Discovering Your Strengths and Core Skills

Lockdown has somehow become our new normal, and freedom to go where we choose has become a distant memory. As Millions of us adjust to new ways of managing our lives, one thing is for sure, Coronavirus will have a lasting impact for years to come.

I live in the UK and I am hearing of huge layoffs in both the UK and the United States as companies are having to downsize and restructure their workforce.  Weekly, I've received a numerous calls from friends and associates worried about what the future holds. I listen, offer constructive advice and encourage them to think outside the box in ways they may never have before.

There is no career for life anymore! Gone are the days when you stayed in a job for 10 years plus, or even retired from the job you started in! According to a 2019 Bureau of Labour Statistics of baby boomers, the average number of jobs in a lifetime is 12!

Nowadays its about having multiple streams of income, so that if one area ‘dries-up’ you have other things to fall back on.

The Squiggly Career

I recently delved into a really interested book called the Squiggly Career by Helen Tupper and Sarah Ellis. It’s a guide to creating your own working life where they suggest that you ditch the career ladder, discover opportunities and design your own own career.

In order to achieve this they say you need to develop a set of five career skills which are:

1. Super strengths – The things you are great at!

2. Values – what makes you ‘you’

3. Confidence – belief in yourself and your abilities.

4. Networks – Build relationships that work for you.

5. Future Opportunities – exploring options and future possibilities.

Developing these core skills are increasing important in this enormous time of change, and there are definitely ways that you can achieve this during lockdown.

We are all relying on technology more than ever to inform us, educate us and connect us to others.

5 Strength finding tests and questionnaires you can do today

HIGH5 is a free strengths test that helps you to discover the areas where you are naturally good.    https://high5test.com/ 

The Richard Step Strengths and Weaknesses Aptitude Test (RSWAT) is a tool to help you get a better look at who you really are and how much you could grow. https://richardstep.com/richardstep-strengths-weaknesses-aptitude-test/

This is more a personality quiz based on Jung and the Myers-Briggs Personality Inventory. You’ll get a general description of yourself. https://www.41q.com/

Find your strengths with this assessment based on psychologist Martin Seligman's pioneering research in positive psychology. https://www.truity.com/test/personal-strengths-inventory

Take this simple character test in 15 minutes or less and reveal your greatest strengths. https://www.viacharacter.org/survey/account/register

More discussion, listen to Sister Love Untethered podcast episode 25 'Opportunity in Lockdown' episode 25.

 Written by Colleen Morgan 

Get Your Mojo Back During COVID-19

Recently, I did a podcast that was titled "Regaining Your Mojo Back during COVID 19” with friend Colleen Morgan, who made a profound statement “Life is uncertain; you have to take control of you.“ The statement resonated with me and stuck with me for the entire day and thereafter. I realized when she said it, that it was such a powerful statement at a time with uncertainty is all around particularly during a pandemic. This is unlike any other previous experience anywhere in the world other than places in Africa that suffered during the Ebola epidemic.  

It has been reported that alcoholic beverage sales have more than quadrupled and so has domestic violence and child abuse. I can only imagine how frightening it must be when you are isolated within the same confines of someone who is a bully and hostile with words or violent. The fear is great for anyone in this situation and greater for a child. A child who lives with an abusive adult, I only hope and pray that they can find solace through some form of escape mentally such as reading, going online through games, connecting to friends or talking with a reliable individual who has the means to help them get away from the abuser. As for the adult who is in a hostile situation, don’t simply accept the abuse. You have the ability to remove yourself or get help to escape the situation. This may be the time to make a move rather than to remain in a hurtful place. There can never be any light or joy by remaining. It’s scary to leave, but it’s painful to stay. However, where there is a crisis, there is an opportunity if we attempt to dig a little deeper to find the courage within. And when you precisely cannot, then seek someone who can help you. 

Meanwhile, there are many people such as myself who are single and therefore, alone but many of them are also extremely lonely. The danger of feeling isolated and alone can trigger anxiety, depression and soon the individual isolated finds that they themselves are their own worst enemy. Being alone we see that our mind begins playing tricks, and we find reasons to be lazy, watch too much television and may fall into overeating. You find yourself surfing the Internet. Desperate to meet and talk to someone; to any person of interest, you end up signing up on one of those dating sights and then later regret it.  

For individuals who are your worst enemy; you must avoid the traps and engage in activities to stimulate the mind and body and raise and maintain healthy energy levels. If you’ve reached that pivotal point and realize it is time to get your Mojo back- well this is a great opportunity if you just allow yourself to get over yourself.  

Here are a few tips to help you do that: 

1. Stop whining! Begin practicing positive affirmations. 
2. Meditate to silence the mind chatter. 
3. Spend 10 -20 minutes doing yoga in mornings  
4. Get your ass off the couch, start a project; engage a hobby. 
5. Have a set time to turn off electronics.  
6. Practice 10 -15 minutes of deep breathing before retiring to bed.  
7. Stop watching 24-hour COVID news. Take a walk instead. Read a book. 
8. Show gratitude and be grateful that you are vertical.  
9. Dance. Find a Youtube Zumba video and put on your happy feet! 
10. Just smile

Sometimes you have to ask yourself, "What would Shaq do?" So remember, take good care of yourself.

Ob·ses·sion /əbˈseSHən - When Too Much Is Unhealthy

Ob·ses·sion /əbˈseSHən/ Noun

Harry and Meghan of Sussex

- a persistent abnormally strong interest in or concern about someone or something.

  "Her consistent writings attacked the couple and were bordering on obsession"

- an idea or thought that continually preoccupies or intrudes on a person's mind.

Synonyms:  fixation, passion, mania 

What’s the hubbub about Meghan Markle Duchess of Sussex? Much of British media appears to empathize with Harry and villainize Meghan with vile attacks on everything from her clothing to her character. The attacks are extremely hostile and personal that go beyond poking attempts of gossip. The attacks have the overtones of racist individuals under the cloak of poor journalism.  

For centuries, the British society, her colonies and the Western world have always honored the United Kingdom and her great royalty with reverence and humility. In the 17 century, the emergence of the newspaper purpose not only provided news on local issues but also served governance through disseminating information that would be important to its citizens. In the twentieth century, the newspapers were mostly owned by wealthy barons similar to today’s mega media conglomerates. As common curiosity and intrigue is natural to human behavior, gossip drew more attention than the news thus the newspapers equally began reporting gossip that would more often be advantageous with political influence and opposition.  

In the twenty-first century, news has been taken over by tabloids and disseminated through social media of which is questionably fake. There is a fixation on gossip who provides entertainment. Too often there is little difference between printing a lie or the truth that has been twisted, muddy and muted into viral gossip via Twitter or Instagram where the power for further manipulation is held in the palm of the hand.  

The investment and stake in gossip about Meghan and exceeds the obsession to smear her character. There is a way to have a healthy obsession and then there is the unhealthy obsession that becomes a fixation detrimental to the mind and well-being of the one with the fixation. Such as racism, it is an unhealthy fixation. We're in a global society and we are all connected in more ways than ever. There are so many positive things to give attention too. How about getting your own life and leave Harry and Meghan to do them. More on Sister Love Podcast episode 23 http://sisterlove.thevibejuice.com/sister-love-untethered-and-under-the-radar/theres-sumpn-bout-mehgan-and-harry-sl023/.

MAKING A WAY FOR OUR STANDARDS OF BEAUTY

The Crown Act of California (SB188) bill passed in December 2019 that prohibits discrimination against persons with natural hair or hair styles based on texture.  It is the first law on the book in the nation to prevent discrimination against primarily African Americans who have struggled to gain social acceptance in school, the workplace and all across society based on skin color and hair.

The Crown Act is an acronym that translates to Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural hair.  Don Imus Jr., a sometimes controversial radio show personality recently passed on Dec 27, 2019 sent shock waves over the radio in April 2007 when he called the Rutgers women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos" and "Jigaboos." Don Imus became because of the controversy was eventually fired eight days later resulting from unrelenting outside pressure.

WHY THE CROWN ACT IS NEEDED?
Fast Facts

• 2018 - New Jersey high school referee threaten teen to forfeit a match unless he cut dreads.
• 2019 - Mississippi station WJTV fired African American female news anchor for wearing unprofessional hair
• 2020 -Texas  two teens suspended; 16 yr old suspended and another sophomore told he will not graduate 
• 2020 -Chula Vista Catholic in a high school where the tuition costs $17,080, a male student suspended for being out of compliance for wearing braids.
• A Black women are 80% more likely to change her natural hair to meet social norms or expectations at work (Dove Study)
• Black women are 50% more likely to be sent home or know of a black woman sent home from the workplace because of her hair (Dove Study)
• 2020 - South Africa. Incident at an affluent school a young girl quotes, "I have a natural but the teacher told me to comb it because it looks like a birds nest."

What where you told coming up as a child about your hair? Where you told you were beautiful because of it or where you treated in a manner that taught you to be a shame because of it?
These are only a few reason why it is important to emphasize beauty in skin color and hair textures to reinforce acceptance for young and old to counter the European images as the only standards of beauty in the world. This is a happy day with the passing of the Crown Act. This is a day of 'happy to be nappy.'

Value in Paying Attention

Why aren’t people paying attention? 
If you have not noticed lately, but more people seem to not be paying attention. You may have become aware when driving on the road, witnessed an accident and been involved in a near miss, or perhaps placed an order to a customer service representative on the phone who didn’t hear you the first time and got your order incorrect sending you the wrong item. Our society on a whole is so distracted, and it looks like we are all suffering from chronic A.D.D. (attention deficit disorder).

Paying attention to the wrong issues. 
We are behaving like elementary school kids with a new toy obsessed with whatever is going on in our lives; reality television, electronic media, news feeds and division politics. We have become so distracted with a limited attention span, as though we’ve been spending our lives with a television remote in hand and surfing through life switching jobs and relationships like channels on cable television. America has a short memory. We forget in a matter of weeks about shocking crimes in the news. Our minds become altered, and we’ve adjusted to appalling and criminal behavior. We’ve become accustomed to crises such as terrorist acts on innocent people and mass shootings that our sensitivities have numbed with the shock and horror caused by such violence. However, like a child given a new toy, we have become distracted from reality and focused on escaping through our habits or the latest fad. While we barely struggle to maintain civility and respect, we have all but failed to develop muscles of resistance and easily distracted by preferred nonsense. Caught up in rude behavior, our grade for performance is an F.

Too broke to pay attention.
Don’t be so poor that you can’t pay attention. The value in paying attention is under-rated. The attention you give is the attention you deserve. It saves time, money and can save lives.   Listen to Power of Paying Attention on Sister Love: Untethered and Under the Radar podcast