This Month:

”A mind that has been stretched will never return to its original dimension.”

Les Brown

Learning is a continuous process. It does not stop after we graduate from college. It continues on. When we learn, we grow. Not only in knowledge but as a person. Whether you are learning something new or re-learning something old, the good thing about it is that you are learning. What do you want to learn today? Tomorrow? Maybe a new language? Maybe you want a re-learn something like play an instrument? Maybe you want to update yourself in your chose craft or industry? In my profession, I need to update myself of the new trends and techniques from time to time. I would even re-learn old theories and concepts just to better myself in my craft. I try to be open-minded to new ideas and concepts. This helps me to be more creative, more resourceful the next time I facilitate a training and development program. This not only benefits me but most of all, I keep in mind that it would benefit my learners more.

Whatever you want to learn today or tomorrow, make sure you have the right attitude to learning. When I facilitate a training program, I always keep in mind that my learners does not have the same learning levels nor do they have the same attitude towards learning. Some may be persistent and determined and some may be timid and will easily give up. Like us, we may sometimes feel frustrated when learning something. That is normal. If you are the one teaching though, you need to not be the first one to get frustrated. You need to recognize your learners' frustration and know how to deal with it. Encourage do not discourage.

The next time you find yourself trying to learn something – whether re-learning something old or learning something new – observe the stages you are going through and how you feel and how you react and how you dealt with yourself and your frustrations. This way, you can pass this on to your learners when it is your turn to teach them.

This Month’s Action Plan:

Want to become better at learning than you are now? Ask these questions:

• What is my attitude when it comes to learning?
  
  
• What are the stages I go through when learning something?
  
  
• What are my reactions? My frustrations? Any obstacles to learning?
  
  
• How do I see myself after this experience?
  
  

3 Quick Ideas to Help You Have the Right Attitude in Learning:

• Be open-minded. Some people do not learn anything or do not learn right because they tend to close their minds to new ideas. They already have a reaction to everything they come across to that they already have a mindset to begin with. You need to have a clean slate when trying to learn something in order for you to learn it.
  
  
• Focus and concentrate. Give your undivided attention when learning something. If you are distracted, you will not learn a thing.
  
  
• Know how to deal with your frustrations. Some deal with it by giving up once a sign of frustration comes. Do not have this kind of an attitude. Figure out what it is that is frustrating you? Is it the subject matter? Is it you temporary inability of “getting it”? Remember that learning something new does not always come easily at times. We may sometimes need to go over a material several times before we get it. So, go ahead and allow yourself to be frustrated because it is normal. However, make sure that you get back right on track and not stay frustrated forever.
  
  

This Month:

“Be not afraid of going slowly; be only afraid of standing still.”
Les Brown

Ever find yourself doing a project or assignment having to start a project or assignment with gusto and excitement in the beginning then in the middle of it, find yourself moving to a crawl and ever so slowly (that turtles pass you by!) to a screeching halt? Like anything in life everything seems to have its phases. So do not fret! This is apparently a normal phase when we are getting things done. Just remember your goal as you go through each phase – the goal to get it done!

Whether you find yourself starting slow or starting fast, as long as you have the enthusiasm to do the project in the first place then you will be fine. But what if you do not have the enthusiasm, you ask? Once you delve into it deeper and involve yourself – you will meet enthusiasm along the way and you might even be surprise at the rate you are going once it sets in. The more you will look forward to accomplishing your goal.

The hard part comes when you do find yourself slowing to a crawl and then to a screeching halt. Fear not – coming to a complete halt is not the end of the world. I always say that if you come to a dead end road, turn around and you will soon enough find yourself a route to take to where your destination is. When you do find yourself to a halt in the middle of your project or things-to-do, consider these pointers: 1) Assess your concern or problem; 2) What are the factors that has led you to complete stop at this time? 3) Are these factors out of your control or can you do something about them?; 5) Weigh your options whether the factors are internal or external; 6) Re-asses your time line. Will things on the pipeline get delayed? If so, go back to schedule and make adjustments; 7) Look at your project with fresh eyes; and 8) Do not give up! Move forward and keep moving!

I know that sometimes, some things are easier said than done but the point I am making here is that you do not have to stay standing still when you find yourself at a screeching halt in the middle of your project. There is always a way. Find it so you find yourself going forward and finishing your goals no matter what.

This Month’s Action Plan:

Want to become better than you are now? Ask these questions:

• How do I feel about my project?
  
  
• How much time am I willing to spend in accomplishing this project?
  
  
• How am I doing so far?
  
  
• How will I feel once I have accomplished this?
  
  

3 Quick Ideas to Help You Making You Stop Standing Still and Move:

• Be aware of your progress – slow or fast, good or bad. By Knowing how you are progressing, this will help you monitor yourself and know where you stand at each stage of the project as well as know how you dealt with incidents or situations along the way which may help you when you do find yourself coming to a screeching halt.
  
  
• So you find yourself at a dead end – it is not the end of the world – remember that! Like life, there may be times where it stands still but it does not remain that way for long – so you should not too.
  
  
• Figure it out and keep on figuring until you get an answer. There is always an answer, there is always a way. Do not stop until you have accomplished your goal.
  
  

This Month:

”Failure is a detour, not a dead-end street.”

Zig Ziglar

Ever had those times where things are just not going your way? Sure you have! Everyone has! Keep in mind that you are not alone in this. What makes a huge difference is how you react to it. Some cope well by brushing off the dust on their shoulders and look ahead to move forward while some just decide it is the end of the world and just stay there, defeated. Which one are you?

Being in the training and development industry, one of the things the I learned early on is things do not always go the way you planned it to be. Some situations I have experienced are preparing a training matrix for each position in the department that indicates which training that each employee has to undergo in said number of months or years. Even what training programs would help them in their job only to find out that once budget time arrives, management decides to cut down costs on which area? You guessed it – training and department. It is hard to accept it at times when you feel you are making a progress on a certain project only to be set aside like an old raggedy toy, right? However it does happen. When it does, it also affects you not only professional but at times, personally.

So how do you deal with it? Sure, it does give you the bruises and makes you feel like a failure but do you want to stay as a failure? You have a choice. When you are driving a car in an unfamiliar place and you came upon a dead-end road. What do you do? Do you just stay there, complain or blame that the turns and streets are confusing and that you have wasted time and gas etc., etc. Or do you stop and assess your situation, maybe look over the map again and see where you can go from there to find a better route to get to your destination. Turn your car around and go back where you came from or try a new route. There are no wrong actions mentioned above. Sure, give yourself some time to vent your frustration, then accept the situation. It happened, now what? Go look at where you are now and look forward to what to do next. Just like that. Simple, right? Sometimes, some of us just get lost and waste way too much time in venting our frustration that we fail to see that it is not always a dead-end street. There are other streets to take that will get you to where you are going. That is, if you are willing to get over feeling sorry for yourself and moving on.

This Month’s Action Plan:

Want to become better than you are now? Ask these questions:

• How are my reactions to situations of failure?
  
  
• How long am I spending feeling sorry for myself after a failed endeavor?
  
  
• What can I learn from from this experience?
  
  
• How do I see myself after this experience?
  
  

3 Quick Ideas to Help You Making You Get Out Of The Failure Disposition:

• Be aware of your reactions – good and bad. Knowing how you react to situations will help you know how you are able to cope and deal with them. Do you find yourself festering in that negative reaction and feeling? If so, time to move on.
  
  
• So you failed, there is only one thing to do – ACCEPT IT! It happened, acknowledge it then move on. Dust off the failure dust and go back to the drawing board to plan your next move. Stop being (and staying) idle for long because it is not going to help you one bit. Remember that motion creates action.
  
  
• When you do face a situation that did not go as planned, just think of the that analogy of driving a car and coming to a dead-end street. Remember, that not all streets are dead-end. Sometimes, we need to come to a dead-end street in order to find our way to where we are going. Just make sure you keep on going.
  
  

This Month:

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit."

Aristotle

How long does it take for something you do to become a habit? Most say about 21 days or 3 weeks. Imagine, it takes about 21 days for you to instill a habit in your daily life. If this is your benchmark, then you need to make sure you are putting in a good habit instead of a bad one. As a trainer, I make sure that I always stress on the the “need-to-dos” and “shoulds” that the trainees has to learn not only in the beginning, during and at the end of the training program in those 3-4 weeks. This way, I know that they would have these takeaways in them and bring with them once they at their workplace.

What habits have you been harboring that you would like to change (if it is a bad one)? Nurture more (as long as it is a good one!)? Or even a habit that you would like to acquire (a good one of course!)? Whether it is a habit you want to acquire, nurture more or change – know that you can do it. All you need to do is to decide, focus and O.W.N. it.

So where do you start? Decide. Decide on what habit it is. Decide on what you want to do with it. The important thing is make that decision. Focus. What end result do you want for this habit? What direction do you want to take this? Then have these in mind: O.W.N. it. O – Open-minded. You have to be open-minded when you want to acquire, change or nurture a habit. Be open-minded to the change it will bring in your day-to-day life and in the future. W – Willingness. Any changes in your life will only happen if you are willing. Willing to allow it to happen. Willing it to change you – for the best! N – Nurture. Breed it in you. If it is a bad habit that you want to get rid of then you need to discipline yourself to get rid of it. Nurture that discipline since it paves the way for your improvement as a better person. If it is a good one you already have or want to acquire, then nurture it until it becomes part of you.

Remember, you can do develop or shake of a habit that you have had for years. All it takes is for you to know what you want to do with it and that this is what you want. After all, this is YOU we are talking about.

This Month’s Action Plan:

Want to become better than you are now? Ask these questions:

• How are my current habits?
  
  
• How much do effort and commitment do I want to give to change for the better?
  
  
• What can I learn from acquiring, dropping or encouraging this habit of mine?
  
  
• How do I see myself after accomplishing this?

3 Quick Ideas to Help You Making That Habit Stick:

• Making that decision to change is the first decision you will need to make. How do you feel about this decision? Do you feel you are ready for it?
• Make an inventory of your habits now. Are they helping you or destroying you as a person? If you feel they are doing more of the latter, then you need to start shaking them off from your daily routine and replace them with good ones. 
• 21 days. That is how long it takes to form a habit. Give yourself this benchmark when you venture into your habit-forming journey. In those 21 days, remember that continuous practice is the key for that habit to stick and remain embedded in your daily life.
  
  

This Month:

"Courteous treatment will make a customer a walking advertisement."
  James Cash Penney

Think of a place where you have been to and have experienced exceptional customer service. What made their service exceptional based on your experience? If we were in a room with a focus group, and with you included, I will bet one of the top answers will be that the service people were courteous, right? Now, let us bring it closer to home – where we work. Think of a time where you have given exceptional customer service. Ok, maybe exceptional may be a little tough, so how about think of a time where you have given courteous treatment to a customer. The next question would be, how many times have you given courteous treatment to a customer?

Some westerners say that Asia has the best customer service. Most are observed in the travel-related Asia businesses. Some of the impressions were that they are eager to please and accommodating. Is it a cultural thing? Or is it something that they were taught being in the travel and hotel industry? Some concluded that it was probably a combination of both. One of the things that Asian people have is the tradition of hospitality.

If we Asians have this tradition of hospitality that is embedded in our culture, then we should be able to give our customers courteous treatment, right? The question is, how often does this happen? Giving our customers the courteous treatment they deserve. Given this tradition of hospitality, it should be something that should come as a natural thing for us. But how often do we really practice it?

Remember, that how you treat your customers reflects how you are as a company. Courteous treatment does indeed make our customers a walking advertisement of not only our company but also of our selves.

This Month’s Action Plan:

Want to become better than you are now? Ask these questions:

• How do I treat my customers?
  
  
• How much do I practice courteous treatment to my customers?
  
  
• Have I practiced enough courteous treatment of my customers?
  
  
• Am I selective in who I treat courteously? If so, why?
  
  

3 Quick Ideas to Help You Making That Customer a Walking Advertisement of Your Courteous Treatment:

• In every encounter you have with your customers, spot-check yourself. Are you well-spoken? Are you courteous and respectful? Are you upbeat and positive? Are you eager to please your customer?
  
  
• You give service to customers today, tomorrow and the next days to come. Are you consistently giving the same courteous treatment every day? If not, why not? Think of the ways you can do to improve your treatment of your customers.
  
  
• There will always be difficult customers. That is part of customer service. What makes you stand out from your competitors is how you treat your customers. Remember that they will not be your customers if you do not treat them well. They are your free walking advertisements and they can influence potential customers for your company. So treat them courteously consistently and you will see the results it will bring you and your company.