Life Coaching – Fun Exercises to Improve Your Mental Health

For many of us, staying fit is about being physically strong and healthy. This is a wrong notion, though, as it requires a person to have sound mental health to be called fit. Our brain needs as much exercise as is needed by our body. Thus, it is very important that we maintain coordinated brain exercise programs and physical activities so that we may avoid stress, depression, and a number of other health issues.

If you find yourself stressed out most of the time, especially when you get home from work, doing some mind stimulating games will help you feel more at peace and relax. Here are some exercises that will keep your brain healthy:

Card/Board Games

Board and card games are strategy games, which are considered as very effective brain stimulators. This is because such games encourage the brain to think in logical patterns. Even while you’re at work, you can use your coffee or lunch breaks to play some cognitive games online, such as chess or scrabble perhaps.

Relaxation Activities

There are several ways you can combat stress even while you’re at work. Studies have shown that taking power naps is an excellent way to relax and get your energy back. Taking a 15 to 20 minute nap in the afternoon is important if you want to stay stress-free and energetic. You may also do some breathing exercises, visualization or meditation.

Puzzle Solving

Our brain never stops growing throughout our lives, thus, stimulating activities are necessary to avoid certain conditions like age-related memory loss. Some of the most common activities with this function are Sudoko, crossword puzzles and other puzzles that demand focus and mental function.

Cardio Exercises

Numerous studies have already proven that mental fitness levels are easily increased with the help of cardiovascular training or exercises. Engaging in cardio workouts prevents your brain cells from deteriorating because of age, which also means improved mental health.

How Important Is It to Care for Your Mental Health?

Who wants to end up not having a memory of their past? Do you want to not be able to recognize your friends and loved ones when you’re old already? These are the things that could be taken away from you if you don’t take good care of your brain and mental health.

Another reason you would want to have sound mental health is to keep away from stress from all your responsibilities at work and at home. Going to the gym on a regular basis, or performing yoga are two of the most popular ways being recommended by lifecoaching professionals to those who want to stay physically and mentally fit. While it may sound boring and difficult to keep this kind of lifestyle, you have to remember that how healthy you will be in the future depends on how you treat your body today.

Ways You May Develop Your Public Speaking Skills Even without a Personal Coach

Speaking in front of a crowd is just too scary for many of us, but if you hold a high position in a company or organization, this is something you may have to do every once in a while. It is generally believed that good and confident speakers are born with such skills, but this does not at all there is no way you can develop the necessary skills to be called a good speaker.

Here are some strategies that can help you hone your public speaking skills, which you can actually use not just in your job, but other things as well:

1. Choose a free recording app and download it on your smart phone. Turn on the recording and say something at your normal pace. Say it again, but now at a slower pace, and another round at a much slower pace. Then listen to the recording and judge for yourself which among them is the most clear. It would be better also if you could ask someone to listen to it.

2. Take deep breaths before you start. Take slow, steady and deep breaths through your nose before you start delivering a speech. Doing this kind of breathing can have a very calming effect and will help you ease any discomfort or nervousness that you’re feeling.

3. Use your everyday interactions as a practice for your speech. It’s a good habit to avoid saying “um” even when you’re just talking with your friends. Although such speech quirks don’t seem to affect your speech too much, getting rid of them will greatly improve the quality of your voice and clarity of your speech. In short, make it a habit to speak in a clear manner.

4. Pretend that you are speaking to a 5 year old. When speaking to a little child, it becomes natural to speak slowly and clearly. So when you’re doing your speech, just imagine that your audience is composed of young kids who will have trouble understanding you unless you become more aware of their capacity.

5. Practice with someone and ask for feedback. It would be hard for you to correct your speaking mistakes and bad habits if you don’t know what they are exactly. Thus, it’s important that you be made aware of the things you need to change. You can only know this if there is someone to give you feedbacks.

If your fear of public speaking is too much to handle, then perhaps you could use a professional who will train you on this. It is not uncommon for managers to hire a personal coach who teaches them the basics of public speaking. This is a great investment on your part because it is an ability that you can use in so many situations regardless of the industry you are in.

Personal Coach – Types of People You Will Have to Deal with at Work

Every single day we all encounter ‘types’. There are different types of mobile phones, cars, mushrooms, and even people. While you certainly have a choice when it comes to the type of smart phone or car you’re going to buy, there’s no way you can choose what types of people you’ll work with. If you are all set for your first day on your very first job, you may as well, learn the different types of colleagues you’re likely to encounter.

The Attention Grabber – these are the people who are willing to do everything jus to catch attention. One day you’ll see them wearing neon colors, and another day you will see them with really high and noisy heels. These people could be a distraction, so all you’ve got to do is ignore them.

The Slacker – this is a person who chooses to be busy with many things except for work. Although these people are generally harmless, you just have to be careful not be like them. Also, having a slacker in your team could be a curse, as he or she could be the reason you will have to work late for a project.

The Flatterer – you will eventually meet someone who won’t get tired of praising your hairstyle or your attire. We all love to be appreciated and flattered, but sometimes you’ve got to ask yourself why this person always has something good to say to you.

The Overly Competitive – in any workplace, competition is important as it encourages people to work harder and perform better. But there’s a slight difference between being competitive and being a bully. If you encounter a person who would be willing to hit you below the belt, make sure you don’t get involved in his game. Be competitive, but just don’t overdo it.

The Hot-Tempered – this person is usually the loudest in the room, especially during meetings. He finds it hard to accept when people go against his ideas. You can deal with this type of person by separating the attitude from the person. Don’t think this person love arguments. Instead, be more understanding, but never get intimidated.

The Gossip Girl – this doesn’t have to be a woman, because men tend to love gossips too! This type of people never runs out of stories about the lives of other people in the workplace. You have to be very careful with this kind of people as they are capable of wasting your precious time.

How happy you can be in your job greatly depends on the kind of relationship you have with your colleagues. While you have to make an extra effort to reach out and be friendly with others, you have to be wary of how they may influence you and affect your work. If you’re finding it hard to get along well with your office mates, having a personal coach will be beneficial to you.

Personal Coach Tips on Becoming a More Effective Communicator at Work

Whatever industry you are in, it is a must that you have great communication skills. No matter how good you are technically, not being a good communicator may still lead to your downfall in a job interview and this will also have a significant effect on your being successful in your career. Thus, it is crucial that you develop the right attitude and appropriate skills towards communicating with people.

If you want to get along well with your colleagues and give a positive impression to your boss, here’s what you should do to improve your communication skills:

#1 Don’t just hear what people are saying. Listen.

Many of us are terrible at listening. It often seems too hard to keep our mouths shut so we could listen to what another person is saying. Instead, we tend to interrupt, do something else, or assume that we already know what is going be said. To be a good listener, you have to be able to focus well on the speaker. Stop whatever it is you’re doing and wait for the other person to finish before you give your response.

#2 Don’t ignore non-verbal communication.

A person’s body language says a lot, and it is important that you understand what is not being said. Likewise, you should be aware of your own non-verbal communication. How you listen, look and move while the other person is talking says a lot about your thoughts and feelings about the person talking.

#3 Know what the preferred means of communication in the workplace is.

People are different even in terms of how they want to communicate with others. Some prefer emails, while others are more comfortable talking either on the phone or personally. It would be a smart move on your part to get to know your colleagues more as far as their preferred method of communicating is concerned.

#4 Always think about your tone.

One big challenge in communicating via social media or email is knowing the tone of the person sending the message. You can easily be misinterpreted as someone who is pushy and always angry. Thus, it is important to avoid using exclamation marks so the reader would not assume that you’re upset.

#5 Rephrase what you’re being told.

Saying again what your boss or coworker has said is a good sign for them that tells how you’re trying to listen and understand what’s being said to you. Plus, this is a good way for both you and the person to clarify anything that could be confusing.

Effective communication is a type of skill that you must practice continuously to improve. By being a good communicator, you give yourself a bigger chance of becoming successful in your chose career path. If you have no idea how to develop such skills, working with a personal coach is highly recommended so that you can have expert guidance in acquiring and enhancing the skills necessary to communicate well with others in the workplace.

Want A Higher Salary? Use These Tips from a Personal Coach

Did you know that in general, employers are often more than willing to pay more for the right experience and education? Are you also aware that you can actually earn double the amount of what you’re making if you are to go in a bigger company? These are just two of the best negotiating points you have that you should point out as you have a performance review or perhaps request a promotion.

If you think you deserve a higher pay than what you are currently getting, here are some things you should emphasize when you speak to the HR.

a. Number of years in the business.

It is common knowledge that the more experience you have, the higher the pay you should expect. You can point out that you have more experience than what is required in the position you are holding. Take note, however, that with too much experience, you may turn out to be overqualified for the position.

b. Educational attainment

How your educational background matches the requirement of the job has a significant effect on how much you will be offered. Also, the kind or quality of education you got can affect this. Thus, if your educational attainment is higher than what’s required, you definitely deserve to receive higher.

c. Performance assessments

This is a vital factor when you are being considered for a promotion or pay increase. If your performance reviews show positive points about how you work, this should give you hope that you’re going to get a pay raise.

d. Professional certifications and associations

In most companies and organizations, great value is given on an employee’s certifications and associations. If you don’t have such certifications yet, then you should make an effort to work towards attaining one.

e. Shift differentials

There are particular jobs that require employees to work even at the most unfavorable times. When working outside the normal work hours, an employee is eligible for a higher rate.

f. Recommendations

Getting a recommendation from your boss is a big boost in your chance to receive a higher salary. Although it seems common or ‘given’ for bosses to recommend their staff for promotion, many actually don’t bother to do it. Thus, it is important that you develop a good working relationship with your boss if you want to get his support when you need it later on.

Typically, an employee would have to wait to be offered a promotion or a pay raise, but you can also be proactive about it by making a request for a higher pay or a better position in the company. Any career or personal coach would also advise that before you do this, make sure you have prepared whatever documents are necessary for you to be deemed deserving of a bigger salary.

Career Planning and the Importance of Smart Networking

When it comes to doing a job search and career planning, it is important that you do networking the right way. Basically, there are two types of networking – bumper car networking and smart networking.

Bumper car networking happens when you just show up at an event or a social function and meet someone with whom you chat about different things. You then give out your business card and end the conversation being hopeful that you both are going to meet each other in the future.

Meanwhile, smart networking is about building relationships and not just contacts. This is the kind of networking you would want to do as this is the more fruitful and beneficial one. Below are tips you can use as you try to have meaningful conversations with people who may eventually be helpful to your career.

1. Be ready. Always be prepared with a couple of openers you can use when you meet a variety of people. Being ready with your lines will prevent you from fumbling for words when you’re in front of someone already.

You could perhaps ask what brought them to the event, or what they think about the presentation.

2. Come up with a topic to talk about.

One of the reasons why many people fear having small talks is that they have no idea what they should talk about. Well, the truth is that there is just so much to talk about, and the problem is that you don’t know how to start talking about something. Thus, make a list in your head of the things you think will be interesting for the people you are about to meet.

3. Be attentive and a good listener.

After you have given your opening statement, patiently wait for the response. Never rush the person to answer you or end whatever it is that they are saying. Show that you are interested to hear what they are saying.

4. Find something you have in common.

Once you have heard the other person’s story, that would be a good time for you to share some thoughts and experiences of yours. Ideally, you want to mention something that you both know or understand. This way, you can build a bond that may eventually be the reason for the two of you to keep in touch in the future.

5. Have a good ending.

If you think it would benefit you to keep in touch with that person, then by all means express it. You could even invite him or her to have coffee with you some time soon.

Being prepared, having an agenda, and being sincerely interested in meeting people are the ingredients to effective and smart networking that would help you gain relationships rather than mere contacts. These are the people who may soon play an important role in your career planning and success.

Career Coaching Tips on Dealing with Boss Problems

Are you in a situation where it seems like there is no other way you and your boss could work well together? Well, this doesn’t necessarily mean you literally hate each other; but you just feel that things could be a lot better between the two of you. Quitting your job and looking for a new one won’t make things right, so the best you can do is try to figure out how your employer-employee relationship will be better. You can consult a career coaching professional also if you need help in fixing issues with your boss.

The following are some tips on how you should deal with your boss so your career will not have to suffer:

1. Get to know your boss more.

Keep in mind that bosses are all different in so many ways, just as no two individuals are totally the same. You may have worked for another manager or supervisor in the past whom you think had the ideal traits of an effective boss, but this doesn’t mean your present boss should be like him or her. For you to avoid clashing with your boss, you have to figure out what he is expecting from you. It would be good also to know how he likes presentations to be made, or even how he wants his coffee.

2. Never avoid your boss.

Many of us tend to avoid interacting with people who are in higher positions. The problem is that limiting your contact with your boss could lead to loss of respect and trust on both parties. Needless to say, lack of communication results in more problems, especially misunderstandings.

3. Be professional and don’t bad-mouth.

It is so tempting to speak ill of your boss in front of your coworkers, but this is a clear sign of lack of professionalism and maturity on your part. Whatever disagreements you may have with your boss, it is a must that you handle it with care. Express your concerns to him so he would know where you’re coming from as well.

4. Look at the positive side of things.

If you don’t like your boss, it becomes easy to feel that he doesn’t like you either. Thus, you will feel sort of paranoid every time you hear him making comments about your work. Being on the negative side will bring nothing but negativity, and is a real career killer. Always be reasonable and have perspective when dealing with your boss.

While it is true that your boss plays an important role in your career advancement, it is still up to you to make your relationship with your boss work to your advantage. It’s not an easy task, of course, but getting some guidance from a career coaching professional will make a really huge difference.