Month: August 2013

Ishmael – Good Message

I just found an old note I had shared that I thought you would be interested in seeing. Here is the note:

I just finished Ishmael. It was a book recommended by Ray Anderson, CEO of Interface in his books – Mid Course Correction and Confessions of a Radical Industrialist. (Now they call it Business Lessons from a Radical Industrialist) Ishmael was very interesting. It provided a unique perspective. I also believe it had the message of paneugenesis – that is create interactions so everyone and everything benefits. However, like most books and most recommendations – they do a great job of describing the situation, predicting or documenting bad things for the future and therefore explain much.
Recall I describe the scientific process as Describe Predict Improve if needed, so one can Explain how and why things change. The pending recommendation for improvement then is to stop doing what we do that is damaging and not documenting what needs to be done to make the future better. To me, this is why I am promoting and what each of you are adding to is a way to do things differently and in a way from which everyone benefits. To me, this has to happen and it is needed and desired. I believe that is the message that needs to be promoted so others will join us.
Although the book, Ishmael, does not provide specifics on what to do better, I did like what he wrote at the end and think this captures what we are trying to do. I am interested in your thoughts.
  • What man needs is not just stopping things, not just less of things. People need something positive to work for…they need a vision of something better People need more than to be scolded,  more than to be made to feel stupid and guilty people need more than a vision of doom – they need an inspiring vision.  Cutting down on or stopping things is not inspiring, people need a new way of thinking of ourselves and of the world

Join me, together lets create a better world for all, so everyone and everything benefits.

Do good to Make Good so you Make it a Great Week!

Be Well’r,
Craig Becker

Be selfish, selfless, & synergistic so everyone and everything benefits!

Flourish by Seligman

flourish_martin_seligman_visionary_new_understanding_of_happiness_well_being

I just finished reading Seligman’s Flourish. As usual, he provides a great book with helpful information. The book provides well documented information and valuable insight into Positive Psychology. In this book he encourages the move toward well-being which he describes as more than happiness for positive psychology. He provides the PERMA model as his theory of well-being which adds to the happiness theory he provided in Authentic Happiness.

PERMA: P-ositve emotion; E-ngagement; R-positive Relationships; M-eaningful life; A-chievement

The book however left me wanting more. It reminded me of the conversation I had with him at his presentation about a Positive Psychology strategies to treat depression he made at APA conference I attended. In his presentation he reported that using these strategies were more effective and people who received these treatments were less depressed.

My question , how is that positive? Being less depressed is wonderful, of course, however that does not mean they are achieving positive health, it just means they have less negative health. I have adopted his idea of categorizing health on a number scale, that is 0 is neither positive or negative, negative means there problems and positive numbers are better than just not bad or the absence of problems. I refer this to as exceed expectations (see video here) and also can be thought of as Flourishing, Thriving or Excelling.

With this in mind, I believe for us to truly achieve positive health we must start by aiming for an idealized outcome, something that would represent +3 and could not happen as things are now. To achieve true Positive health, we must make it happen. Using the idea of paneugenesis (linked to video) we also must think how our +3 also benefits others because benefitting others benefits us. In other words, to achieve true +3 we must create interactions so everyone and everyTHING benefits.

To me, if we are to Flourish, we must practice paneugenesis which is selfish, selfless, synergy so everything benefits.

Make it a Great Day!

Gaming to Learn how to Practice Paneugenesis

I just learned about Jane McGonigan and her TED presentation and read her book, Reality is Broken.

Like those of us focused on Positive Health Leadership and practicing Paneugenesis, she wants to help make it a better world by Redesgining Reality. I have been looking for a gamification person to team with to build a game that will help people learn how to practice paneugenesis.

I am trying to collaborate with Jane McGonigal, however she is a busy person. If anyone knows a way we can be introduced, everyone and everything can benefit. Thank you.

—

Be Well’r,

Craig Becker

Inspiring Saying

For those of us practicing paneugenesis by creating interactions so everyone and everything benefits,  we need courage, innovation, knowledge and initiative. I thought this saying captures what we need for this type of leadership well. Let me know what you think:

“The leadership instinct you were born with is the backbone. You develop the funny bone and the wishbone that go with it.” – Elaine Agather

Make it a great Day!

Solar Panels and Payback

I am currently investigating the the use of solar panels on my house. In this investigation I had to check with my neighborhood covenants and if I was allowed to put panels on my house. I learned that I am allowed to put panels on my house and in learning this I was also treated to opinions about solar panels.

The gentle who told me it was ok to put panels on my house felt it was also important to share how his house previously had solar panels in the late 1980’s. He went on to explain the trouble experienced was more than they were worth. He then went on to tell me how a geo-thermal project his relative was involved with had over a 200 year payback. As he explained, he shared these stories with me to spare me from making a poor decision.

I however had a different response. Of course my first thought is his opinion assumes that things remain the same. That is that solar panels and geothermal efforts are the same today as they were 20 years ago. My other question was how was this supposed poor payback calculated. Although he did not know, he proposed it was simply how much could be saved on energy bills and how much the solar panel installment cost. This of course is blatantly wrong. First, true costs are unknown because of government subsidies without accounting for the value of taking beneficial actions.

As the late Ray Anderson, former CEO and Founder of Interface explained in his books, Confessions of a Radical Industrialist and Mid-Course Correction, the invisible hand of economics can’t work when it is blind to the true costs. Today we are only able to have prosperity by stealing from the future. We are stealing any chance of our  kids and especially grandkids of having the same stable environment we enjoy. How much is that worth? Was that calculated in the payback calculation? Interesting perspective on payback and the cost of focusing on financial gain is provided by Omar Haque in Betterness and in the unique movie, Zeitgeist: Moving Forward.

To me the value of doing what is right and good is priceless. My payback comes by practicing paneugenesis which is making an effort to create interactions so everyone and everything benefits. Although doing this is difficult, takes more effort, and I don’t know how do the calculation – it sure makes me feel good about myself and others seem to appreciate my efforts. As Theodore Roosevelt famously said,

“Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.”

and

“Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don’t have the strength.”
― Theodore Roosevelt

Arabic Version of Salutogenic Wellness Promotion Scale

If you are interested I encourage you to look at the article I did with Dr. Al-Hadid in Jordan about the Arabic version of the Salutogenic Wellness Promotion Scale developed.

Article AJHE-Arabic SWPS

Below is the abstract:

Background

Viewing an individual’s ability to not just maintain but improve good health conditions is a positive perspective of health provided by wellness promotion. Although crucial in today’s understanding of health, no Arabic tools were found to measure this concept.

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to validate and measure the psychometric properties of the Salutogenic Wellness Promotion Scale–Arabic version (SWPS–Arabic), a tool designed to measure positive health.

Methods

A cross-sectional design was used on Jordanian university students. The sample consisted of 640 self-selected students to conduct an exploratory factor analysis with a cutoff value of 0.40. A demographic questionnaire and the 26-item SWPS–Arabic were the measures used to collect the data.

Results

The final 20-item, 4-factor SWPS–Arabic had an overall Cronbach’s alpha of .941; the factors had Cronbach’s alpha ranges of .900 to .734. These factors were labeled as follows: socio-spiritual, physico-vocational, emotional, and intellectual. The first 4 items explained 55% of the total variance.

Discussion

The SWPS–Arabic is reliable and valid, but further psychometric evaluation is needed.

Translation to Health Education Practice

Using this tool assists educators in structuring strategies and plans for wellness promotion.

Meditation Challenge

Meditation is amazing, helpful and powerful. I encourage you to learn more and engage. A great way to tray meditation is to Join Deepak Chopra and his guided meditation challenge he offers for 3 weeks.

FREE Chopra Guided Meditation Challenge!
I am doing it, join me and enjoy the benefits of meditation, sign up at: https://chopracentermeditation.com/home/index