live on purpose – Page 4 – Dr. Paul Jenkins

Jun 26

Could Kaizen Be Your Answer?

By DrPaul M-Power

Japanese businesses are known for some of their innovative ideas. Kaizen is one of those. Kai means improvement and Zen means good. Over time as the philosophy has been applied to business and implemented in other fields, it has come to mean continuous improvement. Kaizen seeks to find small ways to improve continuously so that over time big results can be seen. You can use Kaizen to reach your personal development goals. Look around you. What small adjustments could you make that would eliminate waste or make something easier for you in your daily life? It could be something as simple as packing your things (or the kids') the night before so there is not such a scramble in the morning. It could be setting your alarm 10 minutes earlier and practicing mindfulness before you start your day. It could be organizing a space to increase your productivity. Think about…

Jun 23

Killer Whales and Parenting

By DrPaul M-Power

This week has been busy as I am training 11 new Positivity Practitioners. The newsletter this week is from Sue Meintjes, who interviewed me for the wonderful work they are doing to support parents. Click on the link at the bottom of the article to get a ton of information to help you with your parenting. Not a parent? Share with someone who is. Sue Meintjes I'm not a fan of swimming in the ocean. I just can't shake the feeling that sharks are gliding around beneath me, waiting for their chance to snack on me. So when I saw the headline Killer whales deliberately hitting boats off coast of Spain and Portugal earlier today I just had to read the article for further proof that we should stay out of the ocean. Apparently, over the last year, there has been more than 60 incidents of killer whales, orcas, attacking and destroying…

Jun 08

Neurons That Fire Together, Stay Together

By DrPaul M-Power

Have you heard the story of the little train that told itself, “I think I can, I think I can,” as it chugged up the steep hill? The little train was almost no match against the big hill, but in the end he did get up the hill because he told himself he could do it. He didn’t give up. (Can you tell I have been spending time with the grands?) I talk a lot about having a positive mindset because when done with the correct intentions and setting yourself up for success, the result is more positive behavior. Our brains are trained from a very young age to default toward negativity or positivity. The good news is that even if your brain has been trained toward negativity, you don’t have to stay there. Hebb’s Law was developed in 1949 by Donald Hebb and published in The Organization of Behavior:…

May 23

My Reason to Celebrate

By DrPaul M-Power

The topic of birthdays came up the other day and one woman said, “I don’t have those anymore.” Well, I do and my twin sister is about to have another one. I like birthdays because I like to get together with family and friends and celebrate. I like birthdays because I can reflect on what has happened in the past year and make goals for what I want to accomplish in the coming year. I like birthdays because it breaks up the normal routine. I like birthdays because I like cake and ice cream. I like birthdays because I get to think about other people and celebrate them. There could be many things to not like about birthdays, but I choose to celebrate people and their goodness. I get it, not everything about getting older is fun, but I would rather celebrate another birthday than not. And though in my…

May 18

Write the Story, Especially the Next Chapter

By DrPaul M-Power

The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new. Socrates Have you ever met someone who declares they are over someone or a situation and then they go on and on talking about that person or situation? They say they want change. They say they don’t want to be stuck. They say they want to move on. And then they rehash the old - again. The thing is the past is the past and what has happened has happened, we can’t make events turn out different than they are. I always say something is not an option until someone sees it as an option. We don’t exercise the option to change because we don't see the option. There are many ways to get unstuck. Some have become more mindful to help stay in the present. Some have journaled…

May 09

Change Your Words, Change Your Mindset

By DrPaul M-Power

I saw this message on a board this week and the truth leapt out. Our words can either limit us or help us to grow. And we have the choice of which words we use and listen to. “I messed up.” OK, well, who hasn’t. What if we changed the words to, “What can I learn from this experience?” “This is really hard.” Whatever you are doing is probably hard, because every time we do something for the first time it is difficult. We don’t have the muscle memory to know how to act. What if we changed the words to, “I need more/other skills to help me get better at this.” “I’m not good at this.” Michael Jordan was told he wasn’t good at basketball, but he kept practicing. What if we changed the words to, “I will keep practicing so I can get better at this.” “I give…

May 05

Little Known Byproduct of Forgiveness

By DrPaul M-Power

Forgiveness can be hard for some people. Forgiveness is also a powerful emotion that can have a lasting impact on both personal and work life. When some people are holding back forgiveness from someone who sincerely is sorry and is trying to change it may be helpful to keep in mind an important byproduct of forgiveness. Forgiveness can help to foster loyalty between two people. I don’t know of any relationship where there has been perfect communication and understanding of where the other person was coming from, past hurts and disappointments and grace given always in abundance. Perhaps because there are no perfect people. Communication can be confusing. We aren’t at our best every day of our lives. We may be sick, upset about something, sleep deprived. Without forgiveness the disagreement can moulder and fester. With forgiveness the bond can become stronger which leads to increased loyalty. In the workplace,…

Apr 27

Get Your Free Book

By DrPaul M-Power

My friend, Sue Meintjes, has just released a new ebook called "How To Get Kids To Listen", containing 18 short interviews with leading parenting experts. And, yes, I’m one of the featured interviews. I was so impressed with all the content, I arranged for you to get a copy for free. It features 10-minute interviews with leading parenting experts who share their single best strategy to get your kids to listen and cooperate...without yelling and begging! Some of the chapters include: How “detaching yourself from the outcome” helps your children respond more positively (Dr. Paul Jenkins, child and family psychologist, author and podcast host) From Julie King (author of two best-selling books: How To Talk So LITTLE Kids Will Listen and How To Talk When Kids Won't Listen), you'll learn why “playfulness” is such a powerful technique to increase cooperation... and a simple trick to be playful even when you…

Apr 03

You Are Canceled!

By DrPaul M-Power

Canceled! If you are on social media or watch the news you will see that people are increasingly quick to “cancel” someone they don’t agree with. Canceling someone is publicly denouncing them and seeking to ruin their reputation or career. This practice is so common that it is now considered a form of online activism. This article is not about determining when and if it is ok to cancel someone or talk about specific instances. We can benefit from standing back a bit and considering if there are other ways we can go about standing up for what we believe and making a difference without canceling people. The dangers of canceling people are not to be taken lightly. Canceling someone can have serious consequences for BOTH the person who is canceled and the ones who are canceling. There may be a benefit to not canceling the person and employing some…