Posts by "Chloe"

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Be Yourself Completely

June 3, 2016 0 Comment Chloe read

There was a triangle, a square, and a circle. The triangle and square always thought the circle looked good and were envious. So they started shaving off their own corners. Did the triangle and square succeed in becoming a circle?

The triangle and square could not become circles, but they also ended up unable to be the complete triangle or square they once were. When a triangle or square was needed, because they didn’t have corners, other triangles and squares were used instead. If the triangle and square hadn’t compared themselves to the circle and didn’t feel envy or inferiority, what might have been?

Rather than living a life based on other people’s standards, what other people think, and what looks good, when you reflect on and understand yourself and find for yourself the life that you should live, that is the start to a happy and complete life.

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4 Benefits Of Being Introverted In Personal Relationships

April 25, 2016 0 Comment Chloe read

“I’m not really a funny person. So I’m afraid I might get left out.”

There are people who have always, since the day they were born, been anxious and nervous to meet new people. Commonly called ‘introverts’, they get nervous because they don’t know what to say to a person they meet for the first time. Introverts may seem extremely calm on the surface, but they often struggle internally under the pressure of thinking ‘I should say something.’

“I laugh easily, but I’m quiet and reserved. I’m calm and tend to listen more.”

“It’s stressful when it’s quiet and I am with only one other person. I don’t know what to say.”

Nowadays, businesses tend to favor extroverts. People who can liven up a business party attract more attention. Maybe it is because of this societal trend that being introverted has become an inferiority complex that people want to hide, leading to more people who pretend to be lively and sociable.

Introverts Somehow Attract

There are many people who are inborn introverts. It is said that introverts make up about half of the entire world’s population. Introverts are people whose energy is most often pointed inward. So they are often thought to be quiet and reserved. Then are introverts at a disadvantage?

The answer? Not always. Rather, they are more attractive. With the standard of whether a person is ‘extroverted or not’, it is difficult to see the benefits of introverts. But in terms of ‘how one treats people’, introverts have many merits. And are quite attractive, too. So much so that one would definitely want an introvert as a friend.

For introverts who do not know their own merits, here are ‘4 handpicked benefits of being an introvert’.

Benefit 1. The Power of Listening – They actively listen to what others say

It is widely accepted that ‘listening’ is the most important skill when communicating with others. Listening is very important. Yet ‘active listening’ seems to be a difficult task. There are very few conversations in which I’ve felt that the other person was truly listening to me. You might wonder, ‘What is so difficult about just listening?’ But think about this: when a friend opened up to you and explained, ‘Something happened and it was really hard for me,’ have you ever just tossed back, ‘Yeah, but it seems like you started off in the wrong place,’ or ‘How about doing it this way?’ Or were there times that people complained, ‘Can’t you just listen?’ That is how few people truly relate as they listen. Introverts are strong active listeners. Being a strong listener rather than finding enjoyment in talking is a typical characteristic of introverts. It is noticeable in their personal relationships, too. They don’t say much, but they find comfort just being in each others’ presence. And it is easy to open up to such people. Of course, how well you listen will depend on your efforts. However, if you can bring out an innate tendency and develop the ability to sincerely relate, that can be a huge benefit.

Benefit 2. They are reliable and trustworthy

Introverts are careful when getting to know a person. Since they may not always respond easily to what others say, people might be taken aback by the lack of response. But the amount of thought and caution they invest when developing a personal relationship also makes the bond that much harder to break. Once a bond with another person develops, it only gets stronger and rarely breaks. This brings to mind a television program from an education broadcasting system that analyzed the manner in which introverted students and extroverted students at a high school treat people around them. How the students described the typical ‘characteristic of introverts’ was most interesting.

“There are times when it feels like they put me before themselves.”

“It’s hard to get close to them at first, but once we get friendly, we connect at a very deep level.”

“Introverted kids seem more trustworthy.”

“I find myself opening up about any worries on my mind to these kids. They seem likely to keep it secret.”

“Even if I don’t contact introverted friends often, there’s still something there.”

The level of trust and their reputation are quite positive, aren’t they? Actual research has also shown that introverted students have high scores in ‘trustworthiness’. When searching ‘personal relationships’ on the Q&A section of a famous search engine, there are many questions along the lines of ‘I’m afraid people won’t like me because I’m introverted.’ But people have a soft spot for introverts. Even if introverts might fluster people at first, they have the huge benefit of being as trustworthy as a simple, honest tree.

Benefit 3. They focus on you

They have great ability to concentrate; likewise, they are able to focus on people as well. Introverts tend to think before speaking or taking action. Their consideration for others originates from this tendency. They have the ability to think about and consider ‘How is that person feeling? What would s/he want?’ For example, they would take some time consider their friends’ feelings and interests before doing anything. As a team leader, an introvert would be able to catch details like what the team members’ interests, their thoughts, and what they don’t like to hear, and lead them accordingly. Such ability shines even brighter when dealing with someone important, such as a significant other. They might not hear things like ‘It’s fun to be around you’, but they probably would hear ‘It’s comfortable to be around you, so I want to be with you more often.’ There is a CEO who avoids standing in public, almost like an anthrophobic. He finds it so difficult to be in front of people that he cannot even give a typical New Year’s address. One may wonder, ‘How can such a CEO manage a company and its many employees?’ But you’d understand if you see how attentively he cares for each individual employee. The CEO has profound affection for his employees and sincerity that are apparent when he remembers the names, faces, and even hobbies of the newly hired employees and presents them with appropriate gifts. Eloquent speech is not necessary for good leadership and even less so for personal relationships. Bill Gates and Facebook’s Marc Zuckerburg say they are introverted. In the end, people do not build relationships based only on what shows outwardly. People give their hearts to those who take interest in them or understand them well. Introverts have the power to approach one step closer to others and focus on them.

Benefit 4. They are honest

Introverts often worry and feel frustrated because they ‘don’t express themselves well.’ What they want to say lingers in their heads, but does not easily come out of their mouths. But talking a lot does not correlate with speaking well. It does not always mean one is honest either. Whether you say a lot or a little, if you can convey your point well, then your authenticity will eventually come through. I know a person of very few words. He doesn’t have a very lively personality and doesn’t laugh easily either. Some people even think he is ‘particular’. But I think he is very admirable. Especially when he speaks at meetings, he conveys his point exactly. He doesn’t say much, but his few words often get nailed into my ears. And since he normally doesn’t laugh much, when he does smile brightly, it feels like ‘he really doesn’t put up a false front.’ He has become an icon of ‘honesty’ amongst the people around him. If you are worried about how you speak, rather than concerning yourself over speech style or technique, how about developing the power to speak with ‘sincerity’? People will intuitively feel the sincerity in your words. How much or little you speak is not important. The point is how honest you are.

Though we looked into the benefits of introverts today, it is actually not possible to determine which personality is most appropriate for personal relationships. So rather than trying to change your personality to be like others’, wouldn’t examining how you treat people and whether you are really making effort to treat people with sincerity be more important?

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9 presentation tips for successful business women

April 3, 2016 0 Comment Chloe read

Question

I am a female who started a corporate job about one year ago. Recently, I became in charge of an important presentation.

Since it’s my first experience, I feel pressured and worried. Please advise me on how to improve presentation skills.

Answer

Anyone would feel pressured when giving a presentation for the first time.

I can recall my first presentation experience, and at that time I felt intimidated and I rushed into things.

First of all, I will not discuss the professional level of preparation for work since it is the foundation. Instead I’d like to mention ways to boost your confidence as a woman.

In my past experience, I spent all my time preparing for a business trip so I looked grubby by the time I had to travel, and as a result my confidence level dropped.

After many trials and errors, I now make sure to follow the 9 steps below prior to an important meeting and especially a business trip.

When I look good, I feel confident, and then I can have composure in my mind.

1. New hair

I make sure to take care of my hair at a salon 1-2 weeks prior to a business trip.

A fresh hair cut needs time to look natural and there is nothing that can be done if I don’t like it.

So the first thing I do in order to prepare for a business trip is to get a new haircut and learn how to manage it.

2. Spa Day

I normally visit a spa 1-2 days prior to a business trip to relax my body that has been through a lot from work.

It feels fabulous to step into a hot tub and take a long and deep breath with my eyes closed.

3. Nail Care

I go to a nail salon after I come back from the spa. I normally go the day before the business trip.

I choose a color to match the outfit for the presentation.

The point is that I don’t choose a color that’s too flashy but still bring an interesting balance to my look so I won’t look boring.

I like gel nail and any woman would understand the power of getting her nails done.

4. Pick out an outfit to wear for the presentation

I think about the characteristic of the presentation and pick an outfit accordingly.

First, I go through my closet and find the outfit I like, and if there is nothing to wear I go shopping.

It takes time to prepare for a presentation so I must finish my shopping in one day.

I also take care of steps number 5 and 6 (below) in one day.

Now that I look back, I purchased many clothes using a business trip as an excuse. Shopping is fun anyways.

5. Prepare one item which will boost my confidence

This item can be a pretty pen, a designer wallet, or cute stationary.

From small things to expensive things, one can choose anything according to the mood.

By carrying that item, one’s confidence will go up, so make sure to choose a favorite item.

6. Prepare a gift for business buyers

I usually give a gift to the buyer after the business meeting is over.

An expensive gift can be overwhelming so I prepare a small but thoughtful gift that reflects my good intentions.

It’s not a gift that anyone can easily find, but I select the gift while considering the buyer’s taste.

I wrap the gift that I picked with sincerity and write a handwritten thank you card.

Then the other person receives my thoughtfulness, not just the gift.

7. Wearing High heels

I normally prefer flats but I always wear high-heels for meetings because it plays a big role to boost a women’s confidence.

My body shape looks better in heels and also my posture is better.

It makes me look like a successful business woman.

I absolutely favor high heels.

8. Smiling in front of a mirror

I smile in front of a mirror right before the presentation starts.

In my mind, I say ‘I can do this!’ as I fix my makeup in the bathroom.

There is an old saying that no one can spit on a smiling face which means people’s hearts open up to bright energy.

If you feel awkward when smiling, I recommend to practice every day in front of a mirror.

I promise you that there will be improvements.

9. Meditation

My last tip is meditation. For one minute or five minutes if I have time, I recall my thoughts of anxiety, fear, burden of success, and stress from past business trips and I throw them away.

Subtraction meditation is truly simple but effective so I always practice this method.

Meditation strengthens the inner energy so when it’s combined with the external preparations that I mentioned above, it creates complete confidence.

When these tips are written out, it may seem like a lot, but these are simple steps to take in daily life. As long as one thoroughly prepares for work and builds one’s own know-hows, the communication and presentation skills will be excellent. I wish you good luck.

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World Scholar’s Online Database ‘Coursera’, Now Lecturing Self-Reflection

February 25, 2016 0 Comment Chloe read

Lectures on self-reflection meditation that KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) opened on ‘Coursera’, an online education service system in which one can hear lectures from scholars all over the world, are garnering great interest.
This course, which opened last December 7 and continued for 6 weeks until January 17, was called ‘Engineering Self-Reflection for Human Completion’. Duck-Joo Lee, Professor of Aerospace Engineering at KAIST, gave the lectures in English.
With about 140 distinguished participating universities all over the world, such as Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Johns Hopkins, Yale, KAIST, and Tokyo University, ‘Coursera’ offers approximately 1,500 courses to more than 17 million members and is considered to be one of 3 major Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) systems in the world alongside ‘edX’ and ‘Udacity’. The New York Times reviews have stated that “Coursera is growing more quickly than Facebook” and is “the most successful of all online education that is currently available”.
After Coursera officially started offering courses in April 2012, KAIST, in Korea, signed into a membership agreement with Coursera, obtaining an opportunity for KAIST’s best professors to offer their lectures to people all over the world. Currently, KAIST and Yonsei Universities are registered as official partners on Coursera.
The 1,500 or so courses on a variety of subjects such as humanities, management, law, journalism, science, and engineering that have been opened on Coursera include almost all humanities and natural subjects.

Over a period of six weeks, and through a total of 46 lectures, Professor Lee’s course, which fit into the subjects of humanities, education, and engineering, easily introduces the necessity of self-reflection, its principle and practice, the mind-subtraction method that changes ‘me’, etc. The course is also colorfully structured with scientific application and the practice of mind-subtraction and interviews with relevant experts.

The course is eye-catching especially because the human mind and mind-subtraction meditation are explained based on knowledge from not only an engineering and neuroscience standpoint, but also from the viewpoint of philosophy and humanities.
Professor Duck-Joo Lee graduated from Seoul National University’s aviation engineering department, earned his Master’s and Doctorate degrees from Stanford University, and worked at NASA as a researcher for three years before starting his current career as a professor in aerospace engineering at KAIST in 1988. He is a global aerospace engineer who has played big roles in developing Korea’s aviation engineering such as being the team leader of the Task Force in charge of developing military helicopters, developing Korea’s first helicopter ‘Surion’, and participating in the launching of Korea’s first space rocket ‘Naro’, and is currently vice president of the Korea Drone Industry Association and vice president of the American Society of Helicopter.

Despite being an engineer, he started taking interest in the students’ character development, which is not his major field of study, when several KAIST students committed suicide four years ago. At the time, the meditation courses that Professor Lee opened to meet the students’ requests for character building, such as ‘My Life’s Turning Point’ and ‘Exploring and Recovering Human Nature’, received great response. Professor Lee says that was possible because he himself had been practicing Ma Eum Soo Ryun’s mind-subtraction meditation for more than ten years.

Thereafter, Professor Lee has been active as a director in the Academic Society for Human Completion, an academic association of character development experts. He constructed the meditation course on Coursera based on such experiences and outcomes from field education. Professor Lee states that, “Through the mind-subtraction meditation method, which is based on self-reflection, one can objectively look back on the life he has lived.” He continues to explain that “when the negative minds are removed through meditation, one’s inner positive energy can be revealed, one can clearly realize the purpose of life, and one learns how to be free and live a complete life.

Innovative companies like Google, Facebook, and Amazon place value on Coursera certificates when hiring employees and The American Council on Education (ACE) as well as the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) even transfer credits after course content has been reviewed for eligibility.
Professor Duck-Joo Lee’s self-reflection meditation course is available until February 11. After April, his lectures will be available under the personal development category.

*New course opened under the name ‘Meditation: A way to achieve your goals in your life’ as of May 2018.

https://www.coursera.org/learn/self-reflection-meditation

Source: chosun.com (http://danmee.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2016/01/20/2016012002688.html)

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A secret method to spend a happy day

January 15, 2016 0 Comment Chloe read

1. Get in a time machine
2. Return to yesterday and live the same day.
3. Realize the secret to happiness.

What does this mean, you ask?
This is about the main character, Tim, realizing happiness
in the film, ‘About Time.’

Tim, who is capable of time travel, realizes the way to happiness through time travel.

One day, after spending a tiring day,

Tim reverses time back to the past and lives the same day.

Yesterday, he was tired for sure

But, today he was not.
He was happy.
Even in the same situation, he did not find it tough.
He was able to smile composedly.

You could say his composure came from knowing how to live.

When re-living the same life that was lived before, Tim was able to live a life with unshaken minds.

Unshaken composure. This was the secret to happiness that Tim had found.

Like Tim, we too have the ability to reverse time.

This is done through self-reflecting mediation.

If we reflect on how yesterday was spent and how it was lived,

look inside of me to know what kind of happiness I truly want,

then, without repeating the same mistakes,

14. we will become to know how to live in the future

and stable composure will be made.

Everyday of 2016 is important. Self-reflect this Winter.

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A special method to resolve your worries!

December 16, 2015 0 Comment Chloe read

“I have a lot of work to do” “I had an argument with my husband.”
Trivial but daily worries. How can I resolve these?
At UCLA, USA, an interesting experiment took place using the students as the subject.
With the instruction of, ‘Think of a method to resolve daily worries,’ the students were separated into three groups.
The first group did not receive any special instructions.
The second group received instructions to look back the “process where the problem occurred.”
“Think of a situation when your worries started- recall the person that was next to you, the location, the kind of words and actions you did.”
The third group had instructions to concentrate on the future they wanted.
“Imagine that your worries are being resolved. Imagine how assured you will be. Think of the satisfaction you will feel after your worries have been resolved.”
Which group do you think were able to resolve their worries best?
The result was the second group who reflected upon their past.
It was said that recalling back at what happened in the past in detail, was more helpful than imaging the future results.
When the situation was recalled, the reason for the problem was known
As I could reflect upon my action, I strived to change.
What worries did I have today? Close your eyes for a moment and try to recall.
Who do I think of, where was the location when my worries began, what words did I hear and what kind of actions did I do.
If you close your eyes for a moment and self-reflect, maybe you can find the clues for the solution of your worry.
Self-reflect this Winter, Happy Maum Medittioan.
Meditate, Better your life

Reference <Made to Stick>