We, as Americans, tend to move too fast. There’s always another meeting, another project, another phone call, another … you get it. We need to get things done quickly so we can do more things. The December 2017 American Psychological Association’s Stress in America Survey indicates three out of four Americans “reported experiencing at least one stress symptom in the past month. 45% report lying awake at night, 36% report feeling nervous or anxious, 35% report irritability or anger, and 34% report fatigue due to stress.” (Dillon, 2019) Meanwhile, our European counterparts are deemed happier, healthier, and more productive while working fewer hours, having longer breaks, and more paid vacation. (6 Differences in Work Culture Between the US and Europe, 2021) Stress caused by working too hard, too fast, and too intensely can hamper your effectiveness in the workplace as well as in your life. “Overall, slowing down will help you make better decisions, connect deeper with people, have more meaningful experiences, all while improving your mental well-being by avoiding burnout. You may go slower, but you will go further.” (LeCunff, 2022) Consider the importance of the project, email, phone call, etc. and compare that to the importance of your health. The benefits of slowing down will certainly outweigh the feeling of getting something else checked off your to-do list. When you are so focused on getting something done fast just so you can go on to the next item, you may be making decisions that will result in lower quality work, missed opportunities, and incomplete assignments. All in the name of speed. Slow down and address your projects with INTENTION. We all know that doing things fast will give us more time to do more things. But the quality of those projects can suffer because doing things fast means taking short cuts, using inferior materials, etc. Another benefit of slowing down is consistent effort over time, which provides a better, more sustainable result. Give yourself mental downtime. Work your schedule so you can get the work finished, but in a realistic timeframe. References
6 Differences in Work Culture Between the US and Europe. (2021, January 14). Retrieved from USALinkSystem: https://usalinksystem.com/whats-new/details/6-differences-in-work-culture-between-the-us-and-europe-284 Dillon, K. (2019, March 13). We're Moving Way Too Fast. Retrieved from kedillion.medium: https://kedillon.medium.com/were-moving-way-too-fast-5998b70ab43c LeCunff, A.-L. (2022). An Ode to Slowness: The Benefits of Slowing Down. Retrieved from Ness Labs: https://nesslabs.com/the-benefits-of-slowing-down
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Why do we give gifts? It is mid-September, and the traditional gift-giving season is just around the corner. Of course, we can (and do) give gifts year-round: birthdays, housewarming, retirement, anniversaries, etc. But the question is WHY? Giving gifts can create more work for us, can cost money, take time. There’s lots of reasons why we do NOT give gifts, but, according to research, there are so many more reasons why we DO give gifts. Reasons that are, sometimes, even more rewarding for the giver than the receiver. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “It’s better to give than to receive.” There appears to be scientific backing to that statement. "Researchers at the National Institutes of Health, along with colleagues from around the world, measured brain activity among individuals who both received and gave gifts. In both cases, regions in the brain associated with reward were activated. These areas, usually fueled by dopamine, tend to reinforce behavior. When reward centers are active, we tend to try to get them to stay active. Thus, this finding suggests that our brains enjoy both giving and receiving. “But there’s an added biological benefit with giving: this same series of studies found that it is only when gifts are given that areas of the cerebral cortex of the brain are activated as well—and, that particular region of the brain is especially attuned to the pleasures of social interactions. Giving gifts makes us enjoy each other. In fact, giving gifts might even make us like each other more than we already do. (Schlozman, n.d.) Let’s look at some of the reasons we give gifts:
There are some anxiety-producing effects of gift giving that we need to take into account as we move closer to the Holidays. Worrying about what others think “A psychological factor that comes into play with gift-giving is worrying about the opinion of others as well as the recipient. What will the gift say about your relationship? Is it too expensive? Too cheap? Not thoughtful enough? What will others think of my choice? The anxiety of how they might be judged based on their gift choice can cause some to dread any type of occasion where gifts are given.” (Shuda, 2021) Now that we know there are both benefits and pitfalls to the practice of gift-giving, let’s look at some ideas for gifts that won’t break the budget.
References
Milbrand, L. (2020, July 27). 24 Amazing Gift Ideas That Don't Cost a Thing. Retrieved from Real Simple: https://www.realsimple.com/holidays-entertaining/gifts/free-gift-ideas Schlozman, S. (n.d.). The Psychology of Giving a Gift. Retrieved from The Clay Center: https://www.mghclaycenter.org/hot-topics/the-psychological-gift-of-giving-a-gift-2 Shuda, S. (2021, January 5). The Psychology Behind Giving. Retrieved from Gifster: https://www.giftster.com/news/2021/01/05/psychology-behind-gift-giving/ |
AuthorI am a Performance Enhancement Specialist with a background in Emergency Psychiatric Medicine and Community Addiction. Archives
December 2023
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