#it's called FIXED MINDSET VS GROWTH MINDSET

[yesplsnothankyou]

SO I've JUST been actually coming to the understanding that this is my life to do what I want with. Like yeah, the most true things sound like cliches because these truths have been repeated and shared many times throughout history. But this knowledge has come to live in my body recently, and it has to do with a breaking point that I've hit recently that's led me to actually be willing to take action to be/get/ask for what I want, instead of acting in a way that will produce the safest outcome.

The point of my life is not to succeed.

The point of my life is not even to be happy.

The point of my life is for me to be ME. For me to pilot my own body with my own brain and to do things that are honour who I am in the truest way possible.

As Dr. Seuss says, there's no one on earth who is you-er than you. or some shit. Point being, my value is that no one else is exactly me or would choose exactly what i would choose, given my specific conditioning, experience, and pre-disposition.

So regardless of if other people judge me or whether i experience the consequences of social sanctions because of who I am:

If I want to sing out loud at a bus stop, that is what I am meant to do.

If I want to bare my soul to a stranger at the bar who was unfortunate enough to ask my name, that is a part of my purpose.

If I want to create really ugly and untalented art that has little to no meaning, which no one will ever see and which I may not even keep, that is my destiny.

If I feel driven to do absolutely nothing of value with my life but to follow the will of my soul and go wherever it guides me, that is my fucking god-given right.

I actually don't owe it to anyone or myself or the world to be "productive" or "successful" or have a linear journey that goes on in my life, leading to someplace that is "better" than where I started. By existing in the world and society, by experiencing the world as myself, and by learning about human nature enough to not be an asshole to myself or others, I am fulfilling my entire potential as a person with the opportunity to be alive.

[saltminerising]

re: post/734821757300686848/

i'd like to state that there's also a difference in content having racist themes / tropes / negative stereotypes / etc. in it, vs. the people themselves being racist. i feel like that is an important distinction to make. you can absolutely accidentally write in racist content without being racist yourself. mistakes happen. staff is doing what they can to fix their errors; in fact, they're being very good about being transparent, and trying to amend the problematic content in their story/lore. but calling them "racist" seems a bit too far, and people insisting that they're still just awful people no matter what they do is an unhelpful and dismissive mindset.

yes, they should own up to their mistakes. yes, they should fix or rewrite the lore. this isn't about being "coddled," it's about realizing that perhaps not everyone's intention is to be directly hurtful, dehumanizing, or othering to any type of group. their content can be unintentionally harmful without them being a terrible person who condones racism and the horrible things that ideology stands for. there are people genuinely acting as though staff cannot redeem themselves from this offense, and that's such a negative, vitriolic mindset that does not allow growth, that does not account for the fact that they are people too, who can make mistakes. let people learn without tearing them down in the process. that doesn't help. if anything, it discourages it. positive reinforcement truly goes a long way.

there is not a single person who hasn't accidentally hurt someone else in some way or form. there's nobody who is perfect. does that make you a bad person, who can never recover from what you've done, not ever, despite how hard you try to, despite any effort you may give in rectifying that? i'm not here to say "staff didn't do anything wrong, uwu why are you all bullying them." no. they did do things wrong. but what matters is that they're making efforts to fix those things to the best of their abilities, with the feedback they have gotten from poc voices or those representing them. in light of that, shouldn't we give them the benefit of the doubt, rather than acting like they are the "villain" in this story, some faceless, greedy corporation who cares nothing about the feelings of their userbase? that all they want is money, that they do not take into account criticism? that they meant all that harm and hurt? it is very clear it was not their intention or their goal.

yes, people have every right to be upset and hurt over the story. that is so fair. it is so extremely valid. but... can we advocate for just a little more empathy on both sides here? i just think that calling them "racist" is an oversimplification of a very complex topic. it's not so black-and-white. it's grey, and it's okay to navigate those waters with a critical eye. but it is unnecessary to throw out terms that are so accusatory, and influence people to get riled up. you cannot claim "racist" and "racism" aren't loaded terms that don't immediately cause upset from both sides of the equation when these words are used.

again, i'm not advocating for censorship. or sugar-coating, or coddling, or what have you. i'm personally advocating for empathy above all else. only by fostering open communication can we really understand and grow as a community, rather than doing what we can to dismiss others, throw blame, tear each other down. respect and compassion is the best way to move forwards, from both sides.

for instance, i very recently came across someone on the forums who was using an ableist joke. and so i took the time to privately message them, informing and educating them. no blame. no anger. merely pointing things out in a civil manner in the case they did not know. they took it very well, they edited their post, because they really were just ignorant that it was something hurtful after all. sometimes, a situation can be solved with escalating it further. how would that person have reacted, if i had immediately jumped to calling them ableist instead? it is one thing to say their content is ableist. it is another to point fingers and blame, and say that they are, too. it would've done nothing but hurt them, shut down their want to be better, discouraged them from even trying. perhaps they still would have, even so. but you cannot deny there would have been an amount of hurt that was unnecessary to create in such a situation. does that make sense? (/genuine)

that is all, really. thank you for reading if you did. and if not, that is perfectly fine as well. apologies if i've upset anyone with my words, genuinely. because again, people are right to be hurt and upset. and really, this is my own two cents on the matter, and you are perfectly free to disregard what i've to say. after all, although i am poc myself, i'm but a single person in a sea of many, so i don't expect my words to hold that much weight. it just makes me sad to see everyone so angry and divided on this topic, rather than us all coming to a mutual understanding, as a community, but most of all, as people.

regardless if you disagree or not, i thank you anyways. please, take care of yourselves. and stay safe.

[roburbach]

LeadershipNow 140: May 2023 Compilation

LeadershipNow 140: May 2023 Compilation https://ift.tt/hIuPHms Here are a selection of tweets from May 2023 that you will want to check out: Setting Goals is Overrated by @AlanSteinJr The 5 C's of Hiring by @KevinPaulScott Boss’s Tip of the Week: Get a Leadership Development Buddy from @wallybock Kicking the Can Down the Road (On Hard Decisions) by @edbatista Mental Liquidity by @morganhousel via @collabfund So much of what people call “conviction” is actually a willful disregard for facts that might change their minds. Will AI Kill Human Creativity? by @UzziLeadership via @KelloggSchool What Fake Drake tells us about what’s ahead. Looking the Part, Being the Part by @James_Albright 5 Things To Quit To Become More Successful by @JosephLalonde Identity Politics Comes for Tim Scott by@jamesstrock | Social Conservatives Join the Attack on One of Their Own. The Bastardization of Psychological Safety – and How Leaders Can Get Back on Track by @JenniferVMiller Time to Make Your Summer Reading List for 2023 by @wallybock How to Manage a Disengaged Employee—and Get Them Excited about Work Again via @KelloggSchool Successful People Skills: How to Deal With People You Don't Like by @Katenasser Develop Your Leadership Identity by Marlene Chism @stopyourdrama Some Things I Think by Morgan Housel @morganhousel via @collabfund How to Create a Quality Feedback Culture that Supports Learning and Growth by @artpetty | Quality feedback is a dialog about future performance, not a debate over the past Getting Unstuck by @samchand How to Write an Unforgettable Speech by @DrNickMorgan via @publicwords Career Focus—When You Change, But Your View of You Doesn't by @artpetty How to Avoid Making People Mistakes by @stevedmcneely 4 Powerful Ways To Bounce Back After Periods Of Stress by @LaRaeQuy Boss’s Tip of the Week: Read Fiction from @wallybock Compliance vs. Commitment (On Behavior Change) by @edbatista Who Sits Near You at Work? It Matters More Than You Think by @PhilCooke The Death of The Manager Role Is Predicted Yet Again. What's Really Needed by @artpetty 8 Things All Great Mentors Do by @briankdodd Empathetic Chatbots: Can Leaders & Doctors Be As Empathetic? by @katenasser Leadership: A Caring Community from @wallybock The United States Is Now Part of JPMorgan Chase by @jamesstrock America Can Never Be Too Big To Fail Stop Chasing New Formulas to Fix Your Leadership by @scottamabry Need to Say “No” at Work? Here’s How by @JenniferVMiller We Need Caution When Predicting The Future Of Work by @AdiGaskell Why Those Working Remotely Are Heading For The Tragedy Of The Commons via @forbes The 4-Point Test to Evaluate a Person’s Trustworthiness by @RandyConley Feeling Increasingly Irrelevant at Work? Assess and Take Action by @artpetty To be a successful leader, develop an “uncertainty mindset” by @CEOCoachBates Steven Spielberg And John Williams: The Art And Magic Of Collaboration from @JohnBaldoni See more on Twitter. * * * Follow us on Instagram and Twitter for additional leadership and personal development ideas.   via The Leading Blog: A Leadership Blog https://ift.tt/pnByTbr May 31, 2023 at 11:47AM

[openideas2open]

Daily, people’s lives are becoming increasingly automated as millions of algorithms make decisions and take actions on consumers’ behalf. The shift toward autonomous finance services starts with automated investment management, savings, and payments. Algorithm-based services lower the cognitive burden on users and strive to enhance financial results.

The customer experience (CX) has always been a priority for Financial Service Institutions (FSIs). However, in the wake of COVID-19, it has become a survival imperative and deprioritised CX, given the sudden impending need for digital services from clients. The FSIs set on the end of “business-as-usual” has left financial institutions scuffling with the twin challenge of conserving the financial health of their clients and preserving their own in a long period of financial uncertainty.

Financial Service Institutions are preparing for the year forward, and most realise that supporting customer retention is an intelligent bet. Research shows that building a customer-centric, digital-first financial institution is necessary, as customer-centric FSIs outshine their more-traditional counterparts. But what other trends should they pay close attention to that will help them stand out and keep their customers happy?

89 % of financial services leaders acknowledge that the first FSIs to deploy autonomous finance will carve out a sizeable competitive advantage and a niche for themselves;

60 % of financial institutions assume that autonomous finance improves personalisation and enhances customer experience (CX).

As things stand right now, over 50 % of the finance and accounting activities are largely automated: processing transactions, procurement, preparing financial reports, planning/forecasts, etc. 

Forrester Research defines autonomous finance as algorithm-driven financial services that make decisions or take action on a customer’s behalf.

Gaps in technology and customer expectations

We discussed in the previous blog how neobanks redefine the future of banking and how many traditional banks struggle to convert most of their offline services to digital ones. Traditional banks tied down with inflexible underpinnings have it even more difficult. Customers slowly begin to move towards fintech solutions that integrate their bank accounts with the facilitating neobank and provide all banking functions in one place. 

Many customers switched as they felt that the traditional banks, with the immense resources available at their beck and call, could have given improved personalised services. The gap between the services offered by conventional banks and what customers expected from them widened.  

Filling the CX Gap: Long-Term vs Short-Term Goals 

FSIs primarily indulge in two kinds of activities consistently:

Stabilisers FSIs bend towards short-term activities that mitigate risks of urgent nature and focus on short-term wins. 

Growth-oriented FSIs focus on activities that build long-term relationships with customers.

Some FSIs are more focused on short-term goals than the long-term. 

For example, the pandemic brought drastic changes in customer service request volumes for many FSIs. According to Asian Banker, large banks witnessed a 43.3 % increase in call volumes in 2020’s first quarter alone, with wait times averaging over 40 minutes. On average, customers use approximately nine channels, such as social media, web chats, emails, calls, etc., to connect with the FSIs to communicate their challenges. There are two ways to deal with it:

Fix the issue, record it, and keep it safe. Then later, forget about it. (Stabilisers)

Fix the problem, register it, learn from it, and make future-ready changes to the system so that no one ever faces the same challenges. (Growth-oriented)

A type of fix FSIs choose for a problem is a choice they make based on their end goals which are again based on the mindset of the key stakeholders. Growth is something that all FSIs look for, but there are only a few that implement it. Comparing the stabilisers vs growth-oriented FSIs, the latter were 22 % more inclined to invest in omnichannel services and 15 % more likely to expand their support capabilities to new channels. Growth-oriented FSIs are 12% more likely than Stabilisers to personalise outreach and 24% more likely to improve their UX(Trends in Financial Services Report 2021, Salesforce). 

Growth-oriented FSIs have prioritised investing in personalisation, automation, virtualisation and cloud-based solutions to provide an intimate customer experience to every customer at scale. 

Autonomous Finance: Lunging the CX Gap 

Providing the best-personalised communication with highly customised UX for a better user experience for every customer at a scale can be challenging. Still, it’s not just a pipe dream for FSIs anymore. Even though FSIs invest heavily in the aforementioned technological capabilities, will autonomous finance be enough to bridge the CX gap created during these trying times?

Larger FSIs sit on a treasure trove of enormous amounts of valuable customer data, from buying histories to lending information to travel and medical information. Even with the newer data regulations about ownership, financial institutions are well placed to evolve into highly personalised data brokers in customers’ lives, even beyond financial services, and play a more profound role in tomorrow’s society. In this context, rebuilding trust is key to the bright future of financial services. Through autonomous finance, FSIs can learn and understand each customer’s behaviour.

Financial services should integrate more and more seamlessly with consumers’ lifestyles and devices, and organisations can use artificial intelligence to calculate personalised value analyses. The systems and technologies involved need to be highly trustworthy to succeed. The FSIs must understand that they must embrace customers’ goals more closely rather than solely focus on becoming a profit and growth powerhouse. 

– World Economic Forum.

Growth-oriented FSIs are inclined to leverage customer data for autonomous finance. It is powered by artificial intelligence to analyse consumer behaviour, mitigate fraud risk, and recommend relevant products and services to enhance customer experience. AI-powered bots will be available 24×7 and continuously feed on customer data to increase intelligence to deliver the right products and services to gain consumer trust. Even if scaling personalised offerings is challenging, autonomous finance can aid in bridging the gap between expectations and offerings.

– Rachid Molinary, SVP of Digital Strategy & Innovation at Banco Popular.

Customer expectations differ based on the product offerings of FSIs. Autonomous finance can use its capabilities to make automated decisions for customers. 

Retail bankers are focused on automatic account transfers. Based on customer behaviour, the AI can determine the frequency and amount of transfers subject to balance and goal-setting availability.

Insurance leaders’ top use case is in processing claims, which can potentially reduce manual errors and resources required.

For wealth management FSIs, autonomous finance will help foresee investment optimisation through automated savings,  rebalancing portfolios,  reinvesting dividends, or tax-harvesting strategies.

SME banking can use it to automate fund allocation of a business by understanding departmental expenses, automatic timely tax payments with required paperwork submission, reinvesting profits in various avenues of growth, pre-approve and automatic business loan disbursal and multiple other functionalities. 

Benefits of Autonomous Finance 

The customer benefits of autonomous finance emphasised so far is that it directly addresses the customer experience shortfalls worsened through the pandemic. Six in 10 FSIs deem better personalisation the maximum use of enforcing the new capability.

Moreover, autonomous finance strives to break down the complexity to produce better outcomes at scale. In times of economic turbulence, solutions that streamline financial decisions – like automated micro-savings tools – could be a blessing for consumers skimming through ways to increase their savings acquiescently.

Future of Autonomous Finance

Consumers have become increasingly demanding from financial services providers, and there is a near consensus in the industry that autonomous finance will be a significant differentiator soon. According to 89% of financial services leaders, the first financial services companies to implement autonomous finance successfully will gain a substantial competitive edge. 

While today’s top use cases concentrate on drastically improving process efficiencies, the next generation has the prospect of unlocking entirely new value-creation chains. Autonomous finance usage will gradually shift from operational refinements to net-new customer requisitions as the use evolves. 

In the future, insurers could present new value propositions like modularising policies or creating and insuring new risk genera. For example, retail banks could instinctively pick and dispense budgets for higher education to the savings accounts of young parents.  Similarly, for SME banking, banks can disburse pre-approved business loans at the time of need by understanding the business’s paying power or financial health.

[thyandrawrites]

maybe horis point is some VERY optimistic view in bnha world that the next generation is more understanding and less violent. like idk maybe shouto and shouji could have ended up violent in their ways but because their classmates werent evil shitheads and they made friends they managed to not be swallowed up by the worlds ugliness. (im saying this with a "this is a battle shonen/fictional story" mentality and logic. irl the only way to change anything is through protests/violence/wars)

Mmh, well, I don't disagree about the limitations of a battle shounen manga. I'm well aware of them. However, I think the problem in bnha is that the writing often doesn't follow up on its own set ups.

Let me try to clarify this. It's true that Horikoshi doesn't seem interested in writing any actual change on a societal scale. I probably went into this expecting it to be a story about something else, and that's on me. I can't fault Hori for not writing what I hoped to read.

However, while the overarching point might not be fixing social issues, Horikoshi did set up the hero kids as people who want to break from the mold. Bnha is largely a story about mentors and mentees, but take Deku for example: his mentor, Gran Torino, was certain Shigaraki was long past the point of saving, and admonished Toshinori against sympathizing with him. Yet, despite the fact that Deku normally thinks his mentors hung the moon, he still goes against their judgment with his resolve to save Shigaraki.

So the set up is that Deku will eventually see past their hero/villain labels and acknowledge Shigaraki's humanity.

Problem is, the story is nearly wrapping up, but we're still lacking a proper follow up. It just stays a resolve, but there's no action that supports this.

The hero trio is supposed to be headed towards rescuing their villain foils, but any common ground they have with them always takes the backseat. Every time there's an opportunity for them to act and do better than their mentors, the kids revert to being angry and perpetrating the mindset of the previous generation. This is shown most clearly with Shouto, who unconsciously repeats his parents' calls for Touya to "just stop" (and in the process, keeps scapegoating him as a bad victim who keeps inconveniencing others instead of just moving on).

If anything, I'd say that the problem is exactly this: positing one side, the good guys, as the "good victims", and the villains as the "bad" ones. It drives attention away from the fact that they've both suffered unjustly, and postpones indefinitely any attempt for a dialogue.

Now, bnha probably will never go as far as dismantling the perpetrators that caused that suffering on both sides of the current conflict. Think of how his solution to the corruption of the Hpsc was killing Madam President and replacing her. But I think it would be nice if the story could finally move away from that good vs bad, black vs white thinking and show us the heroes' growth instead of dangling in front of our eyes like a carrot on a string. The point is for kids to be more understanding? Then show them acting like it. If you cannot make them empathize with the villains yet because that's too fast, at least show them actually listening to what the villains are saying. Ffs, Touya is Shouto's brother but Shouto didn't listen to a single word Touya said.

Does this make sense? I Don't know. I think I'm gonna drop the subject for now tho, since talking about this in circles doesn't help getting rid of my frustration

[ukaiknowsbest]

breaking down Ace of Diamond - the "Hero's Journey."

Using the model/guide presented by Overly Sarcastic Productions in their youtube video Trope Talk: The Hero's Journey, I will attempt to discuss how Sawamura Eijun's story in DnA is his Hero's Journey to becoming an ace pitcher in the Japanese HIgh School Baseball environment.

Blue from OSP put forward the 12 basic parts of the Hero's Journey Cycle. The illustration below will be our reference. I simplified a graph made by Signy Wilson in order to match OSP's less rigid guide.

disclaimer: I am by no means any kind of expert. I was just fascinated when I learned about the Hero's Journey as a general trope/framework when it came to writing stories. I want to apply what I learned by breaking down the story created by Terajima Yuuji in Ace of Diamond.

A. ORDINARY WORLD

STAGE 1. THE HERO IN HIS NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Hero: Sawamura Eijun. Captain and Ace Pitcher of middle school baseball team. He has no formal training in baseball whatsoever but was the one who gathered and convinced his friends to start a baseball club. He's the best player in their small team. Good at sports but bad at academics .

He is generally a baseball idiot and quite a naive/simple guy with a strong heart. He does not have any idea what competitive and pro baseball looks like because not only does he not have experience but also he does not watch the broadcasts on tv/radio at all.

Ordinary World of the Hero: rural town in Nagano Prefecture, where Sawamura formed a small baseball team with his childhood friends. Acording to him, as long as they all stay together they can always play baseball anywhere.

STAGE 2. THE CALL TO ADVENTURE

2.1 Problem/why hero's ordinary world is going to crumble: - He lessened his chances of being scouted/accepted in a good baseball school after he btchslapped an entire opponent team and the umpires in their first and only match as middle school team in Saitama Stadium.

He also has low chance of being accepted into the high school in their area (where his friends are all going to) because he struggles with his academics a lot.

Unless he does something he won't be able to be together with his friends and/or play baseball at all.

2.2 Caller of the adventure - Takashima Rei pursues Sawamura into Nagano Prefecture in order to scout him as a sports scholar for Seido High School, a baseball powerhouse school located in the West Division of Tokyo Prefecture.

2.3 medicine/ solution to hero's crumbling world: being a sports scholar for Seido. This would solve almost all of Sawamura's highschool enrollment problem and also give him the chance to play as much baseball as he wants.

STAGE 3. REFUSAL TO THE CALL

3.1 reluctance to go: Sawamura refuses to leave Nagano despite Rei's "sales pitch" to him and his family. He doesn't want to leave his friends just to play baseball in a stronger school far away because he had promised his friends that they would always stick together.

3.2 hero punished for this - his grandpa literally smacks/slaps him in being stupid and doubting his friends.!!! / technically circumstances are already punishing him for being a hotblooded baseball idiot in the first place.

3.3 do you think you have a choice - this is probably the only chance he'll get to play baseball with all his strength AND finish highschool.

B. EXTRAORDINARY / UNKNOWN WORLD

Venturing out into more competitive/pro baseball is a world beyond him. It's scary and unknown and he'd rather defeat bigger teams than leave his friends.

STAGE 4. CROSSING THE THRESHOLD

4.1 crossing physical threshold - Rei persuades him to at least check the school out with his own eyes. They leave Tokyo together for one visit.

4.2. crossing a metaphorical threshold - in that visit, sawamura, picks a fight with a senior who's bound for baseball drafts, works together with a nationally acclaimed catcher in defeating the senior player, thus changing his worldview because he had so much fun.

4.2. conscious and irreversible decision - Because of the experience he goes home conflicted. His family encourages him in their own way to follow his guts and heart and go to Tokyo.

STAGE 5. REALM OF ADVENTURE

5.1 hero learns to navigate the unknown world - Sawamura learns the harsh realities of being in a baseball school once he actually starts to live there. Our boy also gets educated in Baseball and Pitching 101. He also finds out the true personality of the catcher he played with before.

5.2 meeting allies/rivals/mentors - he learns about the team better when he meets a whole bunch of people: batchmates, coaches and senpais. He builds interesting dynamics with all of them.

5.3 trials and initial failures - Sawamura undergoes difficult initial training and is barely allowed to play in matches.

5.4 meeting enemies - Sawamura being allowed to play as relief pitcher in the games and face talented pitchers and scary batters mostly in tense situations.

5.5 growth, new skills - Sawamura grows with each match, thus bolstering his confidence. Sometimes he falters but he learns from his mistakes.

5.6 first major success - striking out scary batters with each new thing he learns.

5.7 major challenge that leads to downfall - seido vs inashiro finals match where he goes in full of confidence and courage but then he and his team gets defeated in a devastating way.

STAGE 6. BELLY OF THE WHALE

6.1 lowest point of hero where hero physically or metaphorically goes down - one month after their major defeat, a lot of intense practice matches and change in team dynamics, the team find out that Sawamura has the YIPS. This condition took away Sawamura's ability to pitch in his trademark style/ the only thing he was good at.

6.2 hero's darkest hour - without the ability to pitch, Sawamura questions his reality and why he is still on the team.

6.3 Face and overcome inner demons - with a lot of help from allies and mentors, Sawamura finds a way to bring back a bit of his ability.

STAGE 7. ROAD OF TRIALS

7.1 Discarding old self - In the duration of his downfall and eventual healing, Sawamura turns to books, meditation and becomes even more careful in maintaining his form and body.

7.2 Accepting the new role - instead of fixating on the ace position like before, Sawamura is just glad that he is still allowed to pitch as relief.

7.3 Finding path out of the belly of the whale/The road back - After figuring out a solution to fix his pitching, he focuses on it and regains some of his ability. Sawamura is then allowed to play in matches. Just like before, he improves little by little as he recovers from each failure. He gains fresher mindset and new weapons, thus becoming an even stronger pitcher than he ever was before.

7.4 more trials - they face new opponent schools and old but improved opponents which test the best of Sawamura and the team's ability

STAGE 8. PRE SHOWDOWN BREATHER

every major match in ace of diamond has this part of the story but usually the most critical breather episode is the one before the final match.

8.1 show humanity of other characters - Somethng bad happens to the other mc without Sawamura knowing. This could absolutely wreck their chances of winning the final match. This shows that the other guys are not 100% invincible after all.

8.2 last chance to relax. - calm before the storm. It is also the time where they finalize sawamura's weapons.

8.3 quiet moment to reminisce - usually happens before each match. However the night before the finals was the major one because their old senpais went to visit their practice and encourage them.

STAGE 9. CLIMAX / STEPPING UP TO THE CHALLENGE

9.1 Final Showdown - Sawamura helps in the team defense with the best of his ability and weapons and he succeeds. Their team eventually wins Fall Tournament even with a few setbacks.

9.2 Apotheosis - Sawamura's worldview changed once he realises that even with his improvement and skill, his goal of being the ace is still out of reach for him.

9.3 Ultimate Boon - Sawamura gets to be a pivotal member of their baseball team and can play baseball as much as he wants with his team.

STAGE 7. ROAD OF TRIALS start again after the Fall Tournament Act 1 because Sawamura faces new challenges in Ace of Diamond Act 2.

Meiji Jingu Tournament - Play in matches without Miyuki

WInter camp and break - Intense Physical Training and development and improvement of his weapons which he will use and improve on throughout the rest of Act 2.

Spring Koshien where he realises that he has to do more in order to surpass the current ace which was Furuya.

Start of New Term/ Practice Matches - Sawamura and co. meets their new kouhai and team dynamics shift once again.

Spring Tournament / Summer Tournament - Sawamura meets old foes and new enemies. He also becomes the Ace Pitcher of the team, which adds more pressure on his part.

ACT 2 STAGE 8. PRE SHOWDOWN BREATHER

This is the big and long one before Summer Tournament Finals match where injuries and problems were discussed and feelings were explored.

ACT 2 STAGE 9. CLIMAX

Final (Or most hyped and awaited rematch) Seido vs Inashiro in order to qualify for Summer Koshien Nationals.

**everything after this point will be prediction and just my opinion

STAGES 7-9 start again

Koshien Nationals Arc.

STAGE 10. CROSSING THE RETURN THRESHOLD

Miyuki/3rd years retirement/graduation. Sawamura and his batch will have to lead the team.

STAGE 11. THE REWARD

Sawamura gets to play with his team as ace pitcher.

STAGE 12 / STAGE 1. THE HERO IN HIS NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Sawamura may become both ace and captain, same as his role back in his middle school team, albeit in a stronger school. Even if he won't be the next captain, as ace he will still be in a strong leadership position.

CONCLUSION

That's how Ace of Diamond is written in the style of A HERO'S JOURNEY.

Act 1 writing especially followed the trope quite rigidly.

Notes:

I still don't want Sawamura to be the next captain. I hope that does not happen. However if it does, it means the story will have gone back full circle. That would be quite poetic ngl.

Gotta applaud Terajima's pacing. Can you believe that the story only reached its lowest and most pivotal point at around episode 70 of the anime???? thank godt that after ep 63 I read spoilers about yips arc in tv tropes or else i would have dropped the series completely.

I had difficulty in classifying the events after the climax stage into hero's journey stages because technically sawamura has not gone "home" yet. Moreover the challenges and trials just kept on piling up after Fall Tournament.

In this whole story, Sawamura has experienced only one true "Belly of the Whale stage" during his YIPS arc. I don't think he really came to a low point in Act 2 other than his first official match as Ace Pitcher. I treated that in the same vein as the effects of Raichi's first homerun off Sawamura back in Act 1.

I realized that having stages 7-9 recur starting from Meiji Jingu to the current summer tournament is what made reading Act 2 quite frustrating for me. That's at least 5-6 arcs of endless roller coaster ride loops.

I consider Miyuki's departure to be the "CROSSING THE RETURN THRESHOLD" moment because playing with him was the major reason for Sawamura's decision to study and play in Tokyo. Something will change Sawamura when this eventually happens.

As Blue from OSP said, the Hero's Journey is just a general guide/framework to writing stories. It is flexible, writers don't even have to use it or all of its parts to make a good story. Terajima just seemed to have adopted A LOT of the hero's journey trope in his baseball series.

I wanted to add more pictures tbh but tumblr is a killjoy :(

This was a fun thought exercise. There were probably even some parts which I have used the tropes wrongly. Please feel free to dispute me.

I talked about Sawamura's mentors here (x).

[kenyatta]

Fixed vs. Growth: The Two Basic Mindsets That Shape Our Lives – The Marginalian

For twenty years, my research has shown that the view you adopt for yourself profoundly affects the way you lead your life. It can determine whether you become the person you want to be and whether you accomplish the things you value. How does this happen? How can a simple belief have the power to transform your psychology and, as a result, your life?

Believing that your qualities are carved in stone — the fixed mindset— creates an urgency to prove yourself over and over. If you have only a certain amount of intelligence, a certain personality, and a certain moral character — well, then you’d better prove that you have a healthy dose of them. It simply wouldn’t do to look or feel deficient in these most basic characteristics.

[…]

I’ve seen so many people with this one consuming goal of proving themselves — in the classroom, in their careers, and in their relationships. Every situation calls for a confirmation of their intelligence, personality, or character. Every situation is evaluated: Will I succeed or fail? Will I look smart or dumb? Will I be accepted or rejected? Will I feel like a winner or a loser? . . .

There’s another mindset in which these traits are not simply a hand you’re dealt and have to live with, always trying to convince yourself and others that you have a royal flush when you’re secretly worried it’s a pair of tens. In this mindset, the hand you’re dealt is just the starting point for development. This growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts. Although people may differ in every which way — in their initial talents and aptitudes, interests, or temperaments — everyone can change and grow through application and experience.

[sepublic]

The Infinity Train’s All-or-Nothing Gamble

           Oh, Simon Laurent, you… MESSED UP, messed up… I don’t even know what to call you… A pile of ash? That seems a bit too soon, but then so was bragging about murdering Tuba, so I mean. Mm.

           A lot of people are rightfully discussing how small Simon’s number was, how he was just a kid when he got abducted by the Infinity Train! And it makes you wonder, surely he could’ve figured things out on his own, had the Infinity Train NOT kidnapped him, right…?

           …But by that logic, we could also say that surely he would’ve improved HAD it taken him? Obviously having seen that option through, Simon didn’t improve and instead became a straight-up murderer and traitor. Given what Oweeeeeen Dennis had to say about the Infinity Train appearing to people who are at a ‘crossroads’ in life, it makes me think…

           …What if Simon was, in a sense… destined to be messed-up? That had the Infinity Train not picked him up, it could see into his future, and it would’ve seen that Simon would’ve become just as screwed-up an adult in the human world, as he did on the Infinity Train?

           But the Infinity Train is WEIRD, to say the least. There are a lot of variables. Perhaps Fate isn’t as determined on the Infinity Train, as it is in our world. So, the Infinity Train kidnaps Simon, under the belief that… Either he’ll still become as messed-up as he was fated to be due to his circumstances and mindset, OR there was a chance he’d improve! And even the smallest chance is better than NO chance at all, so one might argue that the Infinity Train was justified!

           Of course, Oweeeeen also said that the Infinity Train and One-One can be wrong. So…?

           (I’d ask him myself, but somehow I doubt I’d get a straightforward answer.)

           Does the Infinity Train appear to people, ideally at moments when their hypothetical numbers would be at their lowest? It never appeared to Amelia until after Alrick’s death… But then again, why appear before his death, what would she fix/learn then? How to cope with the death of a loved one BEFORE they died???

           Oweeeeen mentioned crossroads. It makes me wonder if once a person has an issue, then the moment they’re at a crossroads, where they could proceed to fall down a slippery slope no matter how low their number is, OR change for the better… That either option is equally likely… Then the Infinity Train comes in to hopefully tip the scales in the balance of their emotional healing. Healing is a weird process… Could a passenger’s number stay stagnant for a long while, or would it inevitably climb because of this, as that’s proof they’re not improving and being stuck in their old ways?

           What if the Infinity Train knew Simon was messed-up no matter what, and picked him up because his interactions with others (not just Grace but the kids who joined the Apex) could teach them a lesson? Though with Grace, I’d question this… Which makes me wonder if SHE was also gonna be super-messed up, with or without Simon. So in the end, Simon and Grace were put on for the sake of some other kids destined to board the Infinity Train, while still given the chance to improve themselves… Who knows? Maybe not even Oweeeeen!

           Discussing Simon “Boy am I MESSED UP or what?” Laurent further, it’s worth noting that Grace, at least initially, is willing to take the blame for misleading Simon. That part of her growth came from acknowledging that she DID deceive him. For a moment Grace said that Simon could absolve himself of the blame, that could he change while not actually having to confront himself over HIS own mistakes by dumping them onto Grace! But the whole time he tries to kill her, it’s not over lying to him and causing Simon to become a murderer… Rather, Simon is under the impression that Grace only started lying recently.

           Does he know, deep in his heart, that he really CAN’T blame Grace for this- That should it turn out that Amelia was telling the truth, he was still accountable for his actions no matter what Grace said at the time… And her admitting that she’s not supposed to take care of him basically confirmed this? Was Simon latching onto the IDEA of Grace, the idea of a Grace that was never wrong… And now he was trying to kill off this ‘corrupted’ Grace to preserve the perfect one in his memory?

           Because admitting she was wrong, even if he tries to scapegoat the blame onto Grace… I think Simon would’ve been more horrified by the thought of a Grace who was always wrong up until now, VS a Grace who had actually been totally right and had only recently gone down the wrong path! And he’s more betrayed by the former option than the latter… So Simon just opts to shut up Grace, because clearly she’s become a liability if she’s wrong now! And if turned out that Grace had been wrong from the beginning, well then why suddenly start trusting her at all, period? I mean, look at how she threw Hazel under the bus! (Train? Well not really only TUBA was thrown underneath the train…)

           Of course, Simon only acknowledges that Hazel was genuinely betrayed if it’s in a context that justifies his dislike of Grace, because otherwise you can’t betray a thing, right? Because otherwise fully acknowledging that moment as a betrayal also means fully acknowledging Hazel as a person, which means fully acknowledging that Simon considered killing a CHILD and that her grief over Tuba was real… you get the idea. I swear it’s like I’m taking a Criminal Psychology course and Simon is my case-study…!

           Going off what @fermented-writers-block reminded me, of what Oweeeeeen said about the Infinity Train ‘trying to account for all possibilities’ with its many, MANY cars, some of inexplicable practicality…? I have to wonder if the implication is that, be it on a literal or metaphorical sense, the chaotic environment of the Infinity Train provides more means and basis for change, for a passenger to pick a certain path and go down it… Versus the more orderly structure back home.

           Granted, what if the Infinity Train were to rescue a passenger from a war-torn environment? Surely THAT would be a lot less ‘orderly’ than the Infinity Train! But then again its objective is more towards healing, so… Either the Infinity Train rescues someone from a bad situation and they’re in a better one on the Infinity Train so they can heal! OR it’s just as bad… but also chaotic enough that the randomness of events and experiences could cause a change in –hopefully- the right direction!

           That is to say… The Infinity Train doesn’t know what it’s doing either. If we DO get a Book 4, I have to wonder if the direction will be One-One taking a more proactive role as Conductor and making sure passengers are less messed-up… Of course once he DOES start stepping up with his role, then why stop there? Why not keep breaking MORE rules, until you eventually decided to stop putting people aboard the Infinity Train in the first place? And I have to wonder if the hypothetical Book 4 will go more into the determinism of the denizens, especially since Lake is a pretty vocal indication in the direction of them being able to make their own destiny, for the most part.

           And hey- If Lake can do it, then maybe One-One is capable of learning some sense, and just stopping the Infinity Train, period! Or at the very least, only picking passengers up from objectively-terrible and dangerous situations where they’d TOTALLY die or be further traumatized, and then being more proactive in keeping them safe as they make a journey… Or just dropping them off somewhere else back on Earth!

           Honestly I would not be at all shocked if Oweeeeeeen’s idea for a hypothetical ending involved the Infinity Train no longer making any ‘stops’ for passengers, that this is the last ride… It’ll keep moving, but only for its denizens (because we’ve established they’re people and destroying the Train and their lives is unfair). Or, the Infinity Train just keeps going, and GOING… Because they don’t call it the Infinity Train for nothing!

           Jeez, this train is making me go mad. No wonder Simon went nuts. Overall, if I HAD to guess… I think the Infinity Train, as pointed out to me by @fermented-writers-block, is just as chaotic as Earth, that both Earth and the Infinity Train allow people to choose their own fates respectively, that your destiny isn’t pre-determined on Earth when you’re potentially rescued by the Infinity Train! It’s just that to the Infinity Train, if you’re at a crossroads in your head, it may as well pick you up because the chaotic environment provides more potential… 

          More potential for growth, but also more potential for becoming messed-up, so it’s an All-or-Nothing Gambit, like some messed-up Gambler designed this automaton! Like the train WANTS you to go ALL THE WAY with your healing, or go all the way with becoming messed-up, because apparently Earth is too stagnant for meaningful progress in either direction right?

[jedi-order-apologist]

I think a lot of the Jedi hate comes from their belief in self-improvement, which isn't a very popular narrative at the moment. We're stuck in a boring trend of "grim dark" anti-heroes and told we should embrace our flaws as who we are, and any suggestion that we should maybe try to improve our flaws and be better people is seen as a horrible insult.

That could be a contributing factor, yeah. It’s a bit related to the contrarianism/”greyer is automatically deeper” idea, I think, where the popular set-up of moral conflicts is “both sides are wrong and need to find a middle ground”, and people forget that there are other possible moral conflicts (for example, as in Star Wars, resisting evil in yourself). But I reject the idea that good vs evil stories are inherently childish or always lack nuance or don’t have value. I don’t think every story needs to be good vs evil, but the stories that are that way don’t need to be made “grey”, especially when they’re taking something with variation within the black and within the white and slapping a uniform grey over top of it and calling that nuance.

And yes, self-improvement...I find that a lot of Jedi-critical stuff comes at them with a very fixed mindset (as opposed to a growth mindset, which is important for self-reflection and self-improvement). Within a fixed mindset, you either are or you aren’t something, inherently, and the idea of constantly striving for something is a foreign, futile concept. So they assume that the Jedi are claiming to be their ideals, when in reality they’re always working towards those ideals - but that effort is dismissed/unseen under a fixed mindset, and so they’re condemned for not embodying the ideals they profess.

That fixed mindset is also reflected in how so much Jedi-critical stuff either insists that they needed to be wiped out, or else demands drastic reform directed by some degree of ““enlightened”” outsider (mavericks, time-travelers, even non-Jedi) who forces the reluctant Jedi Order to change their entire culture in order to cater to Anakin/the real-world critic. Either way, it’s this fixed mindset that casts the Jedi Order as more or less a lost cause, casts the Council as a monolithic and inflexible entity, and gives no consideration for the lifelong journeys of self-improvement that most of the Jedi we see are on. Seriously, I do wonder if we watched different movies sometimes, because the Jedi in the films (especially Yoda, who’s constantly reflecting on the state of the Order and the Galaxy) are very much self-critical and aware of their shortcomings, not in the defeatist way of a fixed mindset, but in the “we must do our best anyway” way of a growth mindset.

So yes, I agree that Jedi hate could be influenced by the wider trend of rejecting idealistic philosophies that push for something better regardless of whether it can actually be reached, in favor of cynical defeatism that condemns any shortcomings as one of the worst possible things you can have. And in that mindset, why set your standards higher than you can already reach? If your standards are already where you are, you’ll never have any shortcomings, right? The Jedi just needed to have lower standards so that their path would be easy and then they wouldn’t have so many damnable flaws from not meeting those pesky ideals!

(/s for that last bit, obviously)

[ask-asexual-crystal-gems]

You do not seem at all qualified to give most of the advice you’re giving; step down.

See that's the interesting thing. When Freud first came up with the idea of psychoanalysis, he said that all people from all walks of life, laymen and educated alike, should guess at the subconscious of each other. He was of the opinion that a person was usually blind to their own subconscious, their own blind spots, and their own childhood conditioning, so other people could perhaps, after some questioning, see it.  I don't think of it quite that way, because I encourage people to do subconscious work with themselves, and myself, obviously, but the general idea makes sense. You are committing a line of reasoning somewhat akin to the logical fallacy called 'appeal to authority.' It is considered bad form in formal debating. The idea that only people who can gatekeep this mysterious thing called 'knowledge' or 'insight' should be the ones to wield it.  It's funny, because one of my friends is incredibly happy that I think this way, because she went to therapists for years, is incredibly traumatized, and said the most rapid mental progress she made was with me, who didn't take the same old approaches they did.  Just one aspect of this: 'Re-framing' is a *skill* taught to patients like me, that they are expected to master for themselves. I just do it for other people as well. One of my other bipolar friends has benefitted from it a lot, too, and they like hanging out with me for that reason, but come to think of it, I don't think I specifically asked them if they realized re-framing was what I was intentionally doing.  Therapy should be about empowerment, and not dependency: that's what my therapist tells me. Another said labels are only useful if they help a person cope, too. It's not about the given disorder: it's about what you do about it, and *how* you think about it.  Ever heard of 'Fixed Mindset' vs 'Growth Mindset'? It is spreading among both schoolteachers and therapists, and good thing too! I hope you can analyze how my particular words fit into the concept. This logical fallacy type of thinking collectively leads to all sorts of problems in the plain medical field, too, such as doctors ignoring patient's symptoms because they think they know better, and dismissing them as negligible complaints. Studies indicate this is ESPECIALLY true for AFAB people.

[atcostmag]

Tiggy Valen on Writing Songs While Growing Up with No Fixed Address

Though she’s moved places every two years since the age of thirteen, Tiggy Valen finds that home where the heart is. Now based in New York, a rather fitting place for the cosmopolitan soul, the California, Bay Area singer speaks on her unusual upbringing as the daughter of a diplomat. Soft and breezy, her songs with their ethereal glow reflect a nostalgic air; a pre-determined longing and melancholic saudade resulting from living a nomad’s life.

Words: Peter Quincy Ng

You're a former cellist and opera singer and now a singer-songwriter. Your music now is very different from your music then. What inspired the paradigm shift?

I was raised on all sorts of music growing up! Singing in choir and playing piano and cello gave me an appreciation for classical styles early on, but when I listen to music for fun or with friends it’s mostly been contemporary stuff: pop, rock, hip hop, you name it. The first two songs on my iPod Nano in the early 2000′s were “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield and “Bohemian Rhapsody”- Still classics! I’ve always sought out good music regardless of genre or style, so as I’ve started to produce myself I try to pull elements from all over the map. I don’t really have one “North Star,” which is probably why my music seems different than what one might expect. That being said, I still love a good string arrangement and focus a lot on stacking vocal harmonies so there are definitely still elements of my past life in my new music!

The title of your upcoming EP is called "Diplomat's Daughter". How has living abroad changed your perspective of the world and how has living in a different cultural environment shaped your artistic perspective?

I think people who are consistently pushing the boundaries of their comfort zone and spending a lot of time in other cultures are often some of the best at self awareness and empathy. I’m definitely not perfect at that, but the ability I’ve had over the years to live in so many different environments has bred in me a continuous mindset of self-reflection and desire to learn from and listen to others. That constant looking in vs. looking out may seem contradictory, but in a strange way I think operating under the assumption that you have something to learn from everyone you interact with helps you learn a lot more about yourself as well as the world.

So far that’s also been a big part of discovering myself as an artist — to find your sound and songwriting style you have to go through the same sort of self-reflection and learning-through-others process. It may sound simple, but for me creativity sits at the nexus of experiencing something and having tools to process how that makes me feel. In that sense, it’s not particularly surprising that each song on my EP is focused on a different place I’ve lived; those collective experiences have shaped me most so far in life. With each song, I’ve reflected on my time in a certain place, processed how it made me feel, and built the music and lyrics around those feelings. As strange as it sounds, it’s sort of been like creating a world for my memories of each place to live in.

You mention that your father served in Afghanistan and Pakistan during some very trying times. What have you learned from your parents' experiences? Though they may not have been musicians themselves, what are some words of wisdom they offered to you in the face of obstacles and challenges?

I look up to my parents in so many ways, but especially in the way they both seek out and deal with challenges. They rarely champion taking the easy route — my siblings and I have always been taught to face obstacles head on, and that conquering those (or at least trying to) is the best way to build character and resilience. They’ve also instilled in us the mindset of “whatever you’re going through, someone is dealing with something worse.” Not in a way that’s meant to belittle our feelings, but I think it adds necessary perspective in life. I’m super grateful for that.

The name of your current single is titled "Dear California," and your previous single "Two Year Stand". The former speaks of your home state and the latter speaks of moving to another country every two years since the age of thirteen. What makes you feel at home and what is something you've learned not to take for granted living with no fixed address?

That’s a great question! Every time someone asks me where I’m from, I really have to pause and think about how I should answer. Most people regret asking if I launch into the whole story, but saying just one place also feels incomplete. Tough dilemma for a very basic question! Home for me really centers around people and memories. One smell in California can make me feel like I never left. A taste of authentic Thai food makes me feel like Bangkok is home again. Catching up with high school or college friends reminds me of how at-home I felt in school. Living in New York City has also taught me that you don’t have to have lived in a place your whole life to be able to call it home — not many people in NYC are true born and bred “New Yorkers” but it’s very much their home too. If you associate enough with a place and experience it beyond being an occasional tourist, it’s not a stretch to call it home.

In terms of what not to take for granted: roots, history, consistency! I’m always a little envious of the people whose families have lived in one place for generations. I try to play catch up in getting to know a place as much as I can whenever we move, but it’s no substitute for the history of having your and your family’s identity wrapped up in one place.

A deep, ethereal suspension of dreamy saturation, “Two Year Stand” with its divergent lift floats into a spiral of dreamy dysphoria as it closes with its contemplating monologues

Tiggy · Two Year Stand

Like most artists, your music speaks of relationships. How has distance shaped the meaning of friends, family and lovers?

Distance definitely makes me try and work harder at my friendships and relationships. It takes a lot of effort to stay in touch. Despite how easy it is to send someone a text these days, I think a lot of people are hesitant to do so unless it’s someone they really care about because it’s like “what’s the point?” if you’re not physically together. In my mind, distance has never seemed like a major barrier to keeping a friendship or relationship given how used to it I am. I hate the thought of losing a friend and the memories you shared, but I can also understand the people who feel like the effort isn’t always worth it to hang onto something of the past. It sort of comes down to your tolerance for sharing memories and experiences virtually. Personally, I’m a super nostalgic person so I could sustain a distance friendship with someone for years just based on recounting the memories we shared when we were physically together. But I get those who need more than that to keep something going. It’s a two way street though so I think both people have to fall in the former category to make it work. I guess I just try and hang on as tight as possible to the people who feel the same way!

You know, you're a bit of a diplomat yourself. After all, they say music is the universal language. What do you hope listeners get out of your music?

It truly is! I listen to music in languages I don’t speak all the time and it still conjures feelings. I guess that’s what I really hope for my music — that it can spur emotion, memories, and personal experiences for people in different ways. While all my music is personal to me, I think it has the potential for a lot of people to relate to it even just based on people who’ve reached out to me about it so far. Transience, growth, and optimism are main themes in my music, and I think a lot people are well acquainted with those things!

Soft and beachy with its wash of sustaining textures, Tiggy’s breezy comb of vocals embraces with its reassuring coax on “Dear California,”

Tiggy · Dear California,

[psychofactz]

25 Ways to feed your mind, body, & soul

PRACTICE MINDFULNESS Mindfulness is an important practice to infuse calmer into your life. I find that being mindful encourages me to enjoy the little moments I would otherwise miss. If mindfulness feels like a struggle, make it easy with seven days of mindfulness prompts.

DETOX FROM TECHNOLOGY Sometimes we forget that there is an entire world beyond the internet. Lately, I’ve been feeling sucked into my laptop and phone too much, and I’m feeling the urge to take a break and get away from it. That could be one day a week without opening my laptop or setting clear boundaries for a technology-free time at night. Here’s a 7-day media detox challenge if you want to try it out yourself.

QUIET YOUR MIND Quieting your mind is so important for reducing stress. Whether it’s writing all your thoughts on paper before bed or meditating in the morning, make it a priority to quiet your mind at least once a day.

DIFFUSE ESSENTIAL OILS Essential oils can be great for stress-relief. Even though I love essential oils and I have more than one person rationally needs, I always forget to turn my diffuser on. I’m going to start making it part of my morning and evening routine so that turning my diffuser on becomes a habit.

MAKE TIME FOR SELF-REFLECTION Self-reflection is so important for our personal growth. It can be tricky to find the motivation to journal, but it’s worth it to let go of the thoughts floating around in your head. Self-reflection helps you explore who you are and create more space for positive thinking.

TWEAK YOUR MORNING ROUTINE Your morning routine sets the tone for the rest of the day, so try to squeeze in something that creates a sense of calm right away. Try meditating, journaling, drinking a cup of tea, or stretching. Little changes can help you start your day on the right foot. Here are some more ideas to makeover your morning routine.

READ MORE BOOKS When Netflix is calling your name, it’s easy to forget about the wonders of getting lost in a book. Create a healthy balance between the amount of time you spend watching vs. reading. Set a specific time that you want to read each day and stick to it.

LEARN SOMETHING NEW We know it’s important to quiet your mind, but it’s also important to challenge yourself and learn something new. Make time to continue your personal growth in areas you often forget to explore. Try watching TED talks, checking out a book from the library, or taking a Skillshare class.

GET SOME FRESH AIR Whether it’s during the day or at the weekend, getting some fresh air and Vitamin D is a great way to feel more refreshed. I like to go for a walk in the middle of the day to get away from my to-do list and come back to work with a clear head.

Our health is not one-dimensional. In order to find balance and well-being, we must nourish the 3 parts that make up our whole being: mind, body, and soul. Here are 25 ways to nourish your mind, body, and soul!

EMBRACE SLOW MOVEMENT Sometimes our bodies crave slow movement, like yoga or going for a walk. Often we get into the mindset that we have to sweat during a workout to make it “worth it”. Instead, be okay with taking it slow and not feeling the need to ‘sweat’ every time you work out.

REDUCE ADDED SUGAR I’m not someone who reads food labels, but I am starting to pay attention to how much sugar I consume on a daily basis. Added sugar is everywhere! I want to become more aware of this so that I can avoid sugar crashes which no doubt cause me to feel sluggish.

LEARN ABOUT AYURVEDA Ayurveda is a science of life. Its guiding principles are 1) that the mind and the body are inextricably connected and 2) that nothing has more power to heal and transform the body than the mind. Understanding your unique mind-body type (dosha) can help you feel more balanced. Deepak Chopra has a great article about it here.

EAT MORE VEGGIES We all know we should eat more veggies, but actually doing it is another story. Try finding ways to sneak vegetables into your meals without making a big deal about it. Put cauliflower or zucchini in your smoothies, snack on carrots and hummus, or squeeze some lemon juice onto plain veggies to make them more interesting. Also, choose meals at restaurants that contain veggies or ask for them on the side.

STRETCH Stretching is so important to keep our joints and muscles in good condition. The more I sit at my desk, the more I realize how inflexible I’m becoming. I know for sure that my posture is not the best, so I want to make more of an effort to stretch whenever I can.

SCRAPE YOUR TONGUE Sounds a little weird, but have you ever tried tongue scraping? It’s one of the most satisfying things in the world. Bacteria on your tongue can cause bad breath so a tongue scraper can get rid of the nasties. It’s a quick fix to help you feel refreshed after eating.

NOURISH YOUR SKIN Taking care of your skin is an important part of self-care. Not only does it help your complexion, a skincare ritual can allow you time to relax and unwind at the end of the day. I want to stick to a simple yet relaxing daily skincare routine and make sure I’m not skipping any important steps. If you need some inspiration for your skincare routine, here’s a peek at mine.

GET MORE SLEEP Sleep is one of the biggest factors in our energy levels throughout the day. Lately, I’ve been lenient with my bedtime schedule, but I want to make sure I’m getting a solid eight hours of sleep. If you’ve been staying up too late, check out this blog post about creating a nighttime routine.

Our health is not one-dimensional. In order to find balance and well-being, we must nourish the 3 parts that make up our whole being: mind, body, and soul. Here are 25 ways to nourish your mind, body, and soul!

START A PASSION PROJECT That random idea you’ve had in the back of your mind forever? Start it. As someone who has been blogging for almost four years, I’ve been able to turn my passion into my job. At the same time, I know there’s more to life than what I create on the internet. I want to explore other sides of creativity, whether that’s through drawing, coloring, or photography.

GO SOMEWHERE NEW Even though I preach about the importance of daily routines, it’s necessary to break away from your routine every now and again. Try a new coffee shop or restaurant. Go to a nearby city that you’ve never explored. Switch things up to keep life interesting.

CONNECT WITH OTHERS Connecting with friends and new people can provide such joy to our lives. My word for 2018 is ‘connection’ because I want to break away from my tendency to only spend time with myself. This means actually reaching out to people and making plans, as well as asking for help instead of trying to do everything by myself.

DECLUTTER Regular decluttering is good for the soul. Release the things that no longer need to take up space in your life. As someone who prides myself on not holding onto stuff I don’t need, I’m embarrassed that my closet has somehow morphed into a storage unit. Time to KonMari it!

CLEAN MORE OFTEN I honestly hate cleaning, but I’m noticing how much dirt can affect my mental state. Depending on how much space you have, you might want to clean more often than others. For me, it’s having one day of the week to tackle the dust.

CREATE WORK BOUNDARIES This is especially important for the self-employed, but it can apply wherever you work. Be strict with the times that you make yourself available to your boss and coworkers. Turn email notifications off on your phone after work. Better yet, don’t link your work email to your phone in the first place.

SAY NO Remember that no is a full sentence. You don’t have to justify your decisions to anyone. If you don’t want to do something, stand your ground and make sure your needs are being met first. If you’re ready to stop over-committing yourself, check out this post.

GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO RELAX It’s hard, right? But it’s so important to value your downtime and take advantage of it when you can. Make sure you’re maintaining a good balance between productivity and rest. Here’s how to make the most of your downtime when you get it.

[jchakrajc]

Attitude vs Intellect

When it comes to success, it’s easy to think that people blessed with brains are inevitably going to leave the rest of us in the dust. But new research from Stanford University will change your mind (and your attitude).

Psychologist Carol Dweck has spent her entire career studying attitude and performance, and her latest study shows that your attitude is a better predictor of your success than your IQ.

Dweck found that people’s core attitudes fall into one of two categories: a fixed mindset or a growth mindset.

With a fixed mindset, you believe you are who you are and you cannot change. This creates problems when you’re challenged because anything that appears to be more than you can handle is bound to make you feel hopeless and overwhelmed.

People with a growth mindset believe that they can improve with effort. They outperform those with a fixed mindset, even when they have a lower IQ, because they embrace challenges, treating them as opportunities to learn something new.  

Common sense would suggest that having ability, like being smart, inspires confidence. It does, but only while the going is easy. The deciding factor in life is how you handle setbacks and challenges. People with a growth mindset welcome setbacks with open arms.  

According to Dweck, success in life is all about how you deal with failure. She describes the approach to failure of people with the growth mindset this way,

“Failure is information—we label it failure, but it’s more like, ‘This didn’t work, and I’m a problem solver, so I’ll try something else.’”

Regardless of which side of the chart you fall on, you can make changes and develop a growth mindset. What follows are some strategies that will fine-tune your mindset and help you make certain it’s as growth oriented as possible.

Don’t stay helpless. 

We all hit moments when we feel helpless. The test is how we react to that feeling. We can either learn from it and move forward or let it drag us down. There are countless successful people who would have never made it if they had succumbed to feelings of helplessness: Walt Disney was fired from the Kansas City Star because he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas,” Oprah Winfrey was fired from her job as a TV anchor in Baltimore for being “too emotionally invested in her stories,” Henry Ford had two failed car companies prior to succeeding with Ford, and Steven Spielberg was rejected by USC’s Cinematic Arts School multiple times. Imagine what would have happened if any of these people had a fixed mindset. They would have succumbed to the rejection and given up hope. People with a growth mindset don’t feel helpless because they know that in order to be successful, you need to be willing to fail hard and then bounce right back.

Be passionate.

 Empowered people pursue their passions relentlessly. There’s always going to be someone who’s more naturally talented than you are, but what you lack in talent, you can make up for in passion. Empowered people’s passion is what drives their unrelenting pursuit of excellence. Warren Buffet recommends finding your truest passions using, what he calls, the 5/25 technique: Write down the 25 things that you care about the most. Then, cross out the bottom 20. The remaining 5 are your true passions. Everything else is merely a distraction.

Take action. 

It’s not that people with a growth mindset are able to overcome their fears because they are braver than the rest of us; it’s just that they know fear and anxiety are paralyzing emotions and that the best way to overcome this paralysis is to take action. People with a growth mindset are empowered, and empowered people know that there’s no such thing as a truly perfect moment to move forward. So why wait for one? Taking action turns all your worry and concern about failure into positive, focused energy.

Then go the extra mile (or two). 

Empowered people give it their all, even on their worst days. They’re always pushing themselves to go the extra mile. One of Bruce Lee’s pupils ran three miles every day with him. One day, they were about to hit the three-mile mark when Bruce said, “Let’s do two more.” His pupil was tired and said, “I’ll die if I run two more.” Bruce’s response? “Then do it.” His pupil became so angry that he finished the full five miles. Exhausted and furious, he confronted Bruce about his comment, and Bruce explained it this way: “Quit and you might as well be dead. If you always put limits on what you can do, physical or anything else, it’ll spread over into the rest of your life. It’ll spread into your work, into your morality, into your entire being. There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there; you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level.”

If you aren’t getting a little bit better each day, then you’re most likely getting a little worse—and what kind of life is that?

Expect results. 

People with a growth mindset know that they’re going to fail from time to time, but they never let that keep them from expecting results. Expecting results keeps you motivated and feeds the cycle of empowerment. After all, if you don’t think you’re going to succeed, then why bother?

Be flexible. 

Everyone encounters unanticipated adversity. People with an empowered, growth-oriented mindset embrace adversity as a means for improvement, as opposed to something that holds them back. When an unexpected situation challenges an empowered person, they flex until they get results.

Don't complain when things don't go your way. 

Complaining is an obvious sign of a fixed mindset. A growth mindset looks for opportunity in everything, so there’s no room for complaints.

Bringing it all together

By keeping track of how you respond to the little things, you can work every day to keep yourself on the right side of the chart above.

[durendal]

On drama in the tags

So I’ve been on this hell site for about 7 years now and I’ve floated from fandom to fandom and ship to ship and I’ve seen how disatourous toxic fans can be. I’ve never really had a problem with it because I just slam that unfollow button and stay out shit. However I’ve finally got to the point that I need to say something. Like if 3 people agree and it changes their mind then I’ll feel better about it.

First let me say I’m hard core bakudeku shipper, the content people create for this ship is incredible. I see so much potential for growth for them as characters together. So the following comments I’m going to make have nothing to do with the ship as a whole. I’m not anti and I sure as hell don’t think the idea of them together is toxic.

Ready for it: bakudeku fans might be the most toxic fans I’ve interacted with. Here’s the reasons why.

Point 1: bitching about antis

I know for a while anti bakudeku fans were a real problem. People called the ship abusive and that if you liked the ship you were abusive too yada yada yada. We know the discourse I’m not getting into it. This is pretty cleared up though. You know how many anti posts I’ve read with my own two eyes? Maybe 2. How many shippers I’ve seen complain about antis? At least half the fandom tbh. You guys even have it in your bio! It’s honestly like you love the drama and are just waiting to jump into the fight. Literally who cares. Maybe it’s because some of you are younger but a stranger on the internet could call me an abusive asshole for liking two animated characters and I would not blink an eye. Stop making posts about it, stop interacting with people who don’t agree with you, and stop answering asks that are from dumb people without lives. By continuously bringing it up you are keeping the drama alive and no one wants that. And for god sakes stop making huge long meta posts trying to justify the ship to people who hate it so much. Just enjoy the thing you like and talk about the reasons why you love it! Not from the point of view of defending it.

Point 2: drama between fellow shippers

Ok I know this sounds a little like me right now but I’m talking about the fandom as a whole, this point is about blog vs blog hate. This is kind of what set me off for this entire post because if anyone is following the latest bakudeku drama there have been two larger blogs (not to be named) that have a had huge backlash on them in the last month or so. And guess what I could give a fuck less. Why are we expected to pick sides? Why are we supposed to unfollow someone because someone else said they did something bad? And now my dash is clogged up with the shipper on shipper hate because???? Why? Like y’all bitch about antis but now you are bitching about people who like bakudeku too? And beyond the two big callouts, even like little shit sets you guys off. “Oh your bakugou headcannon is too ooc for me fuck you and your blog.” “Oh deku would never top you are so dumb.” WHO CARES!!! How can you be personally invested in fighting with someone who has the same general opinion as you but you wanna beef it out over the details. If y’all think we are some persecuted group amongst Bnha (I don’t but w/e) shouldn’t we stick together? Create content together? Enjoy the idea of these huge dumbass nerds fixing up their relationship??

Point 3: general mindset

So I know this is a little vague but I think after describing it some people will get what I’m saying. There is something very klance feeling about the people involved in the fandom. Everyone has the mindset that people are out to get them? Like they talk about blocking people before anyone has said anything to them? When you are in this mindset before interacting with people, it makes you chew heads off for no reason. I’ve seen very innocent friendly asks get responded to very rudely because the blogger takes it the worst possible way. I think point one and two play into this feeling of fight or flight amongst shippers. I feel every interaction I see is very tense and nothing is super enjoyable. It tends to make Super tight cliques if 5-10 bloggers and no one can get past those defenses. It’s us against the world mentality which bottlenecks the newcomers.

Now you are asking yourself; D why would you make this post? We all know the lovely deku vs kacchan 2 came out in the dub recently. We have been rejoicing at everything about it and we have had a tidal wave of people now seeing the potential of bakudeku. And guess what fuckers you are scaring them off. Why don’t you act like normal people for like two seconds and allow new people to get involved. If you keep up with this toxic garbage even veteran fans like me will jump ship. Be friendly and open to people. Stop the drama.

[cherishedproperty]

Also, defining yourself based on traits can actually keep you from having a growth mindset. If you’re smart and you don’t do well at something, you assume that thing isn’t for you, and you don’t try to get better. This is called entity theory vs incremental theory. Entity theorists believe that traits are fixed—you have talent or you don’t, you’re good at something or you’re not. Incremental theorists believe you can get better with effort. Neither is 100% right. But it helps to be more on the incremental side because most of the time with effort, you WILL get better. I don’t think of myself as a runner, because I’m not like those people. I don’t have the body or strength or endurance. But I do run. Running doesn’t always go well for me. Sometimes it’s hard. Sometimes I feel bad at it. But it doesn’t matter, because the more I do it, the more I know I will get better.

There’s some research showing that the entity theory stuff is also linked to stereotypes—people think of traits as fixed and related to the group they are in. So, girls don’t tend to think of themselves as being good at math, and if they think that, they may not try to get better. Similarly, girls often do not think of themselves as scientists, but they will say they enjoy doing science. And if we can get girls to think of themselves as someone who does science, they are more likely to engage in STEM activities and pursue STEM professions.

I highly encourage youths who are trying to figure themselves out to NOT base their identity on static or performance based traits. Traits like “I’m smart” or “I’m funny” can be crushing to have when you either fail a test or tell a joke no one laughs at. It makes it so it’s not just a bad joke or bad test– it’s a failure of self.

I suggest instead that you try defining yourself by the things you do and enjoy. Such as “I like knitting,” and “I like reading.” These are traits you have within your control and it’s less devastating if you get “wrong.” Making a lumpy hat doesn’t mean you like knitting any less!

Define yourself by your ongoing actions, not your temporary reflection. 

[tigonadvisory]

The Straight “A” Strategy For Outsmarting Inflation

As students, we are taught to relentlessly strive for straight A’s. Even if we fall short, our pursuit of “best” increases success. When it comes to outsmarting inflation, we find ourselves in the same spot.

Inflation is the highest in 40 years (8.2% at the end of September 2022). While we may not be able to change that, we can outsmart inflation with the same strategic prowess chess prodigy Beth Harmon uses in the popular Netflix mini-series “The Queen’s Gambit.” I call it the Straight-A Strategy: adapt, adjust and accelerate. As we explore these, you’ll see why this moment in history is actually your greatest opportunity to create a stronger company and win the game.

The Big Picture

First things first. Just as knowing how the rook moves before you castle is important, it’s important to see the bigger picture: the economy’s impact on your organization.

It is volatility. Besides inflation, there are many other unpredictable variables in play like the pandemic, geopolitics, war, politics, fiscal policies, supply chain disruption, consumer trends and extreme weather, to name a few.

It is a mix. One measure of inflation is CPI (consumer price index) where three “baskets” of goods and services (housing, energy, food) have different dynamics and volatility. This makes challenges more complex. For example, international ocean shipping costs skyrocketed in 2021, during the height of the pandemic, and eventually came back down to earth (comparatively, it cost $20,586 for a container on a ship from Asia to the U.S. West Coast compared to under $3,000 in October of this year).

It is resiliency. Businesses have been accustomed to a stable and predictable environment with low inflation and robust growth. The long-term average for inflation is 3.27%. In fact, there’s a whole generation of people, like many of the young tech start-up founders I work with, who have never experienced inflation. A change of mindset, while necessary, is understandably daunting.

Truth be told, if it was only inflation, we could deal with that. It is much broader. Knowing this, let’s make some calculated moves on the board with the Straight-A Strategy.

The Straight-A Strategy

Straight “A” Strategy #1: Adapt

Inflation and the higher cost of capital is creating a new normal (yes, yet another one) so the first “A” is to adapt. Let’s break this down. There are four components of working capital:

Inventories. The goal is to reduce lead time, practice early ordering and lessen dependencies on high-cost suppliers. It’s a great time to review supplier terms and consider the most strategic suppliers based on geographic locations as well as cost.

Accounts receivable. Focus on high-value products and services, lock in more long-term contracts and connect customer performance with payments. Take advantage of data and analytics. Use technology to set alerts for credit and counterparty risks and to reduce human errors on invoices.

Accounts payable. Monitor purchases, logistics and general expenses. Increase scrutiny of spending and anomalies. Proactively remove internal waste and reduce the cost of delivering value. For example, consulting firms can reduce travel to make engagements less costly but still highly profitable.

Cash. The financial implications of increased transportation, energy and material costs on working capital means understanding the cost of money. Small things add up: interest payments, credit, interest income, variable vs. fixed rates, and investment opportunities.

Here’s a real example from my work with a manufacturer in the automotive industry. We redesigned its product and service offerings. Analytics helped identify the most valuable and high margin products and services. We removed features dependent on parts in short supply and reviewed the supplier landscape, reducing dependencies on high-cost suppliers.

Companies with a global footprint must take it even further and cope with the foreign-exchange effect. From a financial perspective, converting adjustable-rate debts to fixed loans can reduce costs. The good news is that digitalization will play an important role.

Straight “A” Strategy #2: Adjust

When you adjust, you look at everything.

Revisit your products and services portfolio, your customers, your supply chain partners. What is essential versus nonessential? What goods and services add to your customer’s success and deliver the most value? Can you reduce features without reducing value?

Consider workforce capacity. You might need to move more people into customer service to differentiate your brand or shift engineers from one product to another.

Rethink packaging, loading of the packaging, shipping. Perhaps outsource packaging operations or private label your product. Add scenario modelling to end-to-end planning.

Real-time analytics and scenario modelling make adjusting possible and allows the decision-maker to use different drivers.

Straight “A” Strategy #3: Accelerate

Technology leads to seeing your operations with real-time visibility. This accelerates your decision-making process and accuracy throughout your operations and scenario modelling.

Not only that, but you can also accelerate workflows, so your internal team collaborates more efficiently and with less redundancy.

Technology is key to outsmarting inflation because it arms you with insight. When you can collect on your balances faster, cash flow becomes accelerated. When you can monitor logistics and expenses and focus more on essential spending, investments become accelerated. When you remove internal waste and redundancy, efficiency becomes accelerated.

Inflation Fighters: CFOs and Other Leaders

In the last 10 years, the back office has taken a backseat. Now, they are positioned to drive the future and, to be honest, the investment is long overdue. When interest rates were down to the twos and the market wasn’t fluctuating, it put all of us in la-la land as though it was going to last forever. If you don’t optimize what you do, you don’t improve. Operational excellence should always be a priority.

Now, with a broader picture, we are forced to see business from multiple lenses: customers, suppliers and our own internal team. The people safeguarding us from inflationary whiplash lead from a variety of seats.

Today’s CFO is charged with adopting a new mindset, from reactive to proactive course-correction. Apply higher visibility across the organization’s end-to-end business operations and use of working capital. Take advantage of data and analytics and employ fast and reactive measures and proactive actions to get in front of the storm.

The procurement leader will also play a role when it comes to supply chain efficiency. Leverage the partner ecosystem to achieve efficiency.

With technology and curiosity, the entire finance team will take forecasting to another level with weekly cash forecasting, variance analysis and proactive management. Use scenario analyses on available cash balances by applying percentage trend changes, shocks, simulations based on real-world scenario, and random increases/decreases using a multiple of historical balances volatility. Performing scenario analyses on liquidity availability reveals the overall impact from projected credit tightening, elimination of uncommitted borrowing sources and investment market value changes. Look for patterns, biases, and misses by comparing actual vs. forecasted variances.

Investing in the future means value creation initiatives like upskilling, too. This invites human resource leaders to look at workplace efficiency, talent optimization and how automating repetitive tasks might free up time for greater innovation.

As for CEOs, while saving money is tempting when times are tight, resist the urge to slash. While it’s more costly to invest strategically, those who invest in the future will be strong market leaders.

Welcome to Boot Camp

In the past decade, it was an easy ride for financial leaders. Companies grew. The market reacted positively. Interest rates were low. Now, the perfect storm has landed. The Straight-A Strategy asks us to adjust our mindset and take action.

We are in bootcamp. If you’ve been in the military or know someone who has, then you know bootcamp breaks a person down to rudimentary parts and rebuilds. From a strategic use of working capital to outsmarting inflation from every corner of the company, the one known outcome (and there aren’t many) is that you will come out of the storm a stronger leader and a more prepared leader for future adversity.

You might even take inflation’s king.

As I see it, inflation gives us a real opportunity to take our companies to a new place. If you’re looking for a deeper dive into outsmarting inflation, register for “Outsmarting Inflation: Best-Practice Working Capital Strategies” hosted by SAP. I’ll be on the panel, joined by IDC analyst Kevin Permenter and Thomas Mehlkopf from SAP. The moderator is Paul Saunders, chief evangelist cloud ERP from SAP. We will be getting real so bring your questions as we explore ways to keep profitability and margins up amidst a changing economic climate.

Adapt, adjust and accelerate to take your Straight-A Strategy all the way to the dean’s list of operational excellence. You’ll not only remain standing amidst economic storms, you’ll be standing taller, prouder and stronger.

Original Source: This blog was taken from Tigon Advisory.