handy instructional acronyms

PERMA for remembering the five components of well-being

September 7, 2011 by Anne Austin Leave a Comment

P = positive affect ( feeling happy)

E = engagement, flow, absorption in whatever you’re doing

R = relationships, positive ones

M = meaning in your life

A = accomplishment, pursuing success and mastery just because it’s satisfying

(from Flourish by Martin Seligman, p 16)

How to use PERMA?

Add PERMA to your daily checklist of things to do and review. At the end of the day, think about how good the day was in terms of your sense of happiness, engagement, positive social experiences, meaning and accomplishment.
Use PERMA to help you prioritize your activities. We can’t do everything we want to do, but we can choose to do the important things.

Filed Under: handy instructional acronyms, instructional stuff, toolbox Tagged With: acronyms, Flourish, well-being

STAR for thinking before acting and reveiwing after acting

August 9, 2011 by Anne Austin Leave a Comment

S = Stop
T = Think
A = Act
R = Review

STAR is a handy acronym that reminds us to use that space that sits between the stimulus coming in and our response going out: S R.

STAR wants us to make that space bigger than we usually do and also to spend some time thinking about how our action turned out.

STAR wants us to:

“do consequences”
“engage the brain before putting our mouth into gear”
“look before we leap”
“measure twice, cut once”

STAR tells us that “an impulsive me is an ineffective me”.

Here are some wise words from The Inner Brat Newsletter

“Engage brain before putting mouth into gear.”

I couldn’t find the origin of this saying, but it ranks in my top ten instructions for successful living. It’s just another way of saying, “Think before you speak,” but it sounds much more important.

When your mouth gets moving before your brain is engaged, your inner brat is unfettered. There is no filter to prevent you from saying things you might later regret.

Here are some risks of speaking without thinking:

• You might hurt/alarm/offend others, intentionally or not

• You might regret betraying secrets and confidences

• You might lose the advantage while negotiating

• You might lose respect from others

• Your reputation might suffer long-term damage

• You might lose your chance for a date, for a job or for a promotion

• You might get into trouble with the law

• You can’t take back what you said

Filed Under: handy instructional acronyms, instructional stuff, toolbox Tagged With: acronyms, impulsivity, prudence, review

The 5 Cs for remembering people’s names

March 23, 2011 by Anne Austin Leave a Comment

To remember people’s names, master the 5 Cs:

1. C for Can — adopt the mindset: “I CAN remember people’s names!”

2. C for Care — place a high value on remembering this person’s name.

3. C for Concentrate — pay attention to the name that’s about to come in. A lot happens to you physiologically when you meet a stranger; if you don’t concentrate on listening for the name, you’ll miss it.

4. C for Cite back — immediately repeat the person’s name to lock it in: “Hello, Jack. How are you? I’m Anne. I’m very pleased to meet you.”

5. C for Connect — do some fast brain work to connect Jack’s name to something else and then connect that connection to something else about Jack’s appearance. This step is hard, but it gets easier with practice. “Hmmm…Jack …Jack and the Beanstalk…Jack sure is skinny, ain’t he? Skinny as a bean!”)

Filed Under: handy instructional acronyms, instructional stuff, toolbox