By Angelica Ribeiro, PhD
Imagine this: You get a new job, which makes you very happy. But soon you realize that the job involves the following aspects, to mention a few:
After experiencing all those issues on a daily basis, you notice that they negatively impact your well-being and happiness level. What do you do then?
By Dave Harris
As a writing coach, I focus on practice and the idea that, for any skilled activity, practice develops skill, and that no matter what our level of mastery, we always benefit from practicing the skill. In this context, “practice” means both small-scale, focused, repeatable, low-consequence activities to increase a skill that will serve their larger purpose (e.g., musicians practice scales to support their ability to play music, tennis players practicing serves to support their ability to compete effectively) or, at a larger scale, an entire career involving actual performance (e.g., a doctor’s medical practice, which has very real consequences for patients).
By Kimine Mayuzumi
Some time ago, I created an audio for guided meditation before writing, and it touched the lives of many, helping them set the right intention for their writing sessions.
Recently, it was a reader’s comment on that guided meditation that inspired me to take a step further. The reader, like many of us, longed for a way to wrap up their writing sessions, to savor what they had achieved, and to quell the constant self-doubt that they hadn’t done enough. They yearned for a moment of closure, a brief yet powerful ritual to honor their efforts and embrace a sense of fulfillment.
By Dave Harris, PhD
The August 2024 TAA Conversation Circle on productivity reminded me of how much productivity depends on confidence. This insight can guide us: confidence can be built through practice. I offer some suggestions on building confidence, and thus productivity, through practice.
Speaking generally, emotions shape our behavior: the optimist behaves as if things will work out, while the pessimist behaves as if things will not. Metaphorically speaking, the optimist will buy a lottery ticket, and the pessimist will not. The optimist submits a draft for publication, where the pessimist does not.
Self-confidence varies for each person, and, generally, the optimal degree of self-confidence lies between the extremes: too little self-confidence leads to paralysis; too much leads to arrogance and an inability to learn. Ideally, a scholar has enough self-confidence to move forward with their projects and to present their work to others while also remaining open to correction when errors arise.
By Kimine Mayuzumi
Do you have difficulty in writing lately? What gets in the way? Procrastination, distraction, lack of motivation or imposter feelings? A productive and sustainable writing experience often requires a good state of mind and physical wellness.
As my partner Riyad A. Shahjahan, a professor at Michigan State University and former certified coach for National Center for Faculty and Diversity Development (NCFDD), suggests, we as writers need “a mind that is decluttered so that we can give our full attention to the task at hand.” For that, we need a ritual. Why?
By Angelica Ribeiro, Ph.D.
Being aware of our professional purpose can play an important role in leading us to a happier life at work. That’s because our purpose can reveal elements of our identity that encourage us to live up to our values and create meaningful habits. Let me explain.
My professional purpose is to contribute to (a) language learners’ education by teaching, researching, and sharing knowledge with educators and (b) other people’s happiness by writing books and sharing positivity. After identifying my professional purpose, I realized that it revealed three main elements of my identity: a professor, a researcher, and a writer.
