by Caroline Leach | Mar 5, 2016 | Change, Learning
Can learning a new sport increase your overall ability to learn?
Absolutely, Gretchen Reynolds wrote recently in the New York Times. Learning a new sport may be good for the brain, she says.
Her “crash course in snowboarding” yielded multiple benefits. Not the least of which was underscoring how we learn – by trial and error and bit by bit.
Stand-up paddle boarding, or SUP, is the new recreational activity I’m learning. And as I do, I see many parallels with learning anything new. Here are 10.
Doing. The way to learn something new is by actually doing it on a regular basis. Lessons are a good way to start. Depending on what you’re learning, a lesson may be best in person (definitely the case for SUP) or online (certainly an option for my data-focused learning journey).
Experimenting. During today’s SUP session, I tried some different things. What happened if I leaned a bit to the right or the left? Bent my arms and legs slightly? Tried to stop by placing my paddle further into the water?
Equipping. Having the right tools is important for any activity. That doesn’t always mean the most expensive equipment, or having every last available gadget. But in my case, the winter jacket I got last week keeps me warm on cool Southern California mornings. And it has plenty of room for my shoulders and arms to move while paddling.
Questioning. What else do I need to do to learn and enjoy this new activity? How can I make it more of a workout? What will I need to change over time to keep the experience new and fresh? Is there a goal I can work toward? In the short term, for this summer, it’s paddleboard yoga. In the long term, for next year, maybe it’s training for a race.
Reading. After our first (and so far only) lesson, I read a few articles about the proper technique. Initially I was so focused on keeping my balance that I needed to revisit the finer points of proper stroke technique, how to turn and how to stop. There are many great articles and videos online.
Committing. What will be the catalyst to continue this activity? In my case it was getting an annual membership today. The more my husband and I paddle, the less expensive each session becomes. It reminds me of my high-school skiing days. I’d motivate myself to take that final run of the day in order to bring down the average cost per run. Maybe that explains my college major in economics.
Scheduling. Beyond the commitment is getting our sessions on the calendar. Each weekend, I look at our family’s school, sports and community commitments. Then I schedule on our calendar when we’ll paddle. It’s the same thing with my Sunday morning yoga class. When it’s on the calendar, it’s harder to skip it.
Sharing. This is special time my husband and I are spending together. And I have a friend or two who will join us this spring. It’s fun to talk about what works, how to navigate on our boards and wonder together why our feet get a bit numb while we paddle. It might be time for more lessons.
Multiplying. The jargon-appropriate term here would be “stacked win.” But whenever you can accomplish multiple objectives with a single activity, that’s a great thing in our busy worlds. With SUP there’s an arm and core workout, family time, outdoor air and the novelty of something new for your body. Which benefits your brain and stimulates greater ability to learn in other areas of life.
Enjoying. There’s a meditative quality to gliding across the water. Listening to waves crashing outside the marina. Smiling at the sight of seals enjoying a marine mammal barge as we paddle boy. Time seems to slow down. Life comes into greater focus. The brain stretches and grows in new ways, right along with the body and soul.
by Caroline Leach | Feb 27, 2016 | Change, Learning, Marketing & Analytics
Does what we say to ourselves influence how much, how fast and how well we can learn new things?
Absolutely, says Erika Andersen, the author of the forthcoming book Be Bad First.
She outlines 4 key mental tools in her Harvard Business Review article, Learning to Learn. They are aspiration, self-awareness, curiosity and vulnerability.
Aspiration. Andersen says “great learners can raise their aspiration level.” How? By focusing on the benefits of what you’ll learn, rather than on the challenges in the learning process. A good question to ask is “What would my future look like if I learned this?”
Self-awareness. This is about seeking feedback and taking action on it. Good questions to ask yourself about feedback are “Is this accurate?” “What facts do I have to support it?” and “How do I compare with my peers?”
Curiosity. Andersen writes that “curiosity is what makes us try something until we can do it it, or think about something until we understand it.”
If you’re not interested in a new subject, Anderson advocates changing your self-talk to ask why others find the subject so interesting.
As a person interested in words, ideas and influence, my curiosity is helping me find where those interests intersect with analytics and big data.
In starting to read Tom Davenport‘s Big Data @ Work, I became more curious about how organizations of the future will better focus on the collaboration and communications activities of their people.
This led me to a footnote that took me to another book called Social Physics. This is defined as “analyzing patterns of human experience and idea exchange within the digital bread crumbs we all leave behind us as we move through the world.”
Now I’m truly fascinated and thinking about the connections with another book I read last year, The Reputation Economy. This is about how individuals can shape their digital footprint at a time when your reputation can dictate the kind of life you’ll live and what opportunities may be available to you.
Vulnerability. This is about the scary prospect of “being bad at something for weeks or months; feeling awkward and slow; having to ask ‘dumb’ questions; and needing step-by-step guidance again and again.”
The cure? Changing what you say to yourself. Andersen suggests that instead of saying “I’m terrible at this,” replace it with, “I’m making beginner mistakes, but I’ll get better.”
As I’m pursuing my own learning project and getting up to speed in a new role, I reminded myself of trying out for a sports team in high school.
When I showed up for the first practice before tryouts, I almost didn’t come back the next day. I felt uncoordinated, self-conscious and silly. But I made myself come back the next day. And the next.
And happily, I made the team. But what if I’d given up that first day? What if I’d allowed myself to believe that I was terrible and had no hope of getting better?
There are very few things we can’t learn if we tell ourselves we can. And if we encourage ourselves with positive thoughts. And remind ourselves that others don’t notice our mistakes as much as we might think.
I have to tell myself that frequently as I walk into yet another figurative wall by mistake. Oops. That hurt. Did anyone notice my mistake?
But the important thing is the dust yourself off. To keep moving forward. And to avoid making the same mistake twice.
What’s a good way to do that? By being kind to yourself. Encourage yourself. Have faith that with grit and perseverance, you can do what you set out to do.
One day this month I came home and a friend from a community group had left a thank-you card and a book on my doorstep. The book is “The Power of Kindness.” It’s about “the unexpected benefits of leading a compassionate life.”
And while the main focus of the book is on being kind to others, there is power in being just as kind to ourselves.
That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t set aspirational goals and have high standards for ourselves. But it does mean encouraging ourselves and asking how we could do better next time.
In addition to my learning journey in data and analytics, I’ve written in this blog about learning stand-up paddle boarding and learning yoga. My goal this summer is to combine the two.
Today I went paddle boarding and tomorrow I’ll take a yoga class. The benefit to both is a kind of zen that helps me be kinder to myself and to others.
It pulls me out of the moment-to-moment frenzy of everyday life and puts me in a meditative state. A reflective state. A refreshed state.
All the better to keep learning.
by Caroline Leach | Feb 22, 2016 | Corporate Communications, Work/Life
What makes a great speech?
Humor. Brevity. Meaning. Emotion. Love. Those were the hallmarks of some touching remarks I heard over the weekend.
And no, it wasn’t a TED talk or a corporate retreat. It was a high-school soccer banquet. Seen through the eyes of a freshman parent.
The most impressive part was the level of preparation. Each graduating senior had a freshman talk about what they learned from that player.
And whether they pulled a piece of paper or an iPhone out of their pocket, they had all clearly put thought into what they were going to say.
After the freshmen had their say, some of the seniors shone the spotlight on their coaches.
A few memorable mantras from the many vignettes –
- No matter what happens, you have to make the best of it
- Some of the biggest learnings happen off the field
- Someday I hope I can make people feel as special as my coach made me feel.
Whether they were talking about soccer, or life or both, a lot of great lessons had been role modeled, learned and shared.
What struck me the most was the level of poise these young athletes demonstrated. That’s what comes from having many opportunities to speak in group settings.
They showed how much inspiration – not to mention humor – you can bring to a very short speech.
There’s no need to hem or haw or spend a long time leading up to the punchline.
They simply shared what was in their hearts.
by Caroline Leach | Feb 21, 2016 | Learning, Marketing & Analytics
Headlines are critical in corporate communications.
If someone reads nothing else but the headline, will they get the key message? And will the headline compel them to read the story?
A tweet can serve the same function. Can you get your key message across in under 140 characters? Will it engage your followers to click on the related link?
It turns out, there’s another powerful use for headlines and tweets. Alexandra Samuel outlines this in her HBR post How Content Marketers Can Tell Better Stories with Data.
“Start with your dream headline,” Samuel advises. She likes to start by “imagining my dream headlines or tweets: the discoveries that I would love my data to yield.”
Samuel gives the example of looking at child-related security risks. “I hoped to discover the security practices that led to the biggest reduction in online misdeeds,” she wrote, “something like ‘good passwords cut hacks perpetrated by kids by 50%’.”
This informs how she tackles the research. What’s less important is whether the discovery she wants to find is actually supported by the research. Because the method provides focus to the research.
This gives a better ability to discover “data that would yield the best-case outcome.” The headline and the story then evolve based on the most interesting and relevant insights from the data.
My first introduction to Alexandra Samuel was through her series of e-books, which ultimately become Work Smarter with Social Media. These helped me to work better with LinkedIn, Twitter and more.
That’s why I was drawn to Samuel’s articles during my Sunday morning reading of HBR posts on marketing, market research and data. It’s all part of my ongoing, online learning project.
And it speaks to the 5-plus hours of learning that everyone at my employer is encouraged to do to mobilize the future.
We’re all lifelong learners. It’s a gift to be part of a company that creates a learning culture to do just that.
What are you learning today?
by Caroline Leach | Feb 19, 2016 | Work/Life
This post is based on my inspiration at the February meeting of the Palos Verdes Chapter of National Charity League.
One thing I love about Southern California is that winter is over by February. The rest of the country may be snowed in, but we’re enjoying summer weather.
We’re just over 20 days from daylight savings. Not that I’m counting.
Spring is around the corner. And you know what the means. Spring cleaning.
There was a great quote I was trying to find but never exactly did. It was something like, “now that I’ve cleaned out my refrigerator, I have clarity on what I want to do for the rest of my life.”
There’s something very freeing about decluttering. Letting go of things that no longer serve us. Opening doors for new experiences.
Japanese organizing expert Marie Kondo calls this “the life-changing magic of tidying up.” That’s the name of her bestselling book about the art of decluttering and organizing.
And it’s as simple – and as difficult – as this: taking every item in your house in hand and asking yourself, “does this spark joy?”
If it does, keep it. If not, thank it and give it away.
Because, as Marie says, “when your room is clean and uncluttered, you have no choice but to examine your inner state. You can see any issues you’ve been avoiding and are forced to deal with them.”
And, “From the moment you start tidying, you will be compelled to reset your life. As a result, your life will start to change. It gives you a drastic change in self perception — the belief that you can do anything if you set your mind to it.”
This manifested itself in my life 5 years ago. Following a particular intense time, I started by clearing my calendar. That was followed by tidying my house. A slimmer, trimmer body followed that.
What Marie wrote is really true. “The true goal should be to establish the lifestyle you want most once your house has been put in order. Pour your time and passion into what brings you the most joy, your mission in life.”
Humor can also spark joy, but I don’t consider myself a comedian. So when I saw a parody of Marie’s book, I grabbed it, hoping for some great laughs to share.
It’s called, The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F—. Or, how to “stop spending time you don’t have with people you don’t like doing things you don’t want to do.”
And while there IS some humor in it, the message was quite serious.
It’s about knowing what’s important to you. And gracefully bowing out of what’s NOT important to you. This is such a freeing concept.
How many of us do things we don’t really enjoy out of obligation? What if we just said no? Because it’s really about saying yes to ourselves and what’s most important to us.
There was a few “obligations” on my list that I promptly dispatched. And it made my giddy with happiness.
So ask yourself this question about the possessions, the people and the action items in your life.
Does it spark joy?
If not, you know what to do.
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