7 Skills For the Future

They’re important right now more than ever because the situation we are in is SO unpredictable and is constantly changing. There is high high uncertainty and when you have that it is easy for the brain to play tricks on you - allowing you to jump to sudden conclusions, make and act on assumptions or hearsay or just worry and be anxious about the future.

Critical thinking SAVES you because we all have this skill and we can use it to help support our wellbeing, our decision-making and our understanding of complex situations.

It saves you because once you know how powerful imagery is to the brain and the constant absorption and consumption of image, video, news you will take steps to minimise that consumption and be more mindful of your sources of information.

It saves you because thinking critically and fluidly is all about collaboration and working with others and not necessarily discounting any ideas or opinions yet at the same time not overreacting to them either. 

In this podcast I talk about how to tap into your critical thinking skills and really use them MORE every single day - much more than you're currently doing. One key thing is to understand that the more and more anxiety and overwhelm we might be experiencing the more that leads to decision fatigue and almost a paralysis and inability to do anything. So anything we can do to minimise overwhelm will help us think more clearly and critically. That means paying a lot more attention to anxiety because regardless of whether you are naturally anxious or not EVERYONE will be experiencing moments of anxiety now. 

Listen for some great tips and ideas and also how critical thinking and tapping into your natural creativity and resourcefulness, ultimately, will pave the way for the new - new opportunities, new ways of living, new ways of thinking. Come with me!

#criticalthinking #7skills #wellbeing #happiness #collaboration #resourcefulness #creativity

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Welcome to our new series of 7 Skills for our Times. Each week I'll be delving deep into one of the 7 to help you learn how to tap into it right now and thrive. This week - ADAPTABILITY. We are hard-wired to be adaptable - yet adapting in times of crisis and uncertainty is much much harder to do and is a much longer-term process. In this podcast I talk about the stages we go through, and veer in and out of, in the journey to acceptance which is where all our power lies. I also show you how to focus your energies and efforts into the parts of your life and situation that you can control. This will allow you to adapt more easily but also ensures your wellbeing and alleviates anxiety.

I invite you to learn how to adapt and to come with me to a place where you feel so much better and can identify opportunities for yourself even in the midst of huge change.

#change #adaptability #7skills #power #locusofcontrol #wellbeing

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Welcome to a very special series focused on building 7 skills for our times. These are the skills that are going to help us all navigate through the COVID-19 crisis and not only survive this period but truly thrive. I wanted to record this special series to really go into detail on each of the skills and talk about their huge importance right now and specifically HOW we tap into them and nurture and develop them during the very time we are experiencing crisis. 

James and I introduce the series in this short episode and then each week I'll be looking at each skill week by week. I'll be unpicking exactly how to be adaptable through this, how to ensure we continue to think critically, get to grips with empathy, retain integrity, be proactive now and in terms of our futures, embrace optimism and become truly resilient. Subscribe now to not miss a single episode!

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We are all going through fast, rapid change and high uncertainty. Some of the challenges we face are the biggest we will ever face in our life times. I myself have felt on the edge of so many things falling apart - yet I know with 100% certainty - and yes I mean 100% that when EVERYTHING around you feels crazy the only place you can go to find strength and a way to navigate through is by using adaptability, critical thinking, empathy, integrity, optimism, proactivity and resilience. This week each and every one of those skills has come into play.

In this special bonus episode, James and I talk about the situation we all find ourselves in right now and how each of these skills can help us. We also talk about why we feel the way we do and lots of tips and ideas for applying these skills and experiencing an immediate positive impact.

#adaptability #empathy #criticalthinking #integrity #beingproactive #optimism #resilience #7skills #uncertainty #wellbeing

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James and I talk about some of the highlights of Season 5 - some absolutely fabulous interviews with amazing people like Dr Max McKeown, Dr Jack Lewis and Alex Soojung-Kim Pang teaching us all about how to maximise our amazing brains, how to be truly adaptable and ways in which many individuals and companies are working less and as a result are so much happier! We also brought back our short episodes where James and I talk about topics connected with the 7 skills - and some of my favourite are the conversations we had about the important of joy, spending time alone and how to boost vitality and balance. Catch up NOW!

#joy #season5 #podcast #7skillsforthefuture #adaptability #criticalthinking #empathy #integrity #beingproactive #optimism #resilience

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Well, we had so much to talk about this interview is in 2 parts! In this second part we talk about how to work less hours as an individual - so how can we get ourselves down to 4 - 5 hour working days (and still get more done), how to reclaim our evenings and weekends and the best things we can do to alleviate stress, overwhelm and overload. So so much of this is in our hands.

I love the way Alex talks about this - he has so much proof that this works - not just for individuals but also for organisations. He gives so many examples of organisations that have radically altered how they work by slimming down to 4-day weeks. They still pay employees exactly the same and the effect is the opposite of what you might think: increased productivity, increased mental health and wellbeing, better ideas, better work-life balance and performance.

If you missed part 1 catch up on your podcast player.

Alex was in London to promote his new book and it was an honour to interview him - and fab to be in Penguin Book’s dedicated podcast studio!. He is one of the recommended resources and references in several chapters in the book, especially critical thinking and empathy. He works with an amazing array of companies from Shakespeare’s globe to Googleplex, as well as governments and Fortune 500 companies. 

Alex's book Shorter is out NOW and in all major bookstores.

#rest #shorter #alexpang #happiness #productivity #performance #shorter #silicon valley #futurist #workingless

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Alex is THE expert on changing how we work - ie working LESS but still achieving so much MORE! I know our listeners will just love this interview - so much food for thought and proof that working less hours and manipulating our working week and day to shorter more productive and focused work we find more balance, better health, great ideas and ultimately, happiness.

Alex is is a Silicon Valley futurist and consultant and author of Rest: Why you get more done when you work less and his latest book Shorter: how working less will revolutionise the way your company gets things done.

Alex was in London to promote his new book and it was an honour to interview him - and fab to be in Penguin Book’s dedicated podcast studio!. He is one of the recommended resources and references in several chapters in the book, especially critical thinking and empathy. He works with an amazing array of companies from Shakespeare’s globe to Googleplex, as well as governments and Fortune 500 companies. 

Alex's book Shorter is out NOW and in all major bookstores.

#rest #shorter #alexpang #happiness #productivity #performance #shorter #silicon valley #futurist #workingless

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Why talk about quitting?

I think this is an interesting topic because often this word is associated with something negative - a bit like losing or giving up. And I think there can be very good reason to quit something as well as good reasons to keep going. For me quitting is a bit like letting go or making a conscious choice to let go. At the same time quitting is often something that is done impulsively and on the spot or in the heat of the moment. In this episode James and I discuss why we view quitting as something negative and where this belief comes from and how we can reframe this in a more positive way. We also share our favourite quitting stories! And how quitting is linked to resilience

#quitting #podcast #lettinggo #narrative #failure #reframing #7skillsforthefuture #resilience

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What do you do when your "get-up-and-go" has got up and gone? For some of us seizing the day and feeling full of energy can be a real challenge. This is where the power of nurturing your vitality and finding balance comes in. On this episode James and I talk about why lack of motivation and feeling constantly stressed has become normalised and why it's crucial to take our own mental health and wellbeing into our hands by boosting vitality and creating balance in our lives.

We need to do this in all spheres of our lives and this podcast shows you some easy hints and tips to get this right. A short inspirational burst you won't want to miss!

#vitality #balance #7skillsforthefuture #mentalhealth #wellbeing #stress

Want more? Read 7 Skills for the Future, out now in all major bookstores and online

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Such a joy to interview Warren, all the way from New York with us today! Warren is another one of those amazing people who is in demand everywhere and who has focused his work on one thing only - the power of questioning! I reference Warren in the chapter on Critical Thinking and in this podcast he explains why questions are so much more important than answers. We talk about how questions can transform the world, shape innovation and creativity and create so much more stronger relationships and connections.

We also discuss what makes a beautiful question and his latest mission is to transform classrooms Into Cultures of Curiosity and Inquiry. I think Warren is a great example of someone who is completely focused on the art of asking questions - such a simple thing yet so so powerful and that is what we talk about so I think the interview will give listeners lots of food for thought and practical tips and ideas to try out too.

Visit warrenberger.com

Beautiful Questions in the Classroom: Transforming Classrooms Into Cultures of Curiosity and Inquiry

COMING April 2020; paperback

#warrenberger #beautifulquestion #criticalthinking #7skillsforthefuture #curiosity #innovation #creativity

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