We’re taught from a young age that time is precious. Phrases like ‘waste of time’, ‘wild goose chase’ and ‘lost cause’ all infer that time hasn’t been spent to reap the best reward. You’ll probably need more than two hands to count the number of times you’ve heard someone say they’re ‘too busy’. You’ve most likely said this yourself at least once within the last month. There’s a whole lot of guilt surrounding not being busy.
Parlez vous anglais? If you’re reading this (thanks!), English is probably your native language. If not, you’re already reaping the rewards of understanding a second language (congrats!).
With 7 billion people living on planet Earth, language is the one thing that can bring us all together. In a time when international travel is so uncertain due to the global COVID-19 outbreak, now, more than ever, building cultural connections is gratifying. By learning a second language, you’ll open up a world rich with experiences and possibilities.
The old saying ‘curiosity killed the cat’ often gets bandied about, but unless you’re a cat, you can ignore the advice of this proverb.
Being curious – especially in this digital age where it’s all too easy to become sucked into a world of endless television streaming, social media usage and internet rabbit holes – is a blessing. In fact, many of the world’s most genius inventions, knowledge breakthroughs and artistic accomplishments were the result of a seedling of curiosity blossoming into something great.
Interviews have always come with a healthy dose of nerve-inducing feelings. How can I impress the interviewer? How can I highlight my main strengths and compatibility for the role? How will my interviewer perceive me? Am I skilled enough? Am I likeable? Am I hireable?
In an ever competitive job market, the interviewing process has evolved from being more than just a case of what you know, but also who you are as a person. Relying on experience and merit is no longer sufficient. You’ll need a few extra ticks in the box to set you apart from your competition.
We’ve all been there: just when everything is going wonderful, something upsets the balance and causes, what feels like, an enormous step-back.
Dreaming of a blissful world, free of worry is great, but the truth is, life is never going to be completely plain sailing. That’s not to say that there will never be glorious moments of success and happiness throughout life. But these can be hard to conjure and remember when something less pleasant wanders through and disrupts the peace.
The term perfectionism can bring to mind a number of different ideas, both positive and negative. For some, the idea of perfectionism means the pristine, the orderly, the excessively-tidily-packaged lifestyle where everything falls into place with a ribbon on top (read: expertly posed and stylised selfies on social media). For others, perfectionism is best thought of as a struggle to meet grandiose personal goals and fulfil ambitions, to exceed expectations and excel beyond measure.
In an ever competitive age where the evolution of the digital realm continues to grow and grow, and we have access to glimpses of people’s lives from around the globe (whether that’s friends, acquaintances, celebrities, or other people we’re never likely to meet in real life), it’s all too easy to get wrapped up in a rose-tinted world of bliss and perfection, viewing failure as a giant grey gloom cloud in contrast. In other words: failure is something to be avoided at all costs.