November starts with All Saints Day on the 1^st, All Souls Day on the 2^nd. It is the 11^th month, signaling that the year is about to end. In numerology, eleven is the number about balance; interpreted to mean vision, invention, and also refinement (whats-your-sign.com). But November is also about remembering, as is done with celebrating the saints and prayers for departed souls are offered.

Remembering is that process that connects the present to the past. Office best practices are connected by an event that happened five months ago to the current challenge. It is important to understand that continuity is preserved because of recall using diaries, recorded events, and conversations. Colleagues and managers leave, employee turnover happens, and love ones pass on but these changes are opportunities to appreciate the ongoing personal or professional learning over the years.

November is that time for taking stock of goals undertaken in the beginning of the year. Among those goals could be improving soft skills such as accepting feedback, adapting to new practices, or critical thinking. Perhaps having boundaries so that work does not encroach on family life is another.

Above all, November is the month for thanksgiving. Because work and its daily demands get the most attention, life’s many gifts may go unappreciated.

To begin the act of appreciation, write a to do list of three to five activities. Once the list is done, try and complete at least one every month. No pressure. For example, an activity could be taking photos with the iPhone. Catch the sun’s orange haze in an afternoon. Take pictures of family and friends. Create a collage; it will be a reminder of happy days past. Make an effort to talk to family and friends instead of emailing and sending a text.

But there’s no need to wait for November for appreciation. Looking back to having lived a day, there’s reason to look forward to the sun’s joyful energy and light, to try and accomplish more for one’s personal and professional life. Remembering can help sustain todays and tomorrows.

Written by Yoli P.- The Help

Healthy thinking that is translated to healthy behavior improve and minimize risks of disease. Incorporating good eating habits and exercise in daily activities will only produce positive results. With the support of family and friends, taking one or more of the action steps below will make staying healthy a reality.

• Regular exercise.

Regular physical activity is priceless; 30 minutes of walking will go a long way in one’s goal to stay healthy. Physical activity such as dancing is both a pleasure and an exercise. Invite friends to exercise with you to help stay on track.

• Weight control

Keeping your weight within a healthy range can be difficult. Losing pounds, if one has some extras, is the first step. A diet of vegetables and whole grains will make inroads in weight loss.

• Quit smoking

Stopping the habit of smoking is the best step for all who are keen on becoming healthy. There are quit-smoking programs and health insurance plans that can assist in giving up smoking.

• Start a healthy diet

Making red meat the smallest portion of food intake and focusing on vegetables, fiber, and fruits is fundamental in healthy eating. Consider beans for protein source and avoid processed food such as baked goods and junk food.

• Make time for screening tests

Getting regular screening tests can help catch cancer at an early stage when they can still be treated. Annual testing for breast, cervical, and prostate cancer is recommended. For colon and rectal cancer, testing every ten years is suggested.

Good health is key in maintaining a balance between the professional and personal life of an employee. It enables everyone to pursue dreams, complete tasks, and to start new projects. With a healthy lifestyle, everyday is a new page healthy living.

Written by Yoli P.- The Help

My recent run in with the perennial flu has me thinking about health and its importance. A healthy lifestyle could be one that is free from physical ailments for some. Others consider the ability to follow a regimen of diet and exercise as key.

Being healthy, however, is both physical and mental. Some deterrents to healthy living are smoking, physical inactivity, and stress. Although considered difficult, giving up the habit of cigarette smoking can be done. Will power and discipline are the main tools; some succeed while others need the assistance of patches and even acupuncture.

To start an exercise regimen, the highest degree of commitment is necessary. The key is sustaining the activity as results such as weight loss are only seen after some time.

There’s no avoiding stress. These could be caused by professional or personal pressure; these require attention, even medical. Breathing exercises are helpful in stress management.

Another way to relieve stress is by starting a hobby. Hobbies are activities; those times when work and responsibilities are farthest from the mind. Hobbies are great sources of positive stress called eustress. The Urban Dictionary says

“Eustress is good stress. Stress is simply an external stimulus; eustress is the feeling you get when overcome with the excitement and anticipation of a desired outcome. Hans Selye MD, an endocrinologist, first introduced Eustress. It is defined as “stress that is healthy, or gives one a feeling of fulfillment or other positive feelings. Eustress is a process of exploring potential gains.”

When gardening, a physical distance from work is created. Looking forward to blooming flowers brings up excitement. Cross-stitching, knitting, and creative writing groups provide opportunities to connect with others, bringing stress relief and fun as well.

Striving towards healthy living means giving up cigarettes and the like. Smoking and lack of exercise directly impacts the body. But stress can creep in.

Overall, striving for balance is key and that’s when eustress can have a place in a life.

Written by Yoli P.- The Help

Diversity, according to the Department of Interior in the Office of Civil Rights, is a term “used broadly to refer to many demographic variables, including, but not limited to, race, religion, color, gender, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, age, education, geographic origin, and skill characteristics.” A broad topic, it has many nuances. Its rise in the workplace has made growth possible for both management and employees.

Diversity is essential in the professional world because it generates mutual respect. Different workers from all types of cultural background bring a plethora of talent and strengths to businesses.  In a multi-generation workforce, techies teach, share expertise such as the usefulness of Excel compared to the traditional creation of a table to document financial information. Interaction follows in which dialogue for other project collaboration begins.

Awareness of differences enables and assists in conflict resolution. Because awareness implies putting oneself in another person’s point of view, discussion of conflict can show similarities in perspective, facilitating resolution of problems such as quality control and leadership style.

A multicultural, multi-generational workplace is a rich learning place. Exposure to individual differences provides a window into one’s capacity to integrate new software, apps and gadgets into personal work style. Employees hear or receive suggestions, as well as making some themselves to solve challenges from a new perspective. Understanding new approaches improves overall teamwork and cohesiveness.

In general, human beings are defined by difference. No two persons are alike down to their most basic component, as DNA research has proven. Seen and experienced daily in the workplace, differences in individuals can be harnessed for growth that can produce a positive ripple effect in businesses. Differences and similarities are ingredients of progress and diversity.

Written by Yoli P.- The Help

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, times have truly changed. Employability requires more than a university degree. In some companies, the ability to harness support for community-oriented projects, such as waste management is a major plus for a job applicant. Proposal and grant writing skills are highly valued. A multi-lingual job seeker, however, has the same opportunities, even an advantage, in any situation.

Chances for employment are increased when a resume reflects a second language. In pitching a sale, negotiating a contract, and going on business trips, a second language can be an enormous asset. Transportation and tourism, communication, and teaching are some examples of jobs where a second or third language is welcomed.

Traveling or living overseas even for short periods with a second language means knowing how to ask for directions. More important, one gets an insight into the country’s culture. Conversations with people at meetings or chatting about food and drink while at dinner in a restaurant can be fun. After all, lifelong friendships start with informal chats. Museum visits are more appreciated because of language.

Learning a foreign or a second language is good for the brain. It continuously improves brainpower in that the brain changes in a similar way as the body when exercise is a regular regimen. These new synapses may delay and even prevent onset of disease such as dementia.

Acquiring, learning a new language necessitates time, patience, and money but it is well worth the investment. It is the link that connects people in all places and on all occasions. It is a way to understand human beings in general and a foreign partner in a business or per personal relationship, in particular. Nelson Mandela said, “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to a man in his language, that goes to his heart.”

Written by Yoli P.- The Help