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Currently Browsing: Self-Improvement

The Importance of Making Eye Contact in Any Interaction

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Making eye contact is a major part of communication. Whether you’re speaking to a Singaporean or any other person, it won’t matter how loud your voice is or how eloquent you are if you don’t look at the person you’re speaking to. Eye contact can be important in many, if not every interaction we have. Let’s just jump right into it!

Your eyes can communicate your thoughts and how you feel

For some reason, there are a lot of people who are good at telling your thoughts just by looking at your eyes. Though you may not notice it, how you hold eye contact may really say things about you. Sometimes you yourself would even use eye contact to decipher what the person across from you is thinking. There are also even times when you can communicate with your partner just by looking at each other, right? Simply put, the eyes are powerful tools for communication.

It shows that you are being attentive

How many times have you been with a person who rarely looks at you when you speak? This can be during a date, a friendly meeting, or even a discussion at the office. Surely, you’ll feel like that person is bored and he/she does not like to listen to you. On the other hand, if you maintain good eye contact, you can show that you’re actually interested in whatever the other person is talking about. It shows that you are engaged and, in turn, the other person will feel better about being in your presence.

It invites the attention of others

Put it this way, when you don’t hold eye contact with another person, it’s highly likely that they will do the same. So when they stop looking at you, of course, they’ll eventually stop listening as well. But if you were to make good eye contact, it helps the other person stay engaged in the conversation because they know you’re really interested in communicating with them. Even when you’re talking to a crowd, making eye contact can still have the same effect.

It helps you establish stronger relationships

In some situations, giving eye contact can mean that you’re meaning to start a friendly conversation with someone. There could be situations where you just find yourself staring at your girlfriend, for example, just admiring her. These are very subtle things and you really might not notice them, but they have quite a significant effect on our relationships. This could be because, as said earlier, eye contact is very simply a big part of communication. And effective communication is how we make our relationships stronger.

How to Make Any New Routine Stick in 3 Simple Steps

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Deciding to pick up new, healthy habits to change your life for the better is just the first step –it’s following through on these habits on the first few days that’s the real challenge, and in a lot of cases, many people often give up after a few days once they find that they can’t stick with their new habits.

However, forming habits doesn’t have to be too complicated. Here’s how you can get started on your healthy, productive habits and make them into a routine:

1. Start by picking out a few habits that you want to cultivate over the next few weeks
Small things can be huge later on, and something small as sleeping in before 12 a.m. or reading a book at least once a day can be a good start.

Be sure to pick habits that can interact with each other easily. This is because habits that reinforce each other are more likely to stick, and they do this because they have a more obvious effect on your daily routine.

For instance, being on time, sleeping early, and waking up early are all interlinked. In order to get to work on time, you need to be able to wake up early, and to wake up early, you need to sleep in early.

2. Find out why other habits didn’t stick when you tried the last time
It’s not enough to struggle to wake up early in the morning – you also need to figure out why you have such a hard time waking up in the morning.

To find out the root cause of your problems, ask yourself why the effects happen in the first place, and by tracing where the answers come from, you can find yourself at the root of your problem that you can fix much more easily.

3. Start planning your habits down to the time you start doing them
When it comes to setting a new habit for yourself, schedules and planners are your best friends as they let you know if you are on or off-track in your planning process. Not only do they allow you to see the tasks that you need to complete for a certain time period, but they also allow you prioritize which tasks need to be done first.
Once you start getting the hang of the daily schedule, you can even kick it up to start planning your week, your month, and even your whole year.

However, as much as you want to plan, you also need to be realistic in your planning process. You are also just a person, and you need to breathe once in a while.

Real Talk: Why Holding off Your Life Events on Social Media is Important

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No posts or it did not really happen. In the digital age, at least that is what it feels like. According to Justina, AspirantSG, “Social Media has helped us to better communicate, but not to better connect.” That is, our real lives are becoming less separate from social media interactions that connections can sometimes mean pixels instead of bond. Constantly browsing through our feed can also sometimes make us feel compelled to compete with our friends, compare ourselves and end up posting our every single milestone. And when things do not turn out to be what we hoped for, we get pressured in a way to give everyone a good explanation, like we owe it to them.

Life itself is tough enough, folks. The added pressure of explaining every misfortune is never necessary.
Here are four real-life reasons why waiting game is useful before announcing your achievements online!

1. Not all things are under your control
Nothing feels more tempting to post than when you feel like you are just an inch away from getting that job you always wanted. You answered each question correctly, you smashed them with the best ideas ever told and you just simply felt a professional chemistry of you and the employer!

You just nailed it! And you posted it on social media.

Then here comes the heart-crushing email saying, “We regret to inform you that we have decided to move forward with another candidate who is a better fit for this position. Thank you for your time and we wish you luck in the future.”

If that is not heartbreaking, then I don’t know what it is. Sometimes, our family and friends try to put back the pieces but it isn’t glued just right away. If you cannot bear telling people why you did not get the job, keep it all to yourself until you can see your signature on the contract.

2. Your critics will feed on you
While it’s true that some people who follow you on social media are genuinely happy when something great happens in your life, it’s also equally right that some people don’t wish you well. Some just hate you are doing better than them, sadly.

They can send you negative vibes in any possible way. They might discourage you or tell you things that will hinder your growth. Just like in real life, surround yourself with people who support you in the process and tell the ones who will help you get where you want to go.

3. You will answer to “When?”
When are you going to be promoted? When are you moving abroad? When will you get married?

“When” questions will kill you that it will make you want to disappear on the face of the earth for a while until you figure out the answers to ALL of these. Again, it is best to hold your horses until what you are about to announce is a done deal!

4. Everyone is not entitled to know your business
You lost five pounds. You bought a new house. You received an award at work. Some accomplishments are better left unannounced. As what they say, “Just because it’s not on social media doesn’t mean it’s not real.” An achievement doesn’t become any less just because you’re the only one aware that it happened.

We have to learn to validate ourselves even if no one is watching and quantifying our milestones through virtual likes and compliments. Consider it as a personal success and keep improving the version of yourself. We don’t need to prove anything to anyone. What we think of ourselves supersede all of that.

Ways to Upgrade Your Skill Set

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Wherever we go, we need leverage or an advantage so that companies can pick us in a heartbeat. If we acquire significant skills, we will be relevant not only here in Singapore but around the world. We have to give this careful thought if we want to thrive in the midst of technology and globalization.

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If we haven’t thought about it, this is the time that we should start exploring and upgrading our skills. Here are some ways to start upgrading our skills:

  • Maximize SkillsFuture Credit: There is no doubt that the first stop should concern our SkillsFuture. SkillsFuture is a national movement designed to assist us in developing skills our skills – at every stage. The good news is that the movement offers many programmes as well as initiatives that Singaporeans can use to deepen skills. The government introduced the SkillsFuture Credit that gives citizens ages 25 and above $500 credit. We can use these credits on training and programmes.

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  • Consider online courses: If we are looking to study something that we are interested in according to our own time, the best thing to consider is online courses. There are various online courses available from universities from social studies, humanities to business and management skills. Known platforms include Coursera and Khan Academy. Some courses are free.

 

  • Be a visionary: Anything will not be possible if we lack the vision. If we really want not just to thrive but to be successful in whatever field we choose, we have to be positive and envision it. This can make a difference at the end of the day.

Hopefully the things mentioned above helped us determine our next course of action when it comes to upgrading our skills.

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