New Year’s Game to bring in the New Year!!!!!!!!!!

New Year's Eve - a time for closure as well as dreaming.

For the last few years, just before the clock strikes 12:00 pm, I play an easy but rewarding little game that I’ve come to call, the New Year’s Game (I like names that say what they are). It’s the perfect way to wrap up the past year and bring in the new.
You can play with your partner, a friend, your immediate family, or even at a party (if people work in small groups). The New Year’s Game is an intimate and fun experience for all who play!

 What is the New Year’s Game?
Well, it involves reflection of the past year as well as prediction for the future. BUT with no strings or project plans attached to it!
I mean, what’s more fun than reviewing what makes you great and at the same time dreaming up what you’re going to achieve next!

 Here’s How You Play…
Buy yourself a little notebook (you’ll have this book for years to come and each year you’ll fill in 2-4 pages, so make sure it’s pretty and durable)
Just before midnight on New Year’s Eve, you and your partner/family/friend chat about and write down all the important things that you achieved in the year. Be sure to list something from each area of your life.
After midnight, once the New Year has rolled in, dream up and write down all the important things you’d like to achieve in the New Year.
That’s it. Keep the book in a safe place till next year when you can open it again and see how you did. If you do this every year, pretty soon you’ll have an awesome souvenir from your life.

Get Your Dreams Out in the Open.
The point of the game is not to win or even to lose to everything on the list. The point is the discussion, to have fun and to dream big. The act of having closure with the past and putting your new dreams out there is a huge step.

The universe is listening.

The last post for this year and Career Oracle wishes its readers a very happy and prosperous new year!!!!!! Let us all learn to be a a little more empathetic to each other in 2014! Discrimination: Coping With Discrimination

Purpose of activity: To understand what it feels like to be left out from a group.

To be aware of people or groups who are left out in society.

Lifeskills: Critical thinking & Empathy.

Materials: Sets of stickers in three colours – or bits of coloured paper and pins. There should be enough of each colour for one third of the children in the group.

Steps:

1.            Tell the children that in this game, they will greet everyone differently according to the colour of the sticker placed on their shirt at the back (or a sticker on their forehead!).

2.            Each child has one of three colour stickers placed on the back of their shirt (or forehead). They don’t know which colour they have. They must not tell each other what colour they have pr it will spoil the game!

3.            Tell the children that they can move around the room and greet each other in the following way:

Green sticker - greet this person as if they are very important to you and who you haven't seen for a long time. You are VERY happy to see them and greet them warmly.

Yellow sticker - greet this person as if they are someone you pass everyday. You greet them but it is not a big greeting.

Red sticker - this is someone you do not want to see or greet. Try to avoid them but if you must greet them, do so coldly and try to get away quickly.

4.            Children move around the room and make their greetings for 5-10 mins.

5.            Now the children can look at their sticker and form groups according to their colour. The groups discuss what happened in the activity and what it felt like.

6.            Mix the groups so that there are some of each colour in each group. These groups discuss:

What did it feel like to have the red, yellow or green stickers?

Are there any people in society whom society does not like or leave out? (For example, people whose skin is a different colour, people who have a disability, people who have HIV, women, people who are homosexual, people of a different religion)?  Why?

How do you think those people feel when they are left out? How can we help make those people feel more included?

7.            Each group presents their key points.

How to Develop Leadership Skills Within You!

The leader inside you often needs some encouragement and support from your side to show-up itself. Many people take-up personality development or similar such courses and try to enhance the leadership skills within.

Let us take on certain issues and fathom how a leader should tackle them:

1. Handling Disagreements - Never show your aggression when there is a conflict, either between two subordinates or between you and others. Just remember it is a simple difference of opinions. It can always be solved if tackled discreetly. And that is exactly what a leader does, he never loses his temper rather helps other stay in control.

2. Helping Others Achieve - It’s not solely your accomplishments that count. As a leader you have a whole team to progress along with. Therefore you have to encourage each teammate and even support them in working on their problems. When you hit the road for the first time on your cycle, there were vehicles overtaking from one side and approaching from the together. What did you do then? In fact you encouraged and assured yourself, that you have the ability to do it. The same formula has to be applied every time, but for your colleagues now.

3. Problem Solving Attitude - Are you able to provide solutions or do you end up getting tensed and panicking, when confronted with issues? Well! It is not entirely in your hands to prevent going into hysteria. Many of us do, but your talent lies in overcoming that stage as soon as you can and support others in finding the key to get out of the trouble.

4. Be A Proficient Communicator - This is indeed the most crucial role that a leader has to play. Let’s take one more situation from the above instances: When you go to a store to buy something, are you able to explain clearly and specifically what your requirements are, to the keeper? If you have to clarify things to him again, then you certainly need to work on your communication skills. Similarly, your words should not be misinterpreted nor should you sound authoritative. Be diplomatic and suave, it is the best strategy but put your foot down whenever the need arises.

As a leader earning respect is important but that should come because of your talent and influence, not with command and domination.