4 . Suppose you become a leader in an organization. It’s very likely that you’ll want to have volunteers to help with the organization’s activities.     1    

Let’s begin with the question of why people volunteer. Researchers have identified several factors that motivate people to get involved. For example, people volunteer to express personal values related to unselfishness, to expand their range of experiences, and to strengthen social relationships. If volunteer positions do not meet these needs, people may not wish to participate.     2    

People also volunteer because they are required to do so. To increase levels of community service, some schools have launched compulsory volunteer programs. Unfortunately, these programs can shift people’s wish of participation from an internal factor (e.g., “I volunteer because it’s important to me”) to an external factor (e.g., “I volunteer because I’m required to do so”).     3     People must be sensitive to this possibility when they make volunteer activities a must.

Once people begin to volunteer, what leads them to remain in their positions over time? To answer this question, researchers have conducted follow-up studies in which they track volunteers over time. Having followed 238 volunteers in Florida over a year, they have found that one of the most important factors that influenced their satisfaction as volunteers was the amount of suffering they experienced in their volunteer positions. This result may lead to practical advice. The researchers note that attention should be given to “training methods that would prepare volunteers for troublesome situations or provide them with strategies for coping with the problem they do experience”.

    4     It was assumed that those people for whom the role of volunteer was most part of their personal identity would also be most likely to continue volunteer work. Participants indicated the degree to which the social role mattered by responding to statements such as “Volunteering in Hospital is an important part of who I am.” Consistent with the researchers’ expectations, they found a positive correlation between the strength of role identity and the length of time people continued to volunteer.

5 . With so many investments required of us to succeed - time, resources, talents, responsibilities, even finances for our retirement - it’s easy to lose sight of the most difficult investment of all to commit to : ourselves.

Getting to the point where you’re ready to start upgrading to you 2.0 isn’t easy. But it doesn’t mean dropping the ball everywhere else. It’s not about omissions, but admissions. Come clean with yourself to kick-start your personal growth.

Unstuck starts with “u”

No one purposely chooses to stop learning and growing again, it just kind of happens in a lot of daily responsibilities and life. And if it were easy to just kick it into gear（ 档 位 ）again, you would have already done it. But the truth is inescapable. If you want to get off that place to higher ground, it’s up to you and only you. No one will just hand you a steady stream of opportunities for growth.

You’ve been working in your life, not on it

Activity is often confused with acceleration（忙碌）. I was guilty of this for years in working place - staying always busy but not admitting I was bored. I was lost in activity and not steeping back to take time to question what I wanted my life to be. Once I began working on my life - quitting corporate, becoming an entrepreneur, restructuring to my life - I started growing once again. And I’ve never been happier.

Things aren’t happening to you, they’re happening for you

A victim mentality（心态）is the enemy of personal growth. Lamenting over everything that has gone wrong in your life only wastes energy from working to make more things go right. If you want to kick-start growth, you must view setbacks as having a purpose, and then put them in their place. The past shouldn’t run or define you - only fuel you.

The perfect time to start doesn’t exist

I had so many things that had to be just right before I could make my long-planned leap from corporate. I’d tell myself, “I’d love to go for it right now, but practically speaking.” Well, guess what? Practicality is poison. It’s the convenient excuse stopping you from what you’re meant to become.

It’s time to unplug others’ opinions

Grow where you want to grow. Learn what you want to learn. Wherever you are on the scale of hat you want to learn next - be it beginner or near - expert own it, be proud of it. Pretenses are for pretenders. You’re just trying to become a better version of your genuine self.

Seeking feedback not always sufficient for stimulating creativity

It is widely believed that seeking feedback from colleagues, managers, friends and family enhances employees' creativity. But is this always the case? No, a positive effect depends on the work environment. This is the conclusion of new joint research study led by UvA work and organizational psychologist Roy Sijbom.

    1    For example, managers are encouraged to engage customers in order to confirm whether their business model is workable and scholars attend conferences to obtain feedback on their research results. A definite assumption is that individuals who have obtained feedback will also actually (be able to) use it.

“The idea is simple: seeking feedback from different sources - also known as feedback source variety -- benefits one's creativity since it leads to a greater diversity of viewpoints”, says Sijbom. “And the more diverse the viewpoints, the more it benefits one's creativity because by combining all the different viewpoints new perspectives will emerge that in turn will result in more creativity.     2     ”

The researchers examined how specific characteristics of the immediate work environment influence the relationship between feedback source variety and creative performance.     3     One is the recognized rate of change of performance standards. The other is the extent to which employees feel they have sufficient time to develop creative ideas at work (experienced creative time pressure). “We discovered a growing relationship between the search for input from a variety of feedback sources and creativity, but only when performance standards within an organization are changing and when a relatively low creative time pressure is experienced”, says Sijbom.

Sijbom offers several recommendations: “    4    In a more concrete sense, organizations can, for example, consider using feedback workshops in which employees are encouraged to reflect on diverse feedback and equipped with techniques and strategies on how to absorb feedback in their daily work. In addition, managers should not only stimulate their employees to actively cultivate relationships with potential feedback sources within and outside the organization, but also provide sufficient time to process the feedback obtained from these relationships.”

7 . The goings-on in the consulting room have become more transparent(透明的）recently. Thank goodness. We know more than the lines supplied by the movies in which the therapist knows all and gives wisdom to those who, sitting on a couch, consult with them. Therapists are interested in how the individual, the couple or the family experiences and understands their difficulties. That has to be a starting place. We can be of value if our first port of call is to listen, to gradually feel ourselves into the shoes of the other, to absorb the feelings that are being conveyed and to think and then to say some words.

The thinking and talking that I do inside the consulting room is at odds with many features of ordinary conversation. Not that it is mysterious, but it isn't concerned with traditional ways of sharing or identifying. The therapist makes patterns and theories, but they are also reflecting on the words that are spoken, how they are delivered and how the words, once spoken, affect the speaker and the therapist themselves.

Words can give voice to previously unknown feelings and thoughts. That’s why it’s called the talking cure. But just as words reveal so, too, can they obscure, and this gets us to the listening and feeling part of the therapy. Whatever and however the words are delivered, they will have an impact on me as a therapist. I might feel hopeless, I might feel energized, I might feel pushed away, I might feel demanded of, I might feel pulled to find solutions.

The influence of the other is what makes any relationship possible or impossible. A therapist is trained to reflect on how those who consult with them affect them. As I try to step into the shoes of the other and then out again, my effort is to hold both those experiences, plus an awareness of my ease or discomfort with what I encounter in the relationship.

Feelings are the bread and butter of our work in the consulting room. They inform or modify our ideas and they enable us to find an emotional bridge to what can so hurt for the people we are working with. Along with the more commonly thought-about theories and ideas we have about the psyche, they are an essential part of the therapist's   toolkit, certainly for me. The talking cure means talking, yes. It also means the therapist is listening, thinking and feeling.

Small businesses hold the key to employed happiness. As the calendar flips to another year, many employees will consider starting the new year on the hunt for a new job.

In today’s changing workforce, it is more important than ever for companies to realize that a salary alone is no longer enough to attract or retain strong employees.

According to a survey by Aflac, small business deserve a round of applause for their ability to keep employees happy. The report found that 85 percent of small-business employees are happy in their current job, and more than half（51 percent）agree that most of or all of their happiness in their current job is a result of working for a small business.

Nearly a quarter of participants（23 percent）stated that the feeling of importance was the best part of working for a small business. Small businesses have the unique ability to make employees feel appreciated, respected and valued on a personal and professional level.

In a small-business environment, there are typically fewer layers between newcomers and leadership. This tight-knit structure can create a family-like atmosphere that allows employees to feel that their opinions matter and that they play a significant role in the business’s mission.

Flexibility is also vital in creating employee happiness. According to the report, 30 percent of respondents noted that flexible scheduling was the best part of working for a small business. A workplace that promotes healthy work-life balance can create happier, less stressed employees and can also increase productivity.

Although small business excel at keeping employees happy, there is always room for improvement. In a small-business community, money does not seem to be the only motivator. In fact, 65 percent of small-business employees indicate that an improvement in their benefits offerings would make them happier.

By offering a great benefits plan that includes voluntary benefits, small business can ensure that their employees are able to find the right benefits to meet their individual needs.