Professional Skills: Communication, Leadership,Teamwork, . . .

Indistractable reveals the key to getting the best out of technology, without letting it get the best of us.

Known as the father of the new science of positive psychology, Martin E.P. Seligman draws on more than twenty years of clinical research to demonstrate how optimism enchances the quality of life, and how anyone can learn to practice it. Offering many simple techniques, Dr. Seligman explains how to break an “I—give-up” habit, develop a more constructive explanatory style for interpreting your behavior, and experience the benefits of a more positive interior dialogue. These skills can help break up depression, boost your immune system, better develop your potential, and make you happier.

Drawing on recent discoveries in cognitive psychology and other disciplines, the authors offer concrete techniques for becoming more productive learners. More complex and durable learning come from self-testing, introducing certain difficulties in practice, waiting to re-study new material until a little forgetting has set in, and interleaving the practice of one skill or topic with another.

Mindset is one of those rare books that can help you make positive changes in your life and at the same time see the world in a new way. A leading expert in motivation and personality psychology, Dweck has discovered in more than 20 years of research that our mindset is not a minor personality quirk: it creates our whole mental world. It explains how we become optimistic or pessimistic. It shapes our goals, our attitude toward work and relationships, ultimately predicting whether or not we will fulfill our potential. Dweck has found that everyone has one of 2 basic mindsets. If you have the fixed mindset, you believe that your talents and abilities are set in stone--either you have them or you don't. You must prove yourself over and over, trying to look smart and talented at all costs. This is the path of stagnation. If you have a growth mindset, however, you know that talents can be developed and that great abilities are built over time. This is the path of opportunity and success. Dweck reveals how creative geniuses in all fields apply the growth mindset to achieve results. She shows us how we can change our mindset at any stage of life to achieve true success.

Presenting a principle-focused approach to problem-solving, this book offers a revolutionary program to breaking the patterns of self-defeating behavior that keep us from achieving our goals and reaching our fullest potential.
Recommended by Deedra Springgay, Student Services Coordinator.
EMU Library also has print copies*

What if you could accomplish more in a forty-hour week then your current fifty, sixty, or seventy-hour work week? This book reveals the power of routines and people, while teaching you how to effectively deal with “fire drills” that will reduce stress, increase success, and ensure that you sleep better at night knowing your life is in control.*

"Our lives are a never-ending stream of "when" decisions: when to start a business, schedule a class, get serious about a person. . . . . Pink distills cutting-edge research and data on timing and synthesizes them into a readable narrative packed with irresistible stories and practical takeaways that give readers compelling insights into how we can live richer, more engaged lives."

The secret to high performance and satisfaction in today's world is the deeply human need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and our world. Drawing on 4 decades of scientific research on human motivation, Pink exposes the mismatch between what science knows and what business does--and how that affects every aspect of our lives. He demonstrates that while the old-fashioned carrot-and-stick approach worked successfully in the 20th century, it's precisely the wrong way to motivate people for today's challenges. He reveals the three elements of true motivation: Autonomy--the desire to direct our own lives; mastery--the urge to get better and better at something that matters; purpose--the yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves. Along the way, he takes us to companies that are enlisting new approaches to motivation and introduces us to the scientists and entrepreneurs who are pointing a bold way forward. Drive is bursting with big ideas--the rare book that will change how you think and transform how you live.

What if your biggest mistake is that you never make mistakes? Ryan Babineaux and John Krumboltz, psychologists, career counselors, and creators of the popular Stanford University course Fail Fast, Fail Often have come to a compelling conclusion: happy and successful people tend to spend less time planning and more time acting. They get out into the world, try new things, and make mistakes, and in doing so, they benefit from unexpected experiences and opportunities. Drawing on the authors' research in human development and innovation, Fail Fast, Fail Often shows readers how to allow their enthusiasm to guide them, to act boldly, and to leverage their strengths even if they are terrified of failure.

Psychologist and journalist Daniel Goleman delves into the science of attention in all its varieties and shows why high-achievers need focus, as demonstrated by rich case studies from fields as diverse as competitive sports, education, the arts, and business.

In today's world, yesterday's methods just don't work. In Getting Things Done, veteran coach and management consultant David Allen shares the breakthrough methods for stress-free performance that he has introduced to tens of thousands of people across the country. Allen's premise is simple: our productivity is directly proportional to our ability to relax. Only when our minds are clear and our thoughts are organized can we achieve effective productivity and unleash our creative potential. In Getting Things Done Allen shows how to: Apply the "do it, delegate it, defer it, drop it" rule to get your in-box to empty, reassess goals and stay focused in changing situations, plan projects as well as get them unstuck, overcome feelings of confusion, anxiety, and being overwhelmed, & feel fine about what you're not doing. From core principles to proven tricks, Getting Things Done can transform the way you work, showing you how to pick up the pace without wearing yourself down.

Discusses and provides tips to prevent lateness and procrastination.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY "The Wall Street Journal - Financial Times" At its core, "The Power of Habit" contains an exhilarating argument: The key to exercising regularly, losing weight, raising exceptional children, becoming more productive, building revolutionary companies and social movements, and achieving success is understanding how habits work. Habits aren't destiny. As Charles Duhigg shows, by harnessing this new science, we can transform our businesses, our communities, and our lives.

Passion comes after you put in the hard work to become excellent at something valuable, not before. This will change the way we think about our careers, happiness, and the crafting of a remarkable life.

Why is it so hard to make lasting changes in our companies, in our communities, and in our own lives? The primary obstacle is a conflict that's built into our brains. Psychologists have discovered that our minds are ruled by two different systems-the rational mind and the emotional mind-that compete for control. The rational mind wants a great beach body; the emotional mind wants that Oreo cookie. The rational mind wants to change something at work; the emotional mind loves the comfort of the existing routine. This tension can doom a change effort-but if it is overcome, change can come quickly. The Heaths show how everyday people have united both minds and, as a result, achieved dramatic results. In a compelling, story-driven narrative, the Heaths bring together decades of counter-intuitive research in psychology, sociology, and other fields to shed new light on how we can effect change. Switch shows that successful changes follow a pattern, a pattern you can use to make the changes that matter to you.

As the demands of work grow more intense, personal life can get shoved to the side. But resolving the job-versus-life conflict doesn't require the kind of big, disruptive, scary transformation that so many time-management "experts" recommend. In TWEAK IT, Cali Williams Yost proves that a comfortable work+life fit can be achieved through making small, consistent, everyday changes--tweaks--that, cumulatively, will optimize job performance and well-being. This engaging, practical book, filled with case studies of people who've tweaked their way to professional success and personal satisfaction, guides readers through an easy-to-implement program that can be tailored to suit any individual's life, both on off the job.

Most new products fail. So do most small businesses. And most of us, if we are honest, have experienced a major setback in our personal or professional lives. So what determines who will bounce back and follow up with a home run? If you want to succeed in business and in life, Megan McArdle argues in this hugely thought-provoking book, you have to learn how to harness the power of failure.

The first book to explain the new science of self-control and how it can be harnessed to improve our health, happiness, and productivity. After years of watching her students struggling with their choices, health psychologist Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D., realized that much of what people believe about willpower is actually sabotaging their success. Committed to sharing what the scientific community already knew about self-control, McGonigal created a course called "The Science of Willpower" for Stanford University's Continuing Studies Program. Readers will learn: Willpower is a mind-body response, not a virtue. It is a biological function that can be improved through mindfulness, exercise, nutrition, and sleep. People who have better control of their attention, emotions, and actions are healthier, happier, have more satisfying relationships, and make more money.