Mind Foods: Optimize Your Brain

 

Optimize Your Brain

Nutrition matters.  The foods your eat can either improve or damage your brain.

 Foods to avoid:

1. Red Meats. Consuming a lot of red meats … is associated with cognitive decline. < 4 three-ounce servings / week. 

2. Pastries & Sweets. Enjoy sparingly. < 5 small servings / week. For example: 1 small cookie. Switch to healthy whole fruits. 

3. Butter & Stick Margarine. Any fat that is solid at room temperature is a general no-no. Avoid butter, stick margarine, palm oil, coconut oil, and shortening. Use olive oil or grapeseed oil as your fat.

4. Fried or Fast Food. Avoid.  Twice per month at most. For example: 1 small serving of fries.

Foods to Include:

1. Leafy Greens

2. Berries

3. Nuts

4. Whole Grains

5. Fish

6. Poultry

7. Olive Oil

8. Beans and Legumes

9. Vegetable

For more information, see The Mind Diet and consult with your nutritionist.

K. H. Little Consulting Services

Kenneth H. Little, MA

cell: (603) 726-1006

kenlittle-nh.com

Leading Change

Leading Change Can be Difficult

Here are 7 helpful (not easy) steps.

Step 1: Know change is necessary

Step 2: Create the vision to focus all efforts in the desired direction

Step 3: Form an empowered improvement team with decision-making power. Hand them the new vision.

Step 4: Communicate the new vision to the entire organization.

Step 5: Establish a very real sense of urgency.

Step 6: Empower others to act on the vision

·      Remove obstacles

·      Change systems and structures to align with the new vision

·      Encourage risk-taking and non-traditional / innovative ideas (out of the box) ideas

Step 7: Plan for and create short-term wins.

·      Plan for visible performance improvements

·      Create these improvements, make them happen

·      Celebrate successes!

·      Recognize and reward employees involved in the improvements

Step 8: Institutionalize the new approaches.

·      Articulate the connection between the new behaviors and success.

·      Develop the means to ensure leadership development and succession.

For more information, contact Ken

K. H. Little Consulting Services

Kenneth H. Little, MA

cell: (603) 726-1006

kenlittle-nh.com

Boosting Employee Morale: A Comprehensive Guide

 Employee morale is a critical factor in the success of any organization. A high level of morale leads to increased productivity, better teamwork, and lower turnover rates. However, maintaining positive morale among employees can be a challenging task. In this blog, we will explore various strategies and tips to help improve employee morale in your workplace.

 

 1. Open Communication

 

Encouraging open communication between employees and management can help create a positive work environment. Regular feedback sessions, town hall meetings, and suggestion boxes can provide opportunities for employees to voice their opinions and concerns.

 

2. Recognition and Rewards

 

Recognizing and rewarding employees for their hard work and achievements can go a long way in boosting morale. Implementing employee recognition programs, employee of the month awards, and performance-based bonuses can show employees that their efforts are valued and appreciated.

 

 3. Work-Life Balance

 

Promoting a healthy work-life balance is essential for maintaining high morale among employees. Encouraging flexible work hours, telecommuting options, and offering paid time off can help employees better manage their personal and professional lives.

 

4. Professional Development

Investing in the professional development of employees not only enhances their skills but also shows that the organization is dedicated to their growth. Providing opportunities for training, workshops, and career advancement can motivate employees and improve morale.

 5. Team Building Activities

 

Organizing team-building activities and events can help foster a sense of camaraderie and collaboration among employees. Activities such as team outings, volunteer programs, and team-building workshops can strengthen relationships and boost morale.

 

6. Wellness Programs

 

Prioritizing employee well-being by offering wellness programs and initiatives can contribute to a positive work environment. Implementing programs such as gym memberships, mindfulness sessions, and health screenings can promote physical and mental health among employees.

 

7. Social Events

 

Hosting social events and gatherings can provide employees with an opportunity to relax, unwind, and socialize outside of work. Organizing holiday parties, team lunches, and after-work happy hours can help build connections and improve morale.

 

Conclusion

 

Improving employee morale is a continuous effort that requires dedication and commitment from both management and employees. By implementing the strategies and tips mentioned in this blog, organizations can create a positive and supportive work environment that motivates employees to perform at their best. Remember, a happy and engaged workforce is the key to organizational success.

K. H. Little Consulting Services

Kenneth H. Little, MA

cell: (603) 726-1006

kenlittle-nh.com

Re-establishing Boundaries

A quick note. 

A friend is struggling with her adult children.  They seem to have very little recognition that she is a distinct, separate human being.  Reflecting on this problem and considering my personal and professional experiences with this sort of issue, I thought I'd write a quick note. 

First, I had similar struggles as a parent.  My experience was confused and convoluted by the death of my wife when our boys were young so it might be a little different than your experience, but it'll be worth considering.

Boundaries: the basic idea is that we are each separate and unique human beings.  This may seem infinitely obvious but it's really not.  When an infant is born, he / she came out of their mother.   For some period of time ... these two (or more) individuals were not separate and distinct. 

Infants may be newly separate and distinct individuals, but they are clearly entirely dependent on their caretaker/s.

Toddlers.  How many times have I seen exasperated parents struggling under the stress of a clinging toddler?  I too have experienced this sensation. Nothing feels more urgent that the desire to peel the little person off one's leg or body and just have a moment of respite as a  separate and distinct person. 

Bath room violation.  There is no privacy or respite in the bath room.  Small children just march right on in as if they are still connected by the umbilical cord.  

I could go on. 

I'm sure different parents / caretakers work to address these problems at different times during the development course of their children progression toward adulthood.  We all will need to eventually.  I did it when my children were somewhere around 10.  At first I asked them to respect the privacy and sanctity of my bedroom.  This did not stick.  My sons had been coming and going from that space at all times of day from birth on.  This was complicated by their Mom's death, which made me feel like they really did need to have access to my support at all times of day and night, but by the time they were around 10, I was beginning to buckle under the endless pressure of having no privacy, no personal space.

Asking them, requesting this from them, did not work ... so I installed a locking door knob.  At first, they chaffed against this imposition.  My younger son went so far as to pry the knob off with a screw driver.  But, in time they accepted and internalized the change and the lock became unnecessary. 

By adding the lock, I reset our family dynamic and re-established some separation between my sons and my self.  Phew.  What a relief this was.  With better boundaries set in place, parenting became at least a little bit easier. 

This is the quick note version.  I'm happy to answer questions via e-mail.  I may add to this another time, going into more detail. 

Love & Acceptance

Only through the full and unconditional love and acceptance of each of our children, exactly as they are at any given time, complete with their full array of human flaws, can we even begin to lovingly and gently guide and support them in developing the skills and abilities they will require to become the successful adults we all hope they will become. 

Kenneth H. Little, MA 

603-726-1006

KenLittle-NH.org

The Very Best Response

The very best response to the vast majority of children’s misbehavior is a simple, quiet conversation moderated by reason, wisdom, and compassion; a conversation that guides the child quietly and gently to a better, more helpful place in life.

Raising children is a long, gradual process. It takes years and years of patient and persistent effort. Gentle guidance is the primary choice in parenting. Sometimes a planned system of positive and negative consequences makes sense. This is not a system of rewards and punishment, so to speak, but a well crafted system of inductive consequences; constructive and instructive consequences that gradually teach better behavior, better problem solving skills, better stress management skills, and better decision-making skills.

Arbitrary and / or harsh consequences should be avoided. They are far more likely to inflame the situation and create resentment within the child which will obscure any learning benefit. It is far more likely that arbitrary and / or harsh consequences will increase misbehavior, rather than decrease it, and decrease the frequency of positive behaviors.

Everything in life is practice to mastery. Everyone needs the opportunity to practice new skills gradually over time in order to master them. Everyone makes mistakes and needs the opportunity to practice making amends and to practice regrouping and moving forward again.

Instructive, constructive, and reparative consequences gradually influence thinking, feeling, and behaving in a productive direction.

Kenneth H. Little, MA 

603-726-1006

KenLittle-NH.org

The Purpose of Behavioral Programming

Our dedication is to the whole child.  Our interest extends to the child’s family, neighborhood, school, and community.  Each child’s well-being is contingent on the well-being of the extended network surrounding and supporting their growth.

Our interest in the whole child includes their well-rounded and well-balanced development.  We must attend to each area of need and support carefully weighted, balanced, and multi-dimensional growth: music, art, sports, friendship, family, hobbies and interests, academic achievement, ethical and spiritual well-being.  No one area can be allowed to consume our attention at the expense of another area.  We must remain flexible and responsive to the child’s needs. We must nurture each child’s strengths and carefully attend to their weaknesses.

Elements of Character, Development, and a Healthy Lifestyle: 

• Honesty

• Creative Well-being

• Cooperation / Teamwork

• Physical Well-being

• Work

• Emotional Well-being

• Loyalty

• Intellectual Well-being

• Enthusiasm

• Ethical Well-being

• Determination

• Spiritual Well-being

• Curiosity / Inquisitiveness

• Community Well-being 

• Playfulness

• Filial Well-being

• Optimism

• Social Well-being

• Resourcefulness

• Caring & Compassion

Growth is a dynamic process; a process leading toward resilience, a process leading toward a healthy and productive adult participant in society.  

Leadership initiates the process.  

Leadership is the beacon toward which the children grow. Leadership is the example or model we provide.  What does our model look like?  How do we nurture a carefully weighted and balanced lifestyle in our own lives and in the lives of the children we serve? 

How do we nurture resilience?  How do we nurture a sense of community in which growth and resilience will flourish?

The purpose of programming is to create a sense of community that will nurture, protect, and celebrate the children. 

“I was seeing in a sacred manner the shape of all things in the Spirit and the shape of all shapes as they must live together like one being and I saw the sacred hoop of my people was one of many hoops that made one circle wide as daylight and as starlight. And in the center grew one mighty flowering tree to shelter all the children of one mother and one father and I saw that it was Holy.” 

~ Black Elk

Kenneth H. Little, MA 

603-726-1006

KenLittle-NH.org

© 2009 Kenneth H. Little. All rights reserved.