Shaking hands, American style

    People often shake hands in the United States. American men shake hands with other men. American women often shake hands with men, and sometimes they shake hands with other women. Adults shake hands with children. And some people even teach their dogs to shake hands! {#blank#}1{#/blank#} How do they shake hands just long enough? Just hard enough? Here are four little rules to remember.

1）Use your right hand.

2）Use good eye contact(眼神交流). Look at the person in the eye while you are shaking hands.

3）Don't shake too long.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Then let go and pull your hand back toward you.

4）{#blank#}3{#/blank#} When a handshake is weak, Americans think the person may not be a hard worker or a good leader. When a handshake is too strong, Americans think the person is too rough(粗鲁) or has bad manners.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} They shake hands when they meet for the first time. They shake hands to say congratulations. They shake hands when they meet after not seeing each other for a while. And they often shake hands when they say good-bye. In business, shaking hands shows agreement and honesty.

    Handshakes are good everywhere.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} So make sure to shake plenty of hands.

A. Offer you hand first.

B. Shake for no more than three seconds.

C. How do people shake hands correctly?

D. Don't shake too strongly or too weakly.

E. It is not polite to refuse a person's hand.

F. When do people in the United States shake hands?

G. Make sure your hands aren't sweaty when you do this.

    Being content with what you do and your life can be troublesome these days. However, you can start being satisfied with what you have with some steps.

    There are times when some friends simply get too busy and with the passage of time visits and meet-up become less frequent. If there is anything that can help you be more content with your life, social media is certainly not the answer. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} That is simply so much better than letting your time just fly by in front of electronic devices.

    Finishing reading a book is also a good idea. We all know reading excites the mind. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}It can also improve your focus, concentration and communication skills. The reason we did not ask you to start reading a book is that finishing reading a book is far more satisfying than simply reading halfway through it. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    If you are stuck in a 9-to-5 job, then you need to seriously reconsider your physical activity. As time flies by, we all get older. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}So, exercise or join a sports club if you can. Exercising will not only improve your overall ability but also make you look good and know your true strength.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}However, simply giving your change to a homeless person wouldn't cut it. You need to find a cause that you deeply care about and then commit to it wholeheartedly. This will give you an opportunity to see how your small acts of kindness can bring out the best in you and the society.

A. Being selfless brings you more satisfaction.

B. You'd better start reading an interesting book.

C. Instead, you need to connect with an old friend.

D. So, pick up a nice book now and make it into a habit.

E. It is a great way to channel your energy in the right direction.

F. It works well in reducing stress and increasing your knowledge.

G. What you do with your body today can help you stay healthy in the future.

Reversal—change your perspective and solve your problem

It's often your definition of a problem that limits you in finding a suitable solution. Creative solutions require a change of perspective. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

The reversal technique is a creative thinking technique that is based on the thought that to change your perspective, you sometimes need to change the order of the words in your problem definition.

How you change the order of the words doesn't matter much, as long as the key words are reversed. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Your challenge is "How do we make sure that fewer people take cars to their work?". Swapping the key words, you could rephrase this challenge as "How do we make sure that fewer cars take people to their work?" In this case, the first statement will make you think of alternative means of transportation, like trains or bikes, while the second statement will probably make you think of solutions like carpooling—fewer cars for the same number of people.

Not every problem statement is suitable for a reversal. Sometimes using this technique requires you to first rephrase the question altogether. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}For instance, the question "how might we sell more washing machines?" is not easily reversed—there is no key word to swap with "washing machines". Yet, when you rephrase the question to "How might we sell more washing machines to young parents?" you can easily change it to "How might we sell more young parents to washing machines? {#blank#}4{#/blank#} You could interpret this last sentence as "the washing machine pays the young parents to try it out". Then, you could start communicating to potential buyers how much they will save each year when they choose your energy efficient washing machine.

As this example shows, some reversals will require a very flexible way of thinking. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} However, thinking about the tiny amount of time it will "cost" you to try out a reversal, you have very little to lose and, potentially, lots to gain.

A. The second problem statement is much more logical.

B. Often it helps to add one more key word to the sentence.

C. Rephrasing your challenge is to change the problem statement.

D. A great way to do this is by "reversing" your problem statement.

E. For instance, imagine you are responsible for limiting the traffic jam in your area.

F. Admittedly, it is a very unusual challenge, but it might just stimulate a creative thought.

G. Not everyone will be able to move from an unreasonable statement to a useful solution.

When something goes wrong, do you tend to bounce back or fall apart? Here are some strategics to help you manage a personal setback(挫折)and get back on track toward achieving your goal.

● Realize it's normal. Less than 20 percent of people successfully achieve their goal the first time around. It's normal and expected for setbacks to occur.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Knowing this, it's important to anticipate that the main task will be how to effectively manage the setback when it arises.

● Don't deny it. Sometimes it's hard to recognize a setback. The problem can be staring at you right in the face, but you may deny there's any cause for alarm.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}This inability to acknowledge the problem doesn't mean you're stupid. It's just that denial can cloud your awareness of the issue. It's important to be receptive to the honest feedback.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Stop and consider carefully what went wrong. The most common causes of a setback are personal worries, overconfidence, and poor coping skills. Take a look at any factor that may have contributed to the setback: where you were, who you were with, what you were thinking and feeling.

● Learn from it. Learn from your analysis of the setback, and adjust your plan to try to prevent similar things from happening the next time. Each time you fine-tune your plan and put it into action again, you actually improve your odds of eventual success.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

Remind yourself that your setback is a slip instead of a fall.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}After adjusting, you can still make progress toward success again.

A.Don't take it seriously.

B.Analyze what happened.

C.You haven't lost all of the knowledge, skills, and support.

D.In other words, it's not whether a challenge will happen, but it's when.

E.This is because you learn from each misstep to make your plan more effective.

F.Friends or family will voice their concerns, but you still may not be able to accept it.

G.You might even write about past experiences in a journal to guide your future behavior.

Are you too responsible？

Taking responsibility is an essential element of strong leadership. But when the scales tip to over-responsibility, both the leader and their team suffer. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Define what you're truly responsible for. When it feels like the weight of the world is on your shoulders, try the following pie-chart exercise.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Draw a circle on your paper and allocate responsibility for the situation to each person on your list. Add up those amounts and determine the remaining percentage. The amount left over is your actual share of responsibility.

Examine your assumptions. To start overturning your over-responsibility habit, examine the beliefs and fears that keep it alive. Are they really true? Reframe the release of responsibility and consider that you're empowering others. Allow them to struggle with a task, solve their own problem, or own up to a mistake. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

Give responsibilities back. Whether you willingly assumed a given responsibility or it was placed on you, it's time to return it to its rightful owner. Identify one responsibility you can return to a specific person. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Expect a few discomfort at first, but resist the temptation to jump back in.

Accept help. If you're overly responsible, you likely say "yes" whenever others ask for help but don't ask for any yourself. It's time to rebalance your give-accept proportion {#blank#}5{#/blank#} If someone asks if they can take something off your plate or offers to do something for you, say "yes."

Rightsizing your responsibility is not about escaping what is yours to own but finding a more appropriate balance. By taking 100% of your responsibility, but not more, you will avoid unnecessary stress and help others grow.

A.Practice accepting offers of help. 

B.Grab a piece of paper and list everyone involved. 

C.It may be a simple task that someone else should be doing. 

D.The following strategies may help you find a more appropriate balance. 

E.In this way，you help them develop greater competence and confidence. 

F.Leaders who ask for help increase the feelings of connection on their team. 

G.If so，these could be signs that you have an overactive sense of responsibility.