Why do we deliver decisions we regret later in our lives?

We make decisions. Sometimes we are happy later because we have decided so. More often we regret them. Why?

Before watching the video, match these words with their meanings:

to underestimate	Say that a specified thing will happen in the future.
to predict	Lasting for a very short time
unlikely	Understand a situation fully.
to appreciate	Estimate something to be smaller or less important than it really is.
fleeting, transient	To change in character.
to alter	Something doesn’t have a high chance to happen.

Watch this short video and answer the question: Why do we deliver decisions we regret later in our lives?

Need some help?

Look at these questions. By answering them one by one, the final conclusion folds out.

1. How do we experience the speed of change in our life concerning

(a) personal values
(b) personality
(c) preferences (favourite friends, vacations, hobbies, music)?

2. And how does the speed of change really changes in our life?

3. What are the five fundamental dimensions of personality?

4. Why don’t people think, when they don’t think, that something specific will change in their life?

5. Why can we say that time is a powerful force?

6. What do people mistakenly think about themselves?

7. What is the one constant in our life?

After answering the questions above, try to answer the question: Why do we deliver decisions we regret later in our lives?

Send your answer to ewalkmail(at)gmail.com.

WALK in English.

How to get a pay rise?

The end of the year is approaching and if you would like to get a 5-10 percent higher salary next year, it’s time to think over how to reach it.

For useful advice see this 90-second-long video and answer these questions:

1. How much do the salaries rise in the world on average this year according to the expectations?
2. How much was the average rate of pay rise in 2014?
3. How do employees have to demonstrate that they deserve more money?
4. Why do you have to send an email to a client who has acknowledged your work in person?
5. What do you have to do if your boss turns down your request?

Do you agree with the advice you have been given? 

Share your opinion with us.

Make connections to be happy at work

Are you happy at your workplace? Do you enjoy what you do there? Work is a very important field of our lives, it has a significant effect on our general mood. Read this short article and find a way to improve your work life. (Behind the article you can find the tasks to help you get the point.)

An excerpt from the article Positive Psychology and the Workplace: A Labor of Love, published on http://positivepsychologyprogram.com.

Make connections to be happy at work

Positive emotions have been linked with numerous positive outcomes including improved health and wellbeing, long life, and a greater quality of life. On the flip side anger, anxiety, depression, and worry have been shown to be related to poor health outcomes.

However, developing and maintaining a state of positivity and happiness is not as easy as it seems. Moreover, people do not always understand what truly lies at the roots of their own happiness.

Given that we spend on average half of our waking hours at work, many organizations and business leaders are increasingly starting to realize that using psychological techniques and know-how in the workplace is crucial.

Make Connections

Science tells us that the greatest way to influence our happiness is to make new connections with the people around us as well as strengthen old ones. Simply, the more social we are, the happier we become.

Evolution has ensured our survival is tied to our skills to connect with others. Our brains are literally wired to connect with those around us and to understand their feelings and intentions. These connections have the power to affect how we feel.

In a recent survey, almost 40 percent of the respondents named their colleagues as the top reason they enjoy their work. Furthermore, over two thirds of respondents reported that not only did those positive relationships increase their productivity, but it helped reduce stressful and difficult challenges at work.

Make an effort to eat lunch in the canteen. Organise a get together with your colleagues after work and get to know the people you are spending so much time with.

As a manager or team leader you need to be aware of how positivity and negativity can spread among your people. Be aware of the importance of managing morale because one unhappy person can make for an unhappy office.

Help your staff come together and connect by starting office-wide competitions or team building events that encourage people to work together and build meaningful relationships. Place your staff who are high in energy, satisfaction and performance strategically in your teams and watch their natural manners transform the atmosphere of the office.

An excerpt from the article Positive Psychology and the Workplace: A Labor of Love, published on http://positivepsychologyprogram.com.

Tasks to help you understand the article:

1.     Summarize the article in one sentence. 

2.     Answer these questions:

• Why do we have to make connections with people around us?

• How can you improve your connections at work?

• What can you do if you are a leader?

• Why is it important to manage morale at the company?

3.     You can find 4 orange words in the text. Find their synonymies in the list.

~ is connected to, is linked to

~ motivate

~ critical, very important

~ efficiency

4.     There are two pairs of synonymies among the underlined words. Can you find them?

Do you have meaningful connections at work? Are there opportunities to socialize with the others? Share your experience with us.

ToDoList

Are your days busy?

Do you find it difficult to complete your daily tasks?

How do you start your day? Do you stick to the routine?

Do you know the meaning of these words? If not, check them in the Oxford Dictionary by clicking on them or discuss them with your teacher.

entrepreneur, agenda, essential, punctual

Read this article to get the most out of your day. After the first reading, try to answer these questions:

1.     What are your tasks the night before?

2.     What are the advantages of morning sport activities?

3.     How long do you need to relax your brain in the morning?

4.     What advice is given to stay organized?

5.     What do you have to pay attention to concerning your eating habits?

6.     How do you have to arrange your working hours?

7.     Why is it a must to disconnect from work?

Do you know the meaning of these expressions? Try to find out the meaning from the context and explain them with your own words. In English of course J

1. densely packed schedule
2. stick to the routine
3. have an awareness of what’s on the agenda
4. be in the habit of doing sg
5. to adopt a practice that
6. Don’t fall victim to this trap.
7. batch your time
8. lifestyle practice
9. sg greatly contributes to sg

Are your ready? Then choose two of the expressions above. These two you DON’T have to use. Now write a short story with the rest. You have 7 minutes for that.

Ready? Send us your strory.

Positive emotions rooting in the present

This blog post was created based on the book of Alan Carr called Positive Psychology: The Science of Happiness and Human Strengths.

There are two distinct classes of positive emotions concerned with the present:

Momentary pleasures

The pleasures include both bodily pleasures and higher pleasures. Bodily pleasures come through the senses. Feelings that come from sex, beautiful perfumes and delicious flavours fall into this category. Higher pleasures come from more complex activities and include feelings such as bliss, glee, comfort, ecstasy and ebullience. 

More enduring gratifications

Gratifications differ from pleasures in that they involve states of absorption or flow that come from engagement in activities. Sailing, teaching and helping others are examples of such activities.

bliss - perfect happiness

glee - happiness, excitement

ebullience - being very energetic, positive and happy

This blog post was created based on the book of Alan Carr called Positive Psychology: The Science of Happiness and Human Strengths.

WALK in English

Conversations - How to start?

I don't know how you feel about starting a conversation with a stranger. Some people feel a bit awkward. So I decided to collect some good questions and tips that can help you out in those uncomfortable situations.

Hi. 

- Do you know anyone here?

- Where do you work?

- Which business are you into?

- How long have you known 'Peter'?

- What drink would you recommend me? / Can I help you to choose a drink?

Ask people about the things they want to be noticed by other people, for example a rose in a woman’s hair. ‘What a nice rose. Do you always wear hair like this?’

If you go to a business meeting, you can start the conversation by talking about the circumstances of your travel. There is almost always something happening on the roads. It’s easier if you are some minutes late. ‘Sorry for being late. The traffic was terrible because of slippery roads.'

Do you have any other ideas in your mind?

WALK in English

Can computer games change the world?

Most of us have preconceptions about computer games. They are usually regarded, mainly by teachers and parents, as waste of time. But children and young adults are obsessed with them and spend more time on playing computer games than on anything else. 

So what can we do? Restrictions don’t seem to work. How about making more meaningful games? Do you think it’s possible?

Read this BBC article about serious games.

While reading the article, try to answer these questions:

1. How are computer games generally regarded?
2. What is the concept behind serious games?
3. Describe the settings of World Without Oil. 
4. How did the players of WWO look at their gaming activity?
5. What roles can you choose in Peacemaker?
6. What was the result of playing the Peacemaker in terms of social relevance?
7. What is the expected outcome of playing Coventry and Warwickshire? Who is the target audience of the game?
8. Why is it important to use innovative techniques in the classroom?

Think through the article again by following the outline of the article:

Three billion hours a week are spent on playing games. -> Can it be given a social relevance?

Examples: 

Direct analysis of the results from a game is rarely fully carried out.

The evaluation of outcomes has been deficient.

Using innovative techniques in the classroom can increase the educational performance.


WALK in English

A drop in the ocean: Location-aware music

Location-aware music. What might it be? Is it a song collection for a particular public space or a music that is instantly created by a mobile app based on characteristics of a location?

Watch this TED video and find it out.

Pre-listening task

Match the following words with their definitions:

a.) to convey, b.) sonic, c.) to traverse, d.) to unfold, e.) an array of, f.) seamlessly, g.) to be intrinsic to sg

1. of sound or the speed at which sound travels in air
2. being an extremely important and basic characteristic of a person or thing
3. happening without any sudden changes, interruption, or difficulty
4. to express a thought, feeling, or idea so that it is understood by other people
5. to move or travel through an area
6. a large group of things or people
7. If a situation or story unfolds, it develops or becomes clear to other people

Definitions are taken from Cambridge Dictionaries Online.

Now, it’s show time. Watch this TED video and find out more about location-aware music.

After watching the video, try to answer these questions:

• What is the concept behind location-aware music?
• What functionality is needed for this app?
• Why can’t people outside the US listen to this music?

WALK in English

Business Terms: Roaming charges fall in EU

We face many challenges in the course of business meetings and negotiations. We are unsure many times if we use the proper structure or phrase that can express our thoughts. The best way to eliminate this uncertainty is to learn from the natives. In Business Terms section you can listen to short talks, interviews etc. and by completing the tasks you can practice the most relevant terms appearing in the video.

Today let’s see a BBC interview about mobile roaming charges. Click here to see the video.

After watching the video, try to complete these sentences. (Probably you have to see the video more times to do this task, but don’t give it up.)

1. Mobile companies have a reduction by around … per cent in the … prices.
2. There are reductions in …
3. This has been going on since …
4. This only covers …
5. You may actually face …
6. The companies have been quite vocal against …
7. They lost an appeal before …

WALK in English

Get A Job: Typical job interview questions

Today we start a new series entitled Get A Job. It is going to provide you with useful information about how to prepare for a job interview.

Now read about typical questions on a job interview you must prepare for.

Most of the questions sound quite embarrassing. That’s why you have to deal with them and make an effort to find out the good answers in advance.

What are good answers like? The key is to be honest and self-reflective. No one is interested in the millionth slightly narcissist and cheesy answer. Real self-confidence can’t be imitated by nicely put words. Show who you are, that’s much more interesting.

So, here are the questions to prepare for:

Tell us about yourself.

What do you know about us?

Why are you interested in working here?

Why should we hire you?

Why did you leave or are planning to leave your last job? 

Give us an example of where you have succeeded at…

Give us an example of where you have failed at …

WALK in English

A drop in the ocean: New company, new life

Just imagine that you have the chance to work with and be one of the people who solve technical challenges on a daily basis. They build something day by day that has never been done before. They are excited, passionate and capable of working creatively on technical hurdles. Knowledge-sharing is not only a slogan there, but a part of their daily routine. 

Just follow the link and see the video.

Now imagine you can go there. AppNexus is looking to hire experienced programmers, engineers and developers to work full time in New York City and Paris.  Follow this link.
If you are interested in any open positions at the company, please contact Tommi Hurme directly and indicate which job you are interested in applying for. For US-based positions they will sponsor a H-1 visa. 

If you feel fear and worry about your level of English and this is the reason (or pretext) for not applying, I must say: forget it. You have the motivation, you want to change the way your life unfolds, we can do it together. Come to Walk English Coaching and you're going to be ready to go in 1,5 months. English is not a purpose, it's a tool. And you can acquire it. 


WALK further.

Why do we need feedback?

Feedback accelerates learning and is essential for controlling anything. Only by relying on them we can reach our purposes. That’s the main message of the article published on BBC website in February 2013. Here you can read the shortened version of it.

 Cybernetics is the name given to the study of feedback, and systems that use feedback, in all their forms. The term comes from the Greek word for "to steer", and inspiration for some of the early work on cybernetics sprang from automatic guiding systems developed during World War II for guns or radar antennae. Around the middle of the twentieth century cybernetics became an intellectual movement across many different disciplines.  

A key message of cybernetics is that you can't control something unless you have feedback – and that means measurement of the outcomes.  

The flip side of this dictum is the promise that with feedback, you can control anything. The human brain seems to be the arch embodiment of this cybernetic principle. With the right feedback, individuals have been known to control things as unlikely as their own heart rate, or learn to shrink and expand their pupils at will. It even seems possible to control the firing of individual brain cells.  

But enhanced feedback methods can accelerate learning about more mundane behaviours. For example, if you are learning to take basketball shots, augmented feedback in the form of "You were 3 inches off to the left" can help you learn faster and reach a higher skill level quicker.  

Thanks to feedback we develop more complex responses to the environment. Feedback allows animals like us to follow a purpose. 

Think of your everyday experiments. Let’s take the time optimisation in the morning as an example: What time do I have to get up the latest if I want to reach the bus that takes me to the gym for opening? After the first rough estimation, let’s say, I decide to get up 80 minutes earlier than the gym opens. What factors can I monitor in order to evaluate my decision? First of all I have to check if I manage to catch the bus after the morning preparations. If I can, I have to measure the time I spend with waiting and try to reduce it to minimal but at the same time I have to pay attention to the risk coming from early bus arrivals. So I have to note down the changes of the following:

- time of leaving the flat
- successfully reaching the bus (yes/no)
- time spent with waiting for the bus

(I assume that the speed of morning preparation and the time I spend on walking to the bus station is constant. However, these assumptions require further consideration.)

The answers in my notebook are the feedback that will help me find the optimal time to leave.

Later I’ll report my results.

WALK in English

A drop in the ocean: Another Aspect of Love

I think I’ve already mentioned TED.com where good and even better thinkers share their ideas. One of my personal favourites is Margaret Heffernan’s speech in which she is speaking about conflicts and claims that good disagreement is essential to progress. Moreover, after introducing the details of a successful cooperation between a physician and a statistician, she is saying that a well-based rational criticism and the endeavour to reach it is a form of love.

If you have time, watch the video. Subtitles will help you to understand the story and her thoughts. If you are short of time, read my favourite part of her speech:

So what does that kind of constructive conflict require? Well, first of all, it requires that we find people who are very different from ourselves. That means we have to resist the neurobiological drive, which means that we really prefer people mostly like ourselves, and it means we have to seek out people with different backgrounds, different disciplines, different ways of thinking and different experience, and find ways to engage with them. That requires a lot of patience and a lot of energy.

And the more I've thought about this, the more I think, really, that that's a kind of love. Because you simply won't commit that kind of energy and time if you don't really care.

WALK inEnglish

A drop in the ocean: The way you see the world

Has it ever happened to you that after visiting your astrologist, participating in a training or being heavily affected by an incredibly revealing speech you started seeing the world working in just the same way as you had been said? 

What happened then? Probably you told your friend about your astonishing revelation. And how about his reactions? Could you infect him with your enthusiasm? If yes, you must have a great charisma. If not, let’s see one possible part of the explanation.

Tremendous amount of theories aim to describe the process of new information acquisition and information storage. A key term in relation to learning is schema. In Wikipedia you find the following:

A schema describes an organized pattern of thought or behaviour. Schemata (= schemas) influence attention and the absorption of new knowledge: people are more likely to notice things that fit into their schema, while re-interpreting contradictions to the schema as exceptions or distorting them to fit. Schemata have a tendency to remain unchanged, even in the face of contradictory information.

So why might it have happened that your friend did not have the AHA experience when hearing your story? It’s quite likely that you had had a more detailed explanation than the one you were giving to him therefore you had more proofs to reset your structure of beliefs and ideas than him. And it’s also possible that he is more critical to acquiring new information.

Observe yourself: Do you tend to neglect things that contradict your schemas or you feel free to distort them to fit the events? If I say that the more complex your worldview is, the wider range of things can be accepted and explained by your schemas, do you agree with me?


WALK in English.

Study and learn

Many of my students face the problem that they don't know when to use study and when to use learn.

In this short blog post I'd like show some important meanings of these verbs based on Cambridge Dictionary Online.

to study

to learn about a subject, especially in an educational course or by reading books 

Next term we shall study plants and how they grow.

She's been studying for her doctorate for three years already.

to examine something very carefully

I want time to study this contract thoroughly before signing it.

Researchers have been studying how people under stress make decisions.

study (noun) – based on Oxford Dictionaries

a room used or designed for reading, writing, or academic work.

He was carefully reading the contract in his study when the woman opened the door.

to learn

to get knowledge or skill in a new subject or activity

"Can you drive?" "I'm learning." 

I've learned a lot about computers since I started work here.

to start to understand that you must change the way you behave

She'll have to learn that she can't have everything she wants.

to be told facts or information that you did not know

We were all shocked to learn of his death.

I later learnt (that) the message had never arrived.

I only learnt about the accident later.

WALK in English.

Grammary: AIN'T

As I see, English learners may face problems when they try to remember an English word that has several different meanings. One of them is ain't that occurs quite frequently.

I've just come across an interesting article on TreeHugger.com with the title The Future Ain't What it Used to Be. It introduces some drawings from 1900 predicting what life in France is going to be like in the year 2000.


What do you think ain't means in the title of the article?

Now check it in Cambridge Dictionary.

Finally listen to this song and read the lyrics:

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone.
It's not warm when she's away.
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
And she's always gone too long anytime she goes away.

Wonder this time where she's gone,
Wonder if she's gone to stay
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
And this house just ain't no home anytime she goes away.

And I know, I know, I know, I know, I know,
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know,
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know,
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know

Hey, I ought to leave the young thing alone,
But ain't no sunshine when she's gone,
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone, only darkness everyday.
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone,
And this house just ain't no home anytime she goes away.

Anytime she goes away.
Anytime she goes away.
Anytime she goes away.
Anytime she goes away.

from Lyricsmode.com


WALK Program - WALK in English

A drop in the ocean: Your Sixth Sense I.

"The job of the conscious mind is to form a story out of all our sensations and reflections. Life as we experience it is not just a series of unconnected thoughts and events; it's a coherent narrative unfolding in an orderly universe. But sometimes we have experiences that don't fit our expectations and may even contradict what science has taught us is possible. In our attempts to accommodate such outlier phenomena, we often turn to unproven forces or entities. We start to believe in the paranormal."

These days I feel the reasonings of people to be the most interesting phenomenon ever. It's quite gripping to see how we explain certain happenings. Let's say you've been feeling sick for some days and start looking for explanations. The first possible reasons you check are highly dependant on your age, your gender and your self-image. You can start thinking over your diet in the last few days in order to find something that you have eaten but  you shouldn't have. Or you might have got disgusted by a situation. Or you are extremely empathetic and you've been reacting to the present weak state of your friend. Or you might be pregnant. And the list goes on. But we don't spend much time to find all the possible reasons. You can't get a quart into a pint pot. So we just pick one and render our thoughts, emotions and life accordingly.


I've found an interesting but long article on Psychology Today that deals with reasoning, with a special focus on the experiences (called anomalous experiences) when we are feeling the truth. In the next three posts I'll deal with our sixth sense based on the article. Hopefully, it will grab your attention.


I'm looking forward to your comments.

WALK Program - Haladjunk az angollal!

Spread the word: TO BE RAINED OFF

In this incredibly hot weather, a storm and a some-hour-long rain can mean such a relief. That’s why I dedicate this blog post to this calming shower.

Do you know the phrase ‘to be rained off’? If not, try to find it out based on this quotation from BBC.

’Although we tend to get more rain this side of the UK. This is the seventh game in our group that has been rained off while there has been three in the north group and two in the south.’

Check your bet in Oxford Dictionary.

WALK inEnglish.

A drop in the ocean: Active Ageing

I'd like to dedicate this blog post to a friend who keeps using his age as an excuse for turning into a bit less active man than he could be.

I have found the definition of active ageing on the website of WHO. If you're interested, visit their website.

What is "active ageing"?

 Active ageing is the process of optimizing opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age. It applies to both individuals and population groups. 

Active ageing allows people to realize their potential for physical, social, and mental well-being throughout the life course and to participate in society, while providing them with adequate protection, security and care when they need.

The word “active” refers to continuing participation in social, economic, cultural, spiritual and civic affairs, not just the ability to be physically active or to participate in the labour force. Older people who retire from work, ill or live with disabilities can remain active contributors to their families, peers, communities and nations. Active ageing aims to extend healthy life expectancy and quality of life for all people as they age. 

“Health” refers to physical, mental and social well being as expressed in the WHO definition of health. Maintaining autonomy and independence for the older people is a key goal in the policy framework for active ageing. 

Ageing takes place within the context of friends, work associates, neighbours and family members. This is why interdependence as well as intergenerational solidarity are important tenets of active ageing.

Did you get the message? It doesn't matter how old you are, do not fail to realize your potential for physical, social, and mental well-being. 

If you have time to practise, try to translate the highlighted words or write your own sentences with them. I'm looking forward to your comments.

I hope you all have found it instructive regardless of feeling young or old.

WALK in English

Spread the word: WITH EVERY FIBRE OF MY BEING

I met this expression in a TED talk (at the very end) and somehow I fell in love with it immediately. 

Here is a quote from the movie Moulin Rouge. Can you find out the meaning of with every fibre your being?

"Christian, you may see me only as a drunken, vice-ridden gnome whose friends are just pimps and girls from the brothels. But I know about art and love, if only because I long for it with every fibre of my being."

Macmillan dictionary says the following:
used for saying that a feeling is very strong

He hated her with every fiber of his being.


In a much better case you love someone with every fibre of your being. By the way, have you seen Moulin Rouge? 

Keep WALKing.