition. When they have read all the charts, each team must
award points of 10, 5, and 2 to the definitions they like best.
6. Re-convene and announce the winner.
This exercise gets trainees to think about the way they want to
be remembered for the things they have done in their life.
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Running Time: 20 minutes
Exercise Style: Personal exercise
Materials: Paper; pens
Steps:
1. Relate the following to the group:
2. Imagine that, after a long, fulfilled and happy life, you are
invisibly present at a commemoration service in your honour.
3. In the front row are three people who have been asked to say
a few words about you and your life. One is a close relative; one
is someone from your working life; and the other person is
someone from your social life.
4. Since you only have a limited service, even though people
want to say so much about you, you can only choose one
speaker. Decide who this will be and jot down what you would
like to hear them saying about you.
Steps:
1. Write on one set of cards the qualities of genius, eg "vision";
"desire"; commitment"; "intuition" and so on.
2. Write on a separate set of cards the definitions of each of the
qualities, eg "the ability to see yourself succeeding in your
goals"; "an all-consuming passion for the goal".
3. Divide the group into two teams.
4. Hand one set of cards to one team and the other set of cards
to the other team. Instruct the teams to mingle with each other
and find matching cards.
5. Re-convene and feed back.
Steps:
1. Use the worksheet “Success” to write out a series of success
quotes on flipcharts, eg "To know how to wait is the great secret
of success"; "Success is a state of mind. If you want success,
start thinking of yourself as a success".
2. During a break, place the flipcharts around the room. When
trainees return, ask them to wander around the room and read
the charts. Tell them to add any comments they feel like to the
charts.
3. Ask trainees to stand in front of the chart they like most. Ask
them to explain their reasons.
4. Re-convene.
Steps:
1. Use worksheet, "The Donkey's Tail", to copy onto card the first
halves of quotations on fulfilling potential, eg "You make a living
by what you get;... Then copy onto card the second halves of
each quotation, eg "...you make a life by what you give."
2. Split the group into two teams, A and B. Hand out one set of
cards to the A team and the other set to the B team.
3. Tell teams that they have 5 minutes to mingle with one
another, read each others' cards and find matching pairs. Paired
trainees should then sit together.
4. Re-convene and invite the pairs to read out their cards.
This exercise gets teams to draw the key moments in the lives of
people who overcame great setbacks and survived.
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Running Time: 30 minutes
Exercise Style: Cartoon drawing
Materials: Paper; pens; flipchart; markers; publications
Steps:
1. Ask trainees to think about stories they've come across of
people achieving superhuman achievements against the odds,
such as people like jockey Bob Champion fighting life-threatening
diseases; blind deaf and dumb writer Helen Keller; and Nazi war-
camp survivor Viktor Frankl. Tell them to jot down these stories.
2. Go into paired discussion mode and tell trainees to compare
their stories.
3. Ask pairs to use a flipchart to draw cartoon steps in the stories
of these people. Place the charts on the wall to give inspiration
to others.
Steps:
1. Ask trainees to jot down their favourite colour and then beside
it to add three words they associate with it, eg yellow: sunny;
happy; friendly.
2. Next ask trainees to jot down their favourite animal and then
beside it to add three words they associate with it, eg lion:
strong; sleek; self-assured.
3. Finally, ask trainees to jot down their favourite city and three
words associated with it, eg Edinburgh: cultured; sedate; solid.
4. Now ask trainees to go into paired discussion mode and share
their favourite things. Tell them to use the discussion to learn
about their personal preferences.
5. Re-convene and feed back.
3.8 This Is Me
Steps:
1. Give each trainee a page of large A1 flipchart paper.
2. Go into paired discussion mode and ask each person to draw
on their partner's paper an outline of them. If preferred, trainees
can lie their upper half on the paper and let their partners draw
around them.
3. Now tell each person to indicate on the chart: three physical
attributes that they like about themselves; three personality
characteristics that they like about themselves; and three talents
or skills that they believe they possess.
4. Tell each person to share their charts with others.
Steps:
1. Ask each trainee to draw a dartboard on a flipchart. They can
model it on a real dartboard.
2. Tell trainees to divide the dartboard into four concentric rings.
Starting from the outside, these are: the things they can do now
with ease (the easy); the things they can do now but haven't
fully mastered (the difficult); the things they would like to do but
have not yet attempted (the possible); and the things they would
love to do but have never been brave enough to try (the
impossible).
3. Tell each trainee to write examples of each category in each
ring.
4. Go into paired discussion mode and tell trainees to share their
dartboards.
Steps:
1. Hand out worksheet, "Group Balance".
2. Ask each trainee to look at the fifteen sets of opposites and to
consider which one best describes the current training group, eg
more masculine than feminine; more dominating than yielding;
more expanding than contracting; and so on.
3. Re-convene the whole group and ask the group to collate each
person's assessments and show the current balance of the group,
eg a score of 120 on the Yang side and 80 on the Ying side.
4. Ask the group to suggest what this means for the group's
growth and development needs.
4.
The Worksheets
4 THE WORKSHEETS
Survival
Maintenance
Growth
2. disappointment of early
setbacks
5. experimenting
7. dogged persistence
8. breakthrough
5.
The Quotes
5 THE QUOTES
"God gives every bird its food, but he does not just
throw it in the nest."
(Source Unknown)
6.
The Quiz
Answers
6 THE QUIZ ANSWERS
Please note that, in this sampler, we
are only showing one set of Quiz
Answers.
Here are the answers to Fill In The Blank Quiz I and II, True or
False? Quiz I and II, Multiple Choice and Donkeys’ Tails.
True or False
True or False
Fill in the
Fill in the
Donkeys’
Blank II
Multiple
Blank I
Choice
Tails
II
I
1 drive experience T T 1-b 1-D
7.
The Exercise
Worksheets
7 THE EXERCISE WORKSHEETS
7.1 Success
Instructions: Split the six quotes below and use each half in
"The Donkey's Tail" exercise.
End of
The MTL Maximising Your Potential
E-Manual Sampler
-------------------