Conquer Perfectionism and Embrace Change With Humor

Playing Second Fiddle is all about accepting our lack of perfection. When I started to learn violin, my aim wasn’t to play in the symphony. Actually I tried out for the Junior Philharmonic-and I got a lot of laughs… But really, all I wanted to do was to see what kinds of sounds I could make. And believe me I can make a lot of sounds. Before I could learn, though, I had to conquer one big obstacle: Perfectionism. It took the more specific form of fear. Humor helped me to conquer perfectionism in three easy ways.First, though, I had to conquer fear. Fear of not playing perfectly. Fear of having to start from zero. Fear of others’ reactions to my new pastime. I had to conquer the tendency we all have, of wanting things to be perfect before we make one step forward. We say, “I’ll do it tomorrow.” Or, “I’ll find a teacher after I’ve paid my taxes.” And, “I’ll practice more after I do the dishes.” I had to push aside the idea that I should sound and be a certain way, in this new role. I had to let go of the perfect image of my music sounding flawless, the sounds I make amazing.Humor helped me to eradicate this particular aspect of perfectionism. I had to tell myself to, “Just Begin.” Take that first step toward your goal and believe that the universe will bring you the things, people, and knowledge you need. And so I just started. I didn’t wait until I had a good violin, a proper neck rest, or even talent.Humor reminded me to accept my abilities. I did what my violin teacher told me, “Do it wrong, do it strong.” There was a study at Allegheny College in Pennsylvania about musicians learning new music. When they played timidly and softly-not wanting others to hear their mistakes-it took their brains much longer to learn the music. But when they played strongly, their brains processed the new knowledge much more quickly. When we aren’t afraid of our imperfection we are free to embrace and utilize the skills and talent we do have.Humor allowed me to be a true beginner. I wasn’t afraid to be a total novice. Think of a kindergartner: no one expects anything from them. So, realistically, they can get away with anything. We have to be willing to start from scratch and learn as we go. No one can know everything about everything. After my first violin lesson, I was so proud of myself. Not only did I learn how to take the violin out of the case. But-I learned how to hold it! I thought I was the most brilliant person in the room.What’s your ‘violin’? Maybe it’s going back to school for that degree. Maybe it’s moving to a new area or state. Or it could be starting-or ending-a relationship. Maybe it’s painting your house blue. Whatever it is, take the focus off of perfectionism. Today, just take a step forward, even if you do it wrong, do it strong. And let yourself be a total beginner. And then take your rightful place in the orchestra!

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How a Great Health Care CRM Solution Can Improve Your Relationships With Providers

Patient health care providers continue to offer their dedicated service through their patient care standards. Transformational changes that were driven by multitudes of quality of care and economic factors enabled investments in technology that is utilized for providing support. All operational aspects of providers like clinical, financial, and administrative information needs to be shared throughout each revenue cycle that will facilitate transactions for the supply chain. The future of the healthcare industry is heavily dependent on new informative health technology.CRM BenefitsMaintaining a healthcare CRM solution is imperative for future calculations. Studies show that through the use of a CRM solution, providers have lowered cost care and medication errors, and the outcome of patient care has improved. The health care industry has adopted an electronic system for patient health records. The electronic system is very beneficial and will provide a better tracking system for patients.Online SolutionsThe Obama Administration recognizes the healthcare CRM potential benefits for implementing standards nationally through utilizing stimulus package expenditures to obtain health care CRM online providers. The benefits for providers will simplify billing procedures, allow better solutions for business intelligence and provide standardized industry solutions for health care CRM online transactions. Medicare is proud to say that they are now offering incentives financially for those who utilize e-prescribing.Online Patient RecordsThis industry is changing due to the new US laws and regulations. The market for the need of the patient health care records is growing and there has been an increase in competition. Integrators, vendors and developers are merging to incorporate their revenues. The effort of the commercial endeavors may produce excellent standards for interoperability, portability and security. The challenges of the financial stress is overwhelming for some. However, there are companies that are prudent and produce investments with high-returns. The capabilities of the advanced system must be on every healthcare company’s must-have list. The long-term benefits will empower a company to be a better competitor in the healthcare market.Information Technology SystemChoose a health information system that organizes and supports your business and clinical needs. When searching for the specific needs of your business you must search the marketplace for solutions that are customized. Search for ways to reduce operating expenses and the overall costs that are associated with expenses of operating the innovative technology. Your new health care system should run smoothly with minimal effort so your focus can be on providing excellent health care.

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Commercial Mortgage Options Described in Seven Words

Business borrowers should be aggressively developing strategies for dealing with the serious ongoing commercial banking problems likely to negatively impact their ability to obtain business finance help because there are very few reliable signs indicating that commercial mortgage options are about to improve. This report provides several straightforward and brief descriptions using seven words to explain commercial real estate financing and to facilitate efforts with lenders. Consistent with our in-depth analysis about the growing consensus that small businesses are currently confronting one of the worst commercial lending environments during the past sixty years, we adopted a similar approach in commercial financing articles that include “six words describing small business loans”.”Commercial loans are getting harder to find” is the first illustration of seven words to describe commercial real estate financing. Hearing a bank say that they can help with commercial property loans or any other form of small business financing is not sufficient by itself. The true test is to find banks that are routinely providing commercial mortgage options to small businesses. Bankers are typically stating that they are lending normally when in fact they are not, and this is both a disappointing and common observation.As a second seven-word description, “business financing is the next big problem” indicates growing commercial property loan concerns on several levels. Residential mortgage financing problems (the first big problem for banks) have not yet been successfully put to rest by far too many banks. Declining sales, decreasing business property values and depleted bank resources are part of the overwhelming evidence to support the likelihood that commercial real estate loans will become an even more serious problem. Further bank bailouts related to commercial property loans are highly unlikely, and banks are continuing to fail at a record rate.Our third group of seven words describing commercial real estate loans is “contingency planning is critical for commercial mortgages”. To help businesses plan in advance what to do if something goes wrong, this approach to business planning has always been an invaluable tool. Small business owners have discovered during recent years that for improving commercial mortgage options, a similar contingency planning perspective is equally valuable. This strategic thinking is especially critical if a commercial borrower has a small business loan that their current bank can recall with very little advance notice. With commercial property loans for small businesses, such a possibility is particularly common.”Borrowers need a healthy amount of skepticism” represents our final seven words describing commercial real estate financing. Even if a small business owner is in the enviable position of believing that they have no current commercial mortgage worries, this observation is still relevant. It might be helpful to recall that banks were almost universally less than accurate and candid in describing their problems with residential mortgages. This observation should be evaluated in the light of banks reporting that they are lending normally to businesses while simultaneously eliminating or reducing commercial loan programs for small businesses. Being skeptical of commercial banks for the foreseeable future is appropriate for any prudent commercial borrower.A review of commercial financing reports such as “six more words about working capital” and “seven words describing merchant cash advance options” should also contribute to a more complete understanding of the practical small business finance options necessary to cope with one of the most chaotic commercial banking climates seen in decades. Small business owners will generally need to plan ahead and be more aggressive in their efforts to successfully locate reliable business financing alternatives because effective and practical commercial mortgage options seem to be declining. This report was intentionally structured to produce a concise overview of pertinent commercial real estate finance issues by describing commercial real estate loan difficulties in seven words.

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Small Business Loans – Encouraging Business Initiatives

Being a small business owner is not easy. Apart from the problems that the small business owners have to face in operating business, the severest of problems is in raising capital. It is not easy to raise capital for business use; particularly in an environment in which small business owners are accorded a status similar to borrowers with bad credit. Self employment is considered a bad credit case because of the unstable income generation through small business. It is said how a small business owner will pay fixed installments on a loan if he has not made much income (profits) in a particular month. Banks and financial institutions are thus not receptive to the demands of the small business owners.However, a loan can be designed particularly suited to the small business owners. Few lenders, who did not want to lose on the opportunity of lending to the rising group of small business owners, devised such loan. It is known as small business loan. Small business loans are advanced to small entrepreneurs who invest it in a series of purposes like expansion of their facility, buying technology, purchasing new tools and equipments, and also to buy raw materials and pay wages to workers.Lenders advance small business loans on the principle of moderate risk, which is no different from lending any other loan. The principle of moderate risk implies lending by keeping sufficient cover against risks. Therefore, while designing the terms of the small business loans, lenders are often seen to be using this principle. Take for instance, the rate of interest. The rate of interest charged on small business loans is higher than the normal. Similarly, lenders will only lend a limited sum on small business loans. These are sufficient proof of the manner in which lenders prepare for any risk that may emerge in the future.What differences can a borrower notice in small business loan, which goes in his favour? Borrowers can get an arrangement designed by which they can repay loan installments with ease. Small business loan with a flexible repayment schedule sufficiently solves the problem of the self employed people. Through a flexible repayment schedule, borrowers do not need to make repayments of a pre-specified amount and a pre-specified period. Depending on the income that they are able to salvage in that period, they can make repayments accordingly. Therefore, in certain months (or any periodicity chosen by borrower to make repayments) there can be underpayments, overpayments, and no payments at all (termed as payment holiday).However, not all lenders may be ready to accommodate your financial condition thus. If you consider the clause of flexible repayments so necessary in your case, then you must mould your search operations accordingly. With the help of brokers, searching small business loan according to ones desired criteria is not very difficult. Brokers are associated with several loan providers in the UK. When a person applies for small business loan to these brokers, they forward it to all the lenders who they think can appropriately advance loans to the entrepreneurs. The broker conducts the entire search operation. The borrower just has to choose from the large number of deals that the lenders forward. Brokers can also arrange small business loans from lenders who accept flexible repayment. Similarly, other specific requirements of borrowers can be incorporated into any small business loan searched. Brokers charge certain fees for their services. However, the best deal that these help to find will make the issue of fees irrelevant.Small business loans can be either short term or long term. A short-term small business loan is repayable in a period ranging from certain months to a year. Long-term small business loans on the other hand, advance money for as long as 25 years. Depending upon ones requirement, the small business owners can decide term of repayment and other terms and conditions of the small business loan.

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The Importance of Early Childhood Education

The best predictor of a good ending is a good beginning. The old adage is a true today as when it was first uttered so long ago that no one can clearly say who first spoke those words. When it comes to the education of young children this proverb has such tremendous relevance that it is hard to overstate its importance. All learning and life experience is moulded by what happens to the child in the early years of his or her life. The influence of the family is of major importance but the influence of the educational opportunities offered to young children is just as powerful and, in some ways, more powerful. For it is the impact of early childhood education that determines the attitude a child will take to formal schooling at primary or secondary level.The world today is a troubled place. We seem to be getting better at hating one another. We seem less and less able to accept people who are different from us. In a world riddled with violence, crime, bullying, chaos and unpredictability we have to ask some important questions. Why is it that some childrenDo not become violent?Do not become bullies?Do not become depressed?Do not loath themselves and others?Do not despair and give up on life?These may not be the most profound questions being posed in today’s world but they are among the most important. Where can we turn to discern the answers to these questions? What do we know that can help us unpack the issues embedded in them and come to a vision of how to raise and educate young children?The answers to these and other questions about children are emerging from new research about how the human brain grows and develops. Although we are a long way off knowing exactly who we can prevent violence and depression we have learned a good deal about how to foster the brain’s potential as an organ to help children grow to become contributing and productive members of society. Before we explore some of the implications from this research we need to briefly review the five areas of development that all children pass through during childhood.Understanding Child DevelopmentThere are five areas of development that children undergo as they grow to be young adults. These steps appear in a rather predictable sequence, one after the other. They are not like steps of a ladder leading to higher and higher levels. Rather, they are like a spiral of stages through which a child cycles endlessly as they grow and mature. At some point the highest level of attainment may not be reached in a given area but that does not mean the child cannot progress to other areas of the spiral.The five areas of child development are:oPhysical
oIntellectual
oLinguistic
oEmotional
oSocial
They can be easily remembered by the use of the rather unfortunate acronym “PILES”.Physical DevelopmentThis area of child development is no doubt the easiest to understand and observe. Physical development includes: gross motor skills, fine motor skills, motor control, motor coordination and kinaesthetic feedback. Let’s explain each of these briefly.oGross motor skills are those movements of the large muscles of the legs, trunk and arms.oFine motor skills are the movements of the small muscles of the fingers and hands.oMotor control is the ability to move these large and small muscles.
oMotor coordination is the ability to move these muscles in a smooth and fluid pattern of motion.
oKinaesthetic feedback is the body’s ability to receive input to the muscles from the external environment so the person knows where his body is positioned in space.Intellectual DevelopmentThis area relates to the level of intelligence of a child in general and to the various aspects of intelligence that influence overall level of general ability. Among these many aspects are:oVerbal skills-our ability to communicate with words our ideas, attitudes, beliefs, thoughts and emotions.
oNon-verbal skills-our ability to use visual and spatial-perceptual skills to interpret the world around us.
oAttention span-the ability to sustain a focus on a stimulus for a sufficient period of time to interpret it and understand it.
oConcentration-our ability to utilise attention to juggle stimuli into various permutations as necessary to analyse it accurately.
oVisual-motor skills-the ability to coordinate the movements of the eyes and hands to manipulate objects effectively.
oVisual-perceptual skills-the ability to analyse stimuli visually without necessarily manipulating them manually.
oMemory-can be auditory or visual (or even kinaesthetic as in the case of remember dance steps) and can be divided into some important sub-types:
- Immediate recall-ability to hold input long enough to recall it straight away if required to do so
- Short-term memory-ability to hold input over a longer period of time, perhaps minutes or hours
- Long-term memory-ability to store input and recall is well after it has been perceived, perhaps days or months, even years laterLinguistic DevelopmentLinguistic development refers to language usage. Like other areas of child development it can be divided into sub-types.oReceptive language-our ability to understand spoken language when we hear it
oExpressive language-our ability to use spoken language to communicate to others
oPragmatic language-the ability to understand humour, irony, sarcasm and know how to respond appropriate to what another has said or asked as well as know when to wait and listen
oSelf-talk-the ability to use internal, silent language to think through problems, cope with difficulties and postpone impulses
oReasoning-the ability to think through problems, usually with self-talk but at other times aloud, create plans of action using words
oCreative thinking-although not strictly a linguistic function I include it here because many people use language creatively, in new and inventive ways (e.g. Joyce, Beckett)Emotional DevelopmentThis aspect of development, along with social development, is probably one of the most underrated but yet most important aspects of learning how to live in the world. No matter how excellent intellectual, physical and linguistic development may be we are doomed to live lives of frustration and difficult if we have not gained satisfactory emotional development. It includes:oFrustration tolerance-the ability to cope effectively when things do not go the way we want or expect
oImpulse control-the ability to think before we act and not do everything that comes into our head
oAnger management-ability to resolve conflict without recourse to verbal or physical violence
oInter-personal intelligence-understanding the attitudes, beliefs and motivations of others
oIntra-personal intelligence-understand our own attitudes, beliefs and motivationsSocial DevelopmentoSharing-knowing how to ask to use the materials that belong to another
oTurn-taking-knowing when it is your turn to do something and when to ask if you can do it
oCooperation-the skills of working with others towards a group goal of task
oCollaboration-the ability to communication your input in a meaningful way when working with others.
Again it is necessary to repeat that emotional and social development play a hugely important role in our ability to live lives of dignity and respect. They also largely determine how well we will get along with workmates, bosses and loved ones including life-partners.When we recognise that all children pass through each area of development we design educational programme for them that are developmentally appropriate. Most pre-schools have done just that. Unfortunately many early years settings succumb to pressure and push children towards academic goals and objectives, sometimes almost obsessively. Indeed, the curriculum in our junior and senior infant classes is largely developmentally inappropriate. It is far too teacher and parent-centred and far too little child-centred. Regardless, appropriate or inappropriate, it is not enough to focus on child development alone in our work with young children. We must begin to recognise the inborn potential locked within the child’s brain.The Human BrainLocked inside the brain are the potentialities that make us human. We are born with the potential for:oLove Hate
oPatience Mistrust
oTenderness Violence
oHope Despair
oTrust Suspicion
oDignity Corruption
oRespect Revenge
It is the responsibilities of adults to unlock the positive potentialities of the brain and prevent the negative from appearing.All educational experiences of children in the early years, indeed all educational experiences of children across the entire school years, must place an emphasis on releasing the positive potential that lies within the brain. Recent brain research, much of it conducted by Dr. Bruce Perry in Texas, has illuminated six core strengths, each of them related to brain growth and development that must be a focus in development appropriate educational programmes for young children.The Six Core StrengthsBruce Perry and his colleagues at the Child Trauma Academy in Texas have identified six strengths that are related to the predictable sequence of brain growth and development. These six strengths, if nurtured and fostered appropriately, will help a child grow to become a productive member of society. They are:oAttachment
oSelf-regulation
oAffiliation
oAttunement
oTolerance
oRespect
AttachmentThe first of the six core strengths occurs in infancy. It is the loving bond between the infant and the primary caregiver. Early attachment theorists’ conceiver of the primary caregiver as the mother but it is now recognised that it could as well be the father, grandparent or any loving person. The primary giver, when providing consistent and predictable nurturing to the infant creates what is known as a “secure” attachment. This is accomplished in that rhythmic dance between infant and caregiver; the loving cuddles, hugs, smiles and noises that pass between caregiver and infant. Should this dance be out of step, unpredictable, highly inconsistent or chaotic an “insecure” attachment is formed. When attachments are secure the infant learns that it is lovable and loved, that adults will provide nurture and care and that the world is a safe place. When attachment is insecure the infant learns the opposite.As the child grows from a base of secure attachment he or she becomes ready to love and be a friend. A secure attachment creates the capacity to form and maintain healthy emotional bonds with another. Attachment is the template through which we view the world and people in it.Self-RegulationSelf-regulation is the capacity to think before you act. Little children are not good at this, they learn this skill as they grow if they are guided by caring adults who show them how to stop and think. Self-regulation is the ability to take note of our primary urges such as hunger, elimination, comfort and control them. In other words, it is the ability to postpone gratification and wait for it to arrive. Good self-regulation prevents anger outbursts and temper tantrums and helps us cope with frustration and tolerate stress. It is a life skill that must be learned and, like all the core strengths, its roots are in the neuronal connections deep inside the brain.AffiliationAffiliation is the glue of healthy human relationships. When children are educated in an environment and facilitates positive peer interactions through play and creative group learning projects they develop the strength of affiliation. It is the ability to “join in” and work with others to create something stronger and more lasting than is usually created by one person alone. Affiliation makes it possible to produce something stronger and more creative than is accomplished by one alone. Affiliation brings into the child’s awareness that he or she is not an “I” alone but a “We” together.AttunementAttunement is the strength of seeing beyond ourselves. It is the ability to recognise the strengths, needs, values and interests of others. Attunement begins rather simply in childhood. A child first recognises that I am a girl, he is a boy. Through the early years of education it becomes more nuanced: he is from India and likes different food than I, she is from Kenya and speak with a different accent than I. Attunement helps children see similiarities rather than differences because as the child progresses from seeing different colour skin and different ways of speaking he or she begins to recognise that people are more similar than different. That brings us to the next core strength.ToleranceWhen the child develops the core strength of attunement it learns that difference isn’t really all that important. The child learns that difference is easily tolerated. Through this learning the child develops the awareness that is difference that unites all human beings. Tolerance depends on attunement and requires patience and an opportunity to live and learn with people who at first glance seem “different”. We must overcome the fear of difference to become tolerant.RespectThe last core strength is respect. Respect is a life-long developmental process. Respect extends from respect of self to respect of others. It is the last core strength to develop, requires a proper environment and an opportunity to meet a variety of people. Genuine respect celebrates diversity and seeks it out. Children who respect other children, who have developed this core strength, do not shy away from people who seem different. An environment in which many children are grouped together to learn, explore and play will foster the core strength of respect.How the Brain GrowsThe brain grows from the bottom to the top. Each of the core strengths is related to a stage and site of brain growth. In infancy attachment bonds are acquired and lay down emotional signals deep within the brain. At the same time the brain stem is seeing to it that bodily functions can be self-regulated. Later on in childhood the emotional centres of the brain come under increasing control so temper tantrums disappear and the child controls their emotional life. In mid-childhood the child’s brain begins to develop the capacity to think and reflect on the external environment. It is at this stage when the frontal areas of the brain begin to mature and it is at this stage in brain growth when the core strengths of affiliation, attunement, tolerance and respect can mature as well.The Classroom and the Brain’s Core StrengthsThe education of young children must be undertaken with the core strengths in mind. Classrooms where there is peace and harmony among a wide variety of children will create opportunities for affiliation, tolerance and respect to develop. These classroom must be characterised by play, creative exploration of objects, lessons which are activity-based not teacher-lectured. There must be challenge to the brain in the form of innovative lessons and teaching methodologies. Cooperative learning activities must be part of the school day. The classroom should occasionally consist of an opportunity to engage in cooperative, mixed-ability groupwork. There must be an opportunity for long-term, thematic projects to be explored. The teacher should be a guide, always teaching with the core strengths in mind, always observing children and noticing which of them need more structure and guidance as they grow through the core strengths. The teacher must also be a person the children perceive as predictable and caring, patient and kind; a person who will not obsessively focus on mistakes.Whose Responsibility is It?We have learned that the child’s brain grows in a predictable sequence and associated with this growth are six core strengths for healthy living in the world. Every child is born with a brain possessing the potential to full develop these core strengths. However every brain must have an opportunity to interact with a classroom and home environment that facilitates the development of these strengths. It is the responsibility of adults, particularly parents and teachers to get it right.

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