January 11, 2018

I’ve been reading so much this week it’s hard to decide what to share with you! Here are some favorites:

1. Why Dressing Sloppily at the Gym Helps My Self-Esteem, Man Repeller. I really like this, perhaps because I also like to dress for comfort and movement over style. “I gradually replaced them with looser, softer things that gave my body permission to move freely, to expand and contract and stretch and take up space. The extra room extended to my mind as well — room to enjoy the experience of being active without unwelcome thoughts competing for attention.”
2. Stop Letting Strangers Dictate What You Do With Your Day. The best part was: “Shift from saying “I can’t do that” to “I don’t do that”. Language is powerful, and simple tweaks to the way that you say “no” can have an outsize impact on people’s perception of you. In a 2012 study recently recapped in New York Magazine, researchers found that it was easier for people to stick to resolutions if they said “don’t” instead of “can’t.” So, for instance, you might say, “I don’t answer emails on Saturday” instead of “I can’t answer emails on Saturday”. When you say you “can’t do” something, it conveys weakness and inadequacy—giving the sense that you might want to do the task, but aren’t actually able to. Whereas when you say you “don’t do” something, it conveys power and conviction, a feeling of a rule to which you are staunchly committed.”
3. Benefits of Mindfulness at Work: The Role of Mindfulness in Emotion Regulation, Emotional Exhaustion, and Job Satisfaction, Hulsheger, et al., 2012. I’m doing some professional research on the role of mindfulness in the library, and finding some really interesting stuff! Something new to me is the concept of surface acting, where workers (particularly in care or service positions) have to put on a face or fake a pleasant demeanor even when they don’t feel it, for the sake of the customer or company culture. Studies show this long-term surface acting makes you feel less genuine and affects your job satisfaction, but mindful practices can help!
4. 100 Trend Predictions for 2018, Pinterest. This is a fascinating way to see all the information a social network is collecting about us, but it also feels like a peek into what “the cool people” are gonna be into this year.
5. 10 New Principles of Good Design, Fast Company. Yes! These are some great ethical principles to consider.

Have a great weekend, friends!