A growing body of research suggests that self-compassion, rather than self-esteem, may be the key to unlocking personal and career potential. Psychologist Heidi Grant Halvorson explains why self-compassion a willingness to look at your own mistakes and shortcomings with kindness and understanding is more than just a buzzword.

Image remixed from Ljupco Smokovski (Shutterstock).

If you look under the Self-Help heading on Amazon, youll find roughly 5000 books listed under the subhead Self-Esteem. The vast majority of these books aim to not only tell you why your self-esteem might be low, but to show you how to get your hands on some more of it. Its a thriving business because self-esteem is, at least in Western cultures, considered the bedrock of individual success. You cant possibly get ahead in life, the logic goes, unless you believe you are perfectly awesome.

And of course you must be perfectly awesome in order to keep believing that you are so you live in quiet terror of making mistakes, and feel devastated when you do. Your only defence is to refocus your attention on all the things you do well, mentally stroking your own ego until it has forgotten this horrible episode of unawesomeness and moved on to something more satisfying.

When you think about it, this doesnt exactly sound like a recipe for success, does it? Indeed, recent reviews of the research on high self-esteem have come to the troubling conclusion that its not all its cracked up to be. High self-esteem does not predict better performance or greater success. And though people with high self-esteem do think theyre more successful, objectively, they are not. High self-esteem does not make you a more effective leader, a more appealing lover, more likely to lead a healthy lifestyle, or more attractive and compelling in an interview. But if Stuart Smalley is wrong, and high self-esteem (along with daily affirmations of your own terrificness) is not the answer to all your problems, then what is?

A growing body of research, including new studies by Berkeleys Juliana Breines and Serena Chen, suggest that self-compassion, rather than self-esteem, may be the key to unlocking your true potential for greatness. Now, I know that some of you are already sceptical about a term like self-compassion. But this is a scientific, data-driven argument not feel-good pop psychology. So hang in there and keep an open mind.

Self-compassion is a willingness to look at your own mistakes and shortcomings with kindness and understanding its embracing the fact that to err is indeed human. When you are self-compassionate in the face of difficulty, you neither judge yourself harshly, nor feel the need to defensively focus on all your awesome qualities to protect your ego. Its not surprising that self-compassion leads, as many studies show, to higher levels of personal well-being, optimism and happiness, and to less anxiety and depression.

But what about performance? Self-compassion may feel good, but arent the people who are harder on themselves, who are driven to always be the best, the ones who are ultimately more likely to succeed?

To answer that, its important to understand what self-compassion is not. While the spirit of self-compassion is to some degree captured in expressions like give yourself a break and cut yourself some slack, it is decidedly not the same thing as taking yourself off the hook or lowering the bar. You can be self-compassionate while still accepting responsibility for your performance. And you can be self-compassionate while striving for the most challenging goals the difference lies not in where you want to end up, but in how you think about the ups and downs of your journey. As a matter of fact, if you are self-compassionate, new research suggests you are more likely to actually arrive at your destination.

In their studies, Brienes and Chen asked participants to take either a self-compassionate or self-esteem enhancing view of a setback or failure. For example, when asked to reflect on a personal weakness, some were asked to imagine that you are talking to yourself about this weakness from a compassionate and understanding perspective. What would you say?

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To Succeed, Forget Self-Esteem

A growing body of research suggests that self-compassion, rather than self-esteem, may be the key to unlocking personal and career potential. Psychologist Heidi Grant Halvorson explains why self-compassiona willingness to look at your own mistakes and shortcomings with kindness and understandingis more than just a buzzword.

If you look under the Self-Help heading on Amazon, you'll find roughly 5,000 books listed under the subhead Self-Esteem. The vast majority of these books aim to not only tell you why your self-esteem might be low, but to show you how to get your hands on some more of it. It's a thriving business because self-esteem is, at least in Western cultures, considered the bedrock of individual success. You can't possibly get ahead in life, the logic goes, unless you believe you are perfectly awesome.

And of course you must be perfectly awesome in order to keep believing that you areso you live in quiet terror of making mistakes, and feel devastated when you do. Your only defense is to refocus your attention on all the things you do well, mentally stroking your own ego until it has forgotten this horrible episode of unawesomeness and moved on to something more satisfying.

When you think about it, this doesn't exactly sound like a recipe for success, does it? Indeed, recent reviews of the research on high self-esteem have come to the troubling conclusion that it's not all it's cracked up to be. High self-esteem does not predict better performance or greater success. And though people with high self-esteem do think they're more successful, objectively, they are not. High self-esteem does not make you a more effective leader, a more appealing lover, more likely to lead a healthy lifestyle, or more attractive and compelling in an interview. But if Stuart Smalley is wrong, and high self-esteem (along with daily affirmations of your own terrificness) is not the answer to all your problems, then what is?

A growing body of research, including new studies by Berkeley's Juliana Breines and Serena Chen, suggest that self-compassion, rather than self-esteem, may be the key to unlocking your true potential for greatness. Now, I know that some of you are already skeptical about a term like "self-compassion." But this is a scientific, data-driven argumentnot feel-good pop psychology. So hang in there and keep an open mind.

Self-compassion is a willingness to look at your own mistakes and shortcomings with kindness and understandingit's embracing the fact that to err is indeed human. When you are self-compassionate in the face of difficulty, you neither judge yourself harshly, nor feel the need to defensively focus on all your awesome qualities to protect your ego. It's not surprising that self-compassion leads, as many studies show, to higher levels of personal well-being, optimism and happiness, and to less anxiety and depression.

But what about performance? Self-compassion may feel good, but aren't the people who are harder on themselves, who are driven to always be the best, the ones who are ultimately more likely to succeed?

To answer that, it's important to understand what self-compassion is not. While the spirit of self-compassion is to some degree captured in expressions like "give yourself a break" and "cut yourself some slack," it is decidedly not the same thing as taking yourself off the hook or lowering the bar. You can be self-compassionate while still accepting responsibility for your performance. And you can be self-compassionate while striving for the most challenging goalsthe difference lies not in where you want to end up, but in how you think about the ups and downs of your journey. As a matter of fact, if you are self-compassionate, new research suggests you are more likely to actually arrive at your destination.

In their studies, Brienes and Chen asked participants to take either a self-compassionate or self-esteem enhancing view of a setback or failure. For example, when asked to reflect on a personal weakness, some were asked to "imagine that you are talking to yourself about this weakness from a compassionate and understanding perspective. What would you say?"

Others were asked to instead focus on boosting their self-esteem: "Imagine that you are talking to yourself about this weakness from a perspective of validating your positive qualities. What would you say?"

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To Succeed, Forget Self-Esteem [Success]

HOUSTON, Sept. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Jose Canseco gives an insider point of view of what it's like to experience a public fall from grace.

In his latest, exciting video blog for Steroid.com, Jose Canseco candidly discusses the twisted spiral of what it was like to experience a much publicized fall from fame and success. Covering topics ranging from losing millions, no longer being in the game, and personal struggles, Canseco offers an insightful glimpse into the highs and lows of a professional sports career. Regarding becoming addicted to the success and fame, he says...

"You know I do think you get addicted to that lifestyle and I think you're always trying to get back what you lost or trying to become better but you never get it back."

Answering fan questions with thorough honesty and unvarnished candor, Canseco discloses that he misses the game today. When asked how much he still thinks of professional baseball, Canseco states...

"Yeah. I think if you have an addiction that long - playing major league baseball you constantly dream about it and I am dreaming about trying to get back to the game all the time and trying to play."

Canseco also reveals the personal sacrifices that had to be made while fashioning his career. Specifically, he addresses his regrets of not getting more time to spend with family, especially his daughter...

"My relationship with my daughter...she's gonna be sixteen now...I traveled so much...I didn't get to see my daughter as much as possible...I've missed a lot of time with my daughter... I wonder if she knows who her father is. I wonder if she knows who daddy is..."

"Canseco on Steroids" has fresh, new exhilarating episodes every Monday and Thursday, exclusively on http://www.steroid.com.

http://www.Steroid.com

This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com.

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Jose Canseco Discusses Fall from Fame and Success

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Clandestine Development today announced that their app, LifeLine Response, is now available for the iPhone and Android. LifeLine Response is the next generation in personal mobile safety. The application provides unparalleled protection against unexpected events. With patent-pending IntelliTouch technology, the application automatically notifies the LifeLine Response 24/7 Emergency Response Center and sounds an alarm when your finger is removed from the phones screen. All data is transmitted to servers in real-time in the event that the phone breaks during an assault. Trained emergency response professionals will assess your situation, see your real-time GPS location, and notify local 911 authorities.

Designated LifeLine contacts such as friends, family, and co-workers are also given your real-time location. No matter where your LifeLines are geographically, they will have the phone number of the closest 911 dispatch center to where you are located.

We saw a void in the marketplace for a serious personal safety application; I designed this app specifically to prevent violent crimes and sexual assaults, said Peter Cahill, founder of Clandestine Development. When people find themselves in crisis situations where they often cannot think clearly, LifeLine Response takes human error out of the equation by automatically initiating a Distress Alert.

Im extremely pleased with LifeLine Response. We built this application to become the foremost leader in personal mobile safety, said Mark Chrisman, CMO of Clandestine Development. We integrated the same local 911 database that federal law authorities use so that friends and family are empowered to help their loved ones. The app also features a timer mode, a silent alarm, an acoustically engineered alarm, and real-time GPS tracking.

In recognition of National Campus Safety month, LifeLine Response is now available at the limited-time promotional price of $1.99 for a 45 day subscription and $21.99 for an annual subscription. LifeLine Response is available in the United States from Apples App Store and Google Play, or by visiting: http://www.LLResponse.com

Please visit http://www.LLResponse.com for more information about the product, including videos and screenshots.

Press Kit: http://LLResponse.com/press.html

Clandestine Development, LLC was formed in 2011 to develop unique technology investment opportunities with mass market potential. The Clandestine Development executive team collectively has over 100 years of business and technology experience.Clandestine Development has leveraged this experience to redefine the personal safety market. LifeLine Response is the first commercial grade personal safety application with proactive monitoring and distress alert technology. For more information about LifeLine Response, please visit http://www.llresponse.com.

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Clandestine Development Releases LifeLine Response for iPhone and Android

KEARNEY Kirk Stinson will present Grow or Die: A Survival Guide to Professional and Personal Development at 11 a.m. Thursday in the University of Nebraska at Kearney Ockinga Seminar Center.

Stinson, the 2012 Ron Landstrom Executive in Residence, grew up in a retail family that owned and operated a hardware store in Superior. He graduated from UNK in 1991 with a degree in business administration and an emphasis in marketing.

His first job out of college was a sales position with Black and Decker in the Kansas City area. Stinson was then moved to the DeWalt/Black and Decker corporate headquarters in Baltimore to assume the vice president of sales and marketing role. He has since been promoted to CEO for the Stanley Security Division, which is based in Indianapolis.

The presentation is free and open to the public.

The Ron Landstrom Executive-in-Residence program brings successful business executives to the campus to talk with College of Business and Technology students about best business practices and their career paths and lessons learned.

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CEO Stinson talks Thurs. on personal, professional development at UNK

At 3 a.m. on Wednesday, Columbia opened registration for its first two massive open online courses.

The University is offering the two coursesFinancial Engineering and Risk Management, and Natural Language Processingthrough Coursera, an online education platform founded by Stanford University professors Daphne Koller and Andrew Ng last year. Its Columbias first major venture into the online education market in a decade.

Were doing a pilot program in the MOOC stagemassive open online courseand the idea there is to see the potential of the MOOC stage for education, said Sree Sreenivasan, who was appointed Columbias first chief digital officer in July. What Im trying to do in my position is to help see whats working, try new things, and to expand and enhance what weve already done and built at Columbia.

Sreenivasan said that several Columbia schools, including the School of Continuing Education, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, the School of Journalism, and Teachers College, have had assorted online education offerings for years. But this is the first time Columbia is offering courses that are free and open to anyone in the world with Internet access.

Both courses will begin on Feb. 11, 2013, and run for 10 weeks. According to descriptions on Courseras website, the workload for each course will be eight to 10 hours per week. Industrial engineering and operations research professors Garud Iyengar and Martin Haugh will teach Financial Engineering and Risk Management, and computer science professor Michael Collins will teach Natural Language Processing.

The plan is to give people a broad introduction into the method of financial engineering and risk management and option pricing for portfolio optimization and also a healthy degree of skepticism, Haugh said of his course. Obviously, these models have come under a lot of criticism in the last few years ... so we hope to address some of these issues as well.

Thirty-three schoolsincluding the California Institute of Technology, Duke University, and Princeton Universitycurrently offer or are planning to offer classes on Coursera. The more than one million people who have enrolled in the sites courses are expected to pay attention during video lectures interspersed with interactive exercises and complete homework assignments in between lectures.

Kyle Rego, SEAS 13, called Columbias new online courses a fantastic opportunity, noting that he is currently enrolled in the in-person version of Natural Language Processing.

If I didnt have the opportunity to go to Columbia I would definitely take a course online, he said. I could easily see other people wanting to.

For free, this is amazing, he added.

See the original post here:
University trying hand at online education

LEAWOOD, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

ATI Nursing Education, the leading provider of online nurse education programs, today announced the nationwide launch of Nurses Touch, the industrys first online education program focusing exclusively on developing professional and interpersonal skills in nurses.

The Nurses Touch product line was developed in direct response to a significant industry need for stronger interpersonal -- or soft skills -- such as communications, technology, management, etc., among professional nurses. Earlier this year, ATI Nursing Education commissioned a nationwide survey of practicing nurses, nurse managers, and recent hospital inpatients and those accompanying them to gauge proficiency in these skills. The survey results demonstrated a significant gap between nurse skills, hiring demands and patient experience.

Specifically, nearly all (98 percent) of practicing nurses surveyed reported wanting more training in interpersonal skills. More than 80 percent of the nurse managers reported that they seek graduates with professional and interpersonal skills when hiring. This gap in interpersonal skills and education is also reflected in patient satisfaction, with 66 percent of inpatients or those accompanying them reflecting that their experiences could have been improved with better communication with nurses.

Todays nursing professional is being asked to do much, much more than just administer treatment, said Sheryl Sommer, Ph, RN, and director of Nursing Education and Curriculum at ATI Nursing Education. He or she is expected to work and communicate well with colleagues and patients, offer sound judgment, solve problems, and maneuver seamlessly through the world of electronic medical records and other technology facets. Clearly these aspects of the nursing role require a host of new skills, and Nurses Touch was developed in response to this dynamic environment.

ATI Nursing Educations Nurses Touch product line encompasses five key content areas professional communication, wellness and self-care, becoming a professional nurse, nursing informatics and technology, and leadership and management all areas which help develop interpersonal skills on the job. Like all ATI Nursing Education programs, the product suite uses the latest and most-effective learning tools, such as interactive simulators, tutorials, case studies and practice and proctored assessments.

Nurses Touch also allows educators to assess and track students progress. In addition to measuring student growth, this reporting information can provide supporting evidence in accreditation documentation.

For more information, please visit http://www.atinursestouch.com.

About ATI Nursing Education

ATI Nursing Education is the leading provider of online learning programs that are instrumental in improving faculty effectiveness and student and program outcomes in nursing schools across the country. Currently the company works with more than 20,000 nurse educators, approximately 2,100 colleges and universities nationwide, and more than 225,000 students. ATI Nursing Education has played a role in helping more than 1 million students pass the NCLEX, the U.S. nursing licensing exam. ATI Nursing Education is part of Ascend Learning. Founded in 2010, Ascend Learning provides technology-based educational, curriculum and assessment solutions for healthcare and other professional industries. For more information, visit http://www.ascendlearning.com/companies/atinursing/.

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ATI Nursing Education Launches Industry’s First Online Professional and Interpersonal Skills Education Product

Results from the reputational surveys of online degree programs may be incorporated in the new rankings.

U.S. Newsis going full speed ahead ondata collectionfor the upcomingTop Online Education Programsrankings to be published in early 2013. New this year is our first attempt to do a reputational survey for all online degree programs we are surveying: bachelor's degrees, and master's degrees inbusiness,computer information technology,education,engineering, andnursing.

Schools that were ranked or too new to be ranked in theU.S. News2012 Top Online Programs rankings received postcards last week soliciting their participation. The online reputation survey questionnaire asks respondents to rate the overall excellence of other schools' online degree programs on a 1-5 scale.

The results, which we hope can be incorporated in the upcoming rankings, aim to provideU.S. Newsand our readers valuable insight regarding how programs are viewed by experts in the field, and may also account for measures of program quality that are not fully encapsulated through the statistical questionnaires currently being completed.

The deadline for schools to submit the statistical surveys is close of business this Friday, September 21. Those who need extra time should request an extension from the data collector listed in the E-mail they received fromU.S. News, or fromdtolis@usnews.com.

Survey recipients may have noticed significant changes to the questionnaires since last year. This is becauseU.S. Newsincorporated input from stakeholders since publishing the inaugural 2012 rankings. As a result, this year's surveys had more detailed instructions on how schools can report on their online education cohorts, and asked questions in ways more consistent with how programs already collect and report data on these students.

Feedback on the surveys andrankings methodologiescame from one-on-one interviews with ranked and unranked programs from each academic discipline; a webinar facilitated byEmbanetCompassthat was attended by a multitude of its members that offer online degrees; and a survey of 47 anonymous online education academics in collaboration withWCET.

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U.S. News Launches New Reputation Surveys for Online Education Programs

MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --SOPHIA, the online education platform that currently offers 25,000 free tutorials to teachers and students, is launching a new college-level online learning program that will enable students to complete their college degree sooner at a fraction of the cost of traditional higher education fees.

The program was created to expand access to post secondary education and provide affordable options, which is particularly important due to the fact that student debt now totals more than $1 trillion, surpassing credit card debt for the first time in our nation's history.

SOPHIA Pathways for College Credit (SPCC) is a 60-day, assessment-based program that can be started at any time. By successfully demonstrating college-level mastery, students may earn college credit with partnering higher education institutions.

SPCC initially will be offered in College Algebra, Psychology, Human Biology, Statistics and Sociology. Four additional pathways will be added by February 2013. Capella University is the first university to partner with SOPHIA to offer SPCC.

Students enrolled in SPCC learn at their own pace from any Internet connection on a computer, tablet or smart phone. Concepts within each pathway are taught by multiple teachers using a variety of multimedia elements, providing students with many ways to learn. All instruction materials are included online, which further increases the affordability of SPCC.

SPCC was developed by SOPHIA.org, a first-of-its-kind social education platform that offers students many ways to learn by providing 25,000 free academic tutorials taught in a variety of ways, by a multitude of teachers and education enthusiasts. SPCC is the latest innovation by SOPHIA, which is focused on making credible academic tools available to students at the college level and in the years leading up to post-secondary education.

"SOPHIA currently delivers free online educational content that is unlike anything on the market today," said Allison Gage, Senior Vice President, Business Strategy for SOPHIA. "In addition to providing students with many ways to learn by offering multiple tutorials on the same topic taught by different teachers, we have further expanded opportunities to earn college credit at a fraction of the cost of traditional programs. SPCC furthers our goal of making high quality education at all levels accessible and affordable."

Capella University first to offer SPCC

Capella University, an accredited online university* that has built its reputation by providing high quality online degree programs for working adults, is currently offering an articulation for five SPCC pathways at a cost of $329 per pathway. Students who successfully complete an SPCC pathway will earn six college-level quarter credits through Capella's prior learning assessment process.

"Considering that the average college graduate has $27,000 in student loan debt, it is imperative that we develop affordable options that will enable students to earn their college degree," said Scott Kinney, president of Capella University. "SPCC will significantly reduce the cost of higher education. In fact, students who complete the full nine courses through our program will save up to $10,000."

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SOPHIA Introduces Pathways For College Credit Making Higher Education Flexible And Affordable

People News

Sep 20, 2012, 3:01 GMT

Russell Brand

Russell Brand's love life is 'the talk of his yoga class'.

After flings with a number of women in recent months including Geri Halliwell and Jordana Brewster's sister Isabella, the British comedian was spotted kissing a pretty brunette as he left a class in Los Angeles on Tuesday (18.09.12).

A source told The Sun newspaper: 'Russell arrived at yoga with his new girl on Tuesday and they shared a big kiss in his car after the class.

'His antics are the talk of his yoga class.

'He was spotted with a girl after his lesson last Thursday (13.09.12) too. He had just left the class and was all over her in a nearby caf.'

Russell met a number of his former lovers at the class including Isabella and Mexican artist Oriela Medellin Amieiro and it was previously claimed he was planning to open his own studio because he had slept with too many of the ladies in the one he attends.

A source said: 'Since he split with Katy Perry, Russell has had sex or flirtations with quite a few of the women he used to meet in yoga classes.

Excerpt from:
Russell Brand's yoga class fascinated by his love life