Happiness versus Meaning in times of quarantine

Starting with the central question "Is there more to life than being happy?", this talks explores the difference between being happy and having meaning in life. While many psychologists define happiness as a state of comfort and ease, some other consider meaning to be something else, something deeper. 

Martin Seligman says meaning comes from belonging to and serving something beyond yourself and from developing the best within you. He says culture is obsessed with happiness and considers that seeking meaning is the more a fulfilling path. 

So, about happiness vs meaning in live, here is a short Ted Talk worth of reviewing in times of quarantine. 

And "suddenly", a pandemic changes our world

The novel coronavirus and its desease COVID-19 pandemic is impacting every nation on Earth.

At the of 2019, Chinese authorities alert WHO about pneumonia-like cases in Wuhan with numbers increasingly growing every day; by the 3rd week of January 2020, Wuhan was closed in complete shut-down. The week after, the death toll from the coronavirus surpassed the toll from the SARS epidemic back in 2002/3. And, by the 2nd week of March, the total countries affected were 121 with +150k cases globally and ... the planet changed into complete lock-down, a reality never seen or lived before.

This video shows the timeline of some of the most significant moments during the novel coronavirus outbreak. 

Previous SARS and MERS viruses outbreaks are still in our memory; also deadly they were far from to be so easily spread; the level of devastation that COVID-19 disease registers is largely because it is so easily transmitted. 

Whether the deadly nature and rapid transmission of this new virus or the life-changing events deriving from the disease, by mid March 2020 everyone single soul  on Planet Earth felt like never before. Throughout history, nothing has killed more human beings than infectious diseases and Covid-19 shows how vulnerable we remain.

This is a BBC must read article about humankind and the history of pandemics, to learn about all that has happened and maybe from where we all an learn.  

Fake it 'tlil you make it - does your body language shapes who you are?

Amy Cuddy’s research on body language presentation at TED on 2012, focused on research that shows how body language can change other people’s perceptions — and perhaps even our own body chemistry.

If we know that our minds change our bodies, it is also true that our bodies change our minds?  - it is the "Fake it 'til you make it" aphorism suggesting that by imitating confidence, competence, and an optimistic mindset, a person can realize those qualities in their real life.

This is one of the most viewed TED talks  and also most debated. 

Coaching, Mentoring, Counselling, Consulting; when to select what

According to ICF, coaching is partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. The coach is an expert at coaching, not necessarily a subject matter expert of the client’s coaching topic and the coach’s domain is future oriented (what does the client want?) and then coaching the client to get there.

A mentor is a wise and trusted guide and advisor; a sort of "teacher" that shares and passes experience, wisdom, skills and knowledge while bringing the “mentee” up the ranks. Mentoring is then definied as a relationship between two individuals of varying experience, where the more experienced one seeks to enhance the less experienced in personal and professional growth. 

Consulting involves expert knowledge and advice given from professionals to other professionals and/or companies. A consultant is an expert that is called for technical advice and opinion because it is seen as a relied resource that understand the problem and its potential solutions. 

The ICF and EMCC are exceptionally mindful of creating a delineation between coaching and counseling. Credentialing is strictly outlined to avoid a coach performing counseling instead of coaching. While coaching can be therapeutic, it is not therapy and every client should be made aware of this.

Read more here at EMCC site

Using Clifton Strengths Assessment to discover and develop talents

The Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment was created under the leadership of educational psychologist Donald Clifton, that wanted to identify the skills of the best of the best of the best, and to capitalize on them. 

The Gallup Organization, known for its polls and employee selection research, developed numerous semi-structured interviews to identify talent that could be enhanced and used to pursue positive outcomes in work and school - in the 1990's, under the leadership of Donald Clifton, Gallup developed StrengthsFinder with the objective of measuring personal talent.

The StrengthsFinder assessment helps identify the areas where a person (or team) have the greatest potential for building strength by measuring recurring patterns of thought, feeling, and behavior. Knowing this information is a starting point for a leadership that is build and developed to help individuals, teams and organizations leveraging their talents.

The assessment works upon 177 pairs of “potential” self-descriptors listed and placed as if they are anchoring polar ends of a continuum. These descriptors are pinned on 34 themes and 4 domains (Executing Domain, Influencing Domain, Relationship Building Domain and Strategic Thinking Domain).   By completing the Clifton StrengthsFinder,  the immediate results  are delivered including your Top 5 signature themes.

More about Clifton StrengthsFinder here.  

The year 2019 in review

The year that was dominated by Brexit - again. From the massacres and protests that shocked the world to Greta Thunberg’s solo climate strike and worldwide phenomenon, this are just few of the many events that made the headlines in the ending of a decade. To remember, here and also in this link. 

And a great collection of photos from year 2019 by CNN can viewed in this link.

Trash talk hurts, even when it comes from a robot

Not only can robots beat humans at games, it turns out they can effectively trash talk us during them, too. Trash talking has a long and colorful history of flustering game opponents, and researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have demonstrated that discouraging words can be perturbing even when uttered by a robot.

Discouraging words from machines impair human game play study from researchers at Carnegie Mellon University show that programmed humanoid robot Pepper to talk smack to humans while playing a strategy game against them — and despite the relatively tame nature of the bot’s insults, it was still able to get into its opponents’ heads and negatively affect their game play.