Category Archives: Self Improvement

Getting Positive, Purposeful and Productive …

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Let’s keep this good, highly positive energy going. I have to say; it has been a while since I have written two articles in a row. Normally, I try to post at least 1 article a month. I found my time slipping through my fingers minute by minute. People always say, “We all have 24hours in a day – it is up to you to make the most of it.” Let’s digest the “24 hours” we all have:

  • 6 – 8 Hours – People normally spend sleeping
  • 2 Hours – Getting ready for work, school, date or other events, which can take up to (start to finish – bathing, dressing, make-up, getting kids up and ready, etc.)
  • 3 Hours – We seem to take up several hours to eat (in totality)
  • 2 – 3 Hours – Then there is the “Waiting” on something or someone, all together (depending on how fast traffic takes, public transportation, elevators, walking dogs, etc.)

What are we up to now? 16 hours

Okay, 24 Hours – 16 Hours = 8 hours (Purposeful Time Left)

And you guessed it, most of us work at a minimum of 8 hours a day – that is the rest of it. That is what most people’s 24 hours may look like, give or take some adjustments in tasks and responsibilities. That is how one can find time slipping through one’s fingers.

How is this positive, purposeful, or productive information, Jenice?!? You may be asking with learning this frustration realization. I am glad you asked. The key to taking back your time is realizing that you have more than enough of it … simple, but true. Now that most of us are finding ourselves teleworking, on a compressed or flex-schedule, we literally are being the gift of time. Each and every day, you get to choose (hopefully), how you spend your time now. 

Getting positive – if you still are employed in a safe working environment, be thankful. Getting purposeful – If you are working, then what you are doing is purposeful, and thank you for all you do, every day that you do it. Focused on Production – Production is not everything; poor quality is worst than producing nothing. Production is nothing without quality time spent ensuring the product is of good value. Instead of listening to all of the negative jargon all the time, do yourself a favor and find something to be positive, purposeful, and productive about. You will find you have more time than you could have ever scheduled on your calendar. 

Be well,

Jenice

Daum, K. (2014, November 3). 9 Ways to Save More Time. Retrieved from https://www.inc.com/kevin-daum/9-ways-to-save-more-time.html

Getting to Know Yourself Better with MBTI Test

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How often have you wondered why you respond to situations or events as you do? Have you tried to change your behaviors for the better? How successful have you been? The link may be in your intrinsic personality traits.

I have often implemented real-life assignments into my class lectures for students to grow both academically and personally. The Myers and Briggs Personality (MBTI) Test is a consistent tool that is used by several academics for student success. This is a fantastic way to get to know your students and for you to better gauge your behaviors and personality traits. There are plenty of ways to utilize this for everyday situations. I have used the MBTI Test as a for-credit assignment on several topics to include: accounting, business management, organizational behavior, human resources, financial management, and many others.

I often have found that peers enjoy completing the MBTI Test as a way of expressing their strengths. It has been used in leadership training across organizations looking for employees to gain a better understanding of their professional relationships for collaborations.  I find it to be incredibly insightful. Since you have all of this time on your hands, you may want to dive in and get to know yourself a little better.
Be well,
Jenice

Reference: Friedman. (n.d.). MBTI Personality Test. Retrieved 2020, from https://d3jc3ahdjad7x7.cloudfront.net/spokaLTFBEADL9JnMd7njgJd96nyp7YNgICG2tlJWifcI7GP.pdf

Career and Success Tips: How to Use O*Net

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It is true; we are living in unprecedented times. The unemployment rate has sky rocked beyond anything any of us could have imagined … but wait – maybe this is just the opportunity we needed to pursue the careers we are meant to be in. Stick with me for a second … I promise I will get there. Life has a way of making us believe that we need to settle for whatever job/career we need to pay the bills. Paying down and getting out debt is essential, but your professional happiness is just as important.

Like many, I have been detoured from doing many of the professional items that provided substantial motivation to “keep going” – and maintaining my professional happiness. The other day, I received a message from a LinkedIn networker. She mentioned she viewed one of my Youtube videos I published at the height of my “Job Classification” research. This contact mentioned that she was looking to learn more about the topic and was open to any advice I could provide. “That’s right! I am a subject matter expert in job classification,” I thought as I pondered my response to her.
I remembered that I purchased a “pop-up” backdrop for future videos. After figuring out how to the contraption up, adjusting the stand, and sitting down at my kitchen table … I began to record a video to better show her, instead of merely telling her about job classification. And why not take it a step further, there were several websites I could include which would also assist her with updating her resume and gaining information about job classification. At the end of the short video, I realized I had forgotten that I thoroughly enjoyed creating videos about business topics to assist others with their professional goals. That being said, I decided and made a promise that I would write up a quick blurb about the entire experience and share it with you as well.

Long story, longer – we should take this time to reevaluate what truly makes us happy. If this entire experience has taught me anything (thus far), it’s that we need to be grateful for our health, our friends and family and our lives. We are social beings, always have been and always will be. Instead of spreading fear and anguish to one another, let’s spread love, life, and encouragement.  I am encouraging you to revamp your job skills, take a hard look at your resume, or start working on or revisit that degree you never finished up. I hope the video I created on “Career Success” assists you with getting the clarification needed to pursue your dreams. If you have any questions – I am here. Believe me … I am here, and you are there … and we might be where we are for a while.

Be well,
Jenice

Dr. Jaye YouTube Link:  How to Use O*Net – Career Success

Dr. Jaye YouTube Link:  Understanding USAJOBs – Career Success

Establishing and Exercising Boundaries

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Establishing Boundaries are Important for Everyone

Happy New Year, it is time to “Marie Kondo” a few things.  We all have a few things we need to clean up, throw out or condense.  The New Year means setting new goals, removing old goals and reflecting on accomplishments.  Let’s start off small, boundaries.  Don’t click off of the page just yet … boundaries are good.  They help us to conduct a self “check-in” and ensure things are as they should be for our mental health.  Establishing boundaries assist with stress management, self-value, and creativity.  Whether we want to admit it or not, boundaries are healthy. 

Boundaries do not have to be long and drawn out.  If you have never thought about boundaries, they are pretty simple to implement – be swift and simple, i.e. “I will not accept friend requests from people I do not know on social media.”  Simple and moderate.  It is necessary to be specific, “I will not accept a position for a lower salary than my asking baseline.” Super simple, yet specific.  Make sure your boundaries are also positive and represent your values, “If I am approached by a random person who has little respect for my person, I will choose to remove myself from the situation – I deserve to be respected at all times because I respect others.”  Consequences are a must if a boundary is crossed – give yourself permission to speak up and say something.  Address it, and make sure to state how and when the boundary was crossed.  Consistency and communication are keys to boundaries.  Communicate your boundaries clearly and ensure you are understood by the person(s) involved.  Ensure you inform the person(s) how their lack of respect for your boundaries have caused you to invoke consequences.  This assures there is no negotiations for your boundaries and your expectations are clear.  Make sure to be open if they would like to discuss their boundaries.  You may learn something about their character.  Remember, you have a right to establish and exercise your healthy, positive and affirmative boundaries.  Have a great year, and remember – you have a right to happiness, health, and wholeness.

Reflect and keep these simple boundary indicators as a reference to establish and exercise your own boundaries in your professional and personal endeavors.  Happy New Year.    

1. Be Moderate

2. Be specific

3. Be positive – Virtues-based

4. Have specific, relevant consequences

5. Make consequences educative

6. Be consistent

7. Communicate rules clearly

8. Be sure consequences are understood 

9. Make bottom line rules non-negotiable 1

10. Make expectations clear

Reference: Guidelines for Establishing Clear Boundaries. (2007). Retrieved from https://www.virtuesproject.com/Pdf/ClearBoundaries.pdf

Dr. Jenice Armstead

New Year, New Attitude!

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Every year, we strive for new goals. How about striving for a new attitude? An attitude, not merely a positive attitude – but, a better one? Being positive is more than just a state of mind. Being positive is about our interactions with ourselves, others and with difficult situations. We’re often told to “stay positive,” but no one ever tells you how to stay positive. Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand that things are going to happen to you, good, bad, and indifferent. The ability to exercise self-control and realize that just because we fail or something negative happens to us, does not mean that we are bad people or that we have a bad experience entirely. Just as it is unhealthy to be Pollyannaish, it is equally unhealthy to be overly pessimistic. How do we balance the spectrum between being positive and being overwhelmed with life? The first step is to remember that there is something good in the situation that you can learn about yourself, others or how to handle the situation better in the future. The second part is to forgive yourself for being negative about a situation. The third part is to realize that your best is going to change from moment to moment. It comes with the realization that you are not a perfect being, none of us are. That is the beauty of life, we can do things differently and in a more positive aspect every time we engage or interact with the negative situation. Keep that in mind this new year, as you go into new challenges, new ventures, new relationships, new everything. Let’s be mindful of our emotional intelligence and our ability to control several aspects of a situation. Truth be told, you have more control over a situation than you think you do.

Reference: Bradberry, T. (2014). 3 Powerful Ways To Stay Positive. Retrieved 2019, from http://www.talentsmart.com/articles/3-Powerful-Ways-To-Stay-Positive-1120740708-p-1.html

Dr. Jenice Armstead, United States Navy Veteran

New Train of Thought: Holistic Learning, Working and Being

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Greetings and salutations readers,

There has been a lot that has conspired since the last time I have written to you. I’ve gone through a career change, I’ve changed my eating habits, I have decided to face financial items head on that should’ve been addressed a long time ago, and I have a completely different view on life. Being a holistic teacher has taught me a lot about myself and about those that I educate. I realize it is not only my responsibility to enlighten you with knowledge of business and human resources, but with actual, practical, tactical life skills to help you get to where you need to be in life.

I have been doing a lot of research on the need for understanding the basics. Without the basics of anything, we have a foundation for nothing. The basics provide us with the understanding of why we are doing what we’re doing and where we need to go with what we’re doing. If you’ve been following me or reading my articles for a while, you know that my life mantra is “more being, less doing.” By that I mean we need to decide to be more and stop thinking that just because we say we’re “busy” means that we’re doing something of meaning. In actuality, we are doing nothing if we are not deciding to be more in every moment for the purpose for our own lives.

It is time to think more, challenge more, understand more, realize more, interact more, empathize more and be more. I know firsthand that many of you are going through many different struggles, we all have things and situations that we’re currently dealing with on top of finding our purpose in life. What you must ask yourself in every moment is “Who am I being and what are my doing?” Einstein said something that resonates with me since I have been researching and studying holistic thinking. He said “If you can’t explain something in the simplest terms, in the lowest common denominator then you don’t have a true understanding of it.”

These are the times that we are currently in. We must understand and acknowledge things from the lowest common denominator to get to solutions for the big problems. These are my thoughts, and this is how I will continue to research, think, grow and learn. I thank you for your support, and I hope that you would provide your feedback and input on different topics that you would like me to research, discover and share with you.

Peace and blessings to you and all of your endeavors,

Dr. Armstead

Not Taking on Others Fears and Anxieties

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Fears and anxieties arise from a lack of control of the situation or event. When others have a fear of change, unforeseen circumstances and other things out of their control – fear and anxiety start to fester. Today’s Wisdom Wednesday focuses on not taking on others fears and anxieties. When you realize who you are, how to get things done and the purpose of things – your fears and anxieties will turn into motivational driven abilities towards a goal. Goals are great ways to keep track of what you want to do, where you want to be and how you want to get there. We are all human, and fear and anxieties come with the human experience. The growth and understanding comes from understanding that fears and anxieties out of your control may get out a hand when not dealt with face on. One way to deal with fears and anxieties – for example in the workplace, is to gain a better clarification through communication with others. Although communicating with others may not provide absolute clarity, it can provide enough clarity to gain an understanding of how to handle the situation. Make a point to pay attention when you have fears and anxieties come from you by the way of others emotions and reactions to situations. This is a great way to gain understanding and provide yourself the ability to stay cool, calm and collective in any given situation.

Jenice

Happy 6th Birthday to Lesbians Have to Eat, Too!

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Happy sixth birthday to my very first published book “Lesbians Have to Eat, Too!” Six years ago today, I self-published my very first book – cookbook to be exact. Not only was this a huge accomplishment, but it was the edification of my ability to grow myself as a brand and share my ideas with the entire world. Many people don’t know how “Lesbians Have to Eat, Too!” came about as the concept for my first book. Being that I have sporadically shared the story with people that have asked me about the title and the stories of the recipes – you would learn I did not know how to cook. Which is what made this accomplishment all the more rewarding. For those of you that have not read my first book, “Lesbians Have to Eat, Too!” it is all about how I self taught myself how to cook. In “Lesbians Have to Eat, Too!” I wanted to be super transparent. Mission accomplished! “Lesbians Have to Eat, Too!” was birthed with the idea of sharing amusingly and comical stories about myself, my life and ultimately my family. The feedback over the years from those who have read the”Lesbians Have to Eat, Too!” has been enlightening and exciting. Many people have said that they purchased “Lesbians Have to Eat, Too!” for coffee table conversations, for their significant others, for those who need the basics on how to cook simple and healthy meals and overall for the pure fact that the title made them explode with laughter. Truth be told, the book took me three years to actually write, it was born of sticky notes and recipes gone bad. I want to thank my wonderful supportive wife who ate every meal whether it looked bad, tasted bad or even smelled bad. Through all of it, I realized it was ultimately necessary that I publish not just a cookbook, but a cookbook where I was intrinsically embedded in each individual page.  Thank you all for all of your love and support.  You are very much appreciated.

Happy sixth birthday to my very first edification of self transparency, “Lesbians Have to Eat, Too!”

Lesbians Have to Eat, Too! By: Dr. Jenice Armstead Professor & Author

Lesbians Have to Eat, Too! By:            Dr. Jenice Armstead

Dr. Jenice Armstead
Professor & Author
United States Navy Veteran

Amazon Purchase Information Click Here: Lesbians Have to Eat, Too!

Monday Morning Mindset – Happy New Year 2016

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We are officially into the new year. The new year brings new aspirations, new resolutions, and new things that we want to do that we forgot to do last year. The good thing about the new year, is with the new year you get new opportunities and new ways of being. If you have been reading my articles from past years, you will know that the common denominator of many of my articles is “more being and less doing.” Today’s Monday Morning Mindset focuses on not only more being and less doing, but how you are being and how you are doing it. Resolutions are great, the important thing to remember is that while you are accomplishing your resolution – who are you being is just as important. Are you becoming a new person and implementing new ways of eating or exercising? Or have you decided to take a more holistic look at your life and decided to focus on personal growth? All these items are great, but resolutions fail when one loses their ability to be more in their ability to let go of who they’re not. Being more is just that simple, deciding to be more of yourself. Either way, in this new year take the time to “be more and do less.”

PRESS RELEASE: SIMPLE ACADEMIC OVERVIEWS VOL. 1, 2 & 3

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Dr. Jenice Armstead published “Simple Academic Overviews: Vol. 1, 2 & 3” on Dec 21, 2015. Dr. Jenice Armstead provides an historical overview of the development of management principles during the Scientific Management Era, the understanding of the concepts of performance management as they are related to organizational development theory and organizational leadership theories that exist with the implication of creating better leaders within an organization.

For more information click or go to: Simple Academic Overviews: Vol. 1, 2 & 3

Vol 1 2 and 3 Cover

Forgiveness Friday – Residual Mistakes

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Today’s Forgiveness Friday focuses on “Residual Mistakes.” We as humans have a tendency to residually make the same mistake over and over and over. Learning from one’s mistakes is healthy, rather than continuously making the same mistakes without learning from it. The growth comes when you realize the residual mistake is not only a mistake, but also a lesson. Residual mistakes can impair our ability to grow, learn and develop. But they also allow us to take a self reflection of what’s actually important to us. The intrinsic nature of mistakes is to learn and grow from them. It is time to come up higher, grow and learn from our mistakes and no longer blame them for lack of ability to be happy or successful. Today, take the time to reflect on your residual mistakes and see if they are working in your favor or against your ability to grow.

Monday Morning Mindset “Taking Responsibility for Where You’re at.”

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This week’s Monday Morning Mindset focuses on “taking responsibility for where you’re at.” We all have challenges that we all will face at one time or another in our lives. The way you handle your challenges will determine your ability and maturity for growing past your past. We all come from different backgrounds, cultures, environments, family dynamics, and financial abilities. The one thing to focus on when taking responsibility for where you are is to understand self accountability. There are situations that are out of our control, things we can’t do anything about and situations that can get out of hand. With all that in mind, it’s important to remember that you are overall control of your life, your purpose and your destiny. Taking responsibility for where you’re doesn’t mean there’s going to be any immediate changes, but it will provide you with a outline or roadmap towards how to better yourself and improve your situation. The first step is to take responsibility for where you’re at, not blame others for your obstacles and to embrace change as much as possible.

Monday Morning Mindset – Excepting Your Flaws and Moving Forward

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In life we have the ability to be our worst enemies or our own best friends. We can push ourselves to no degree, or we could be our best comforters. In all, we have flaws either visibly or non-visibly that we share in times of deeply connected relationships. The more intimate the relationship, the more visible your flaws. We often have a tendency to treat those closest to us the worst. One of the reasons for this is because of the comfort of knowing that you will be loved regardless. Regardless of your flaws, regardless of your background, regardless of your physical ability or regardless of who you betray yourself to be – flaws are parts of you. Eventually, those intimate relationships become solidified in knowing that your flaws are not just a part of you they are you. Choosing to accept your flaws and moving forward requires great strength, admiration and the ability to want to grow. Today, take some time to review and accept your flaws and then move forward knowing that your flaws do not make you who you are. You are who you are innately by your purpose. Your purpose is what sustains you and provides you with the understanding that tomorrow your flaws may not be as visible to you as they were to you yesterday.

Forgiveness Friday – Knowing Who You Are

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This Forgiveness Friday we focus on “knowing who you are.” Knowing who you are involves an awareness of your past, your present and how you plan on moving towards your future. Often we live our life forward, yet we only can understand it backwards. Reflecting on past obstacles, challenges, dilemmas and oversights are all part of growing your self-knowledge of who you are. When you’re able to reflect on your past, you are able to understand yourself the full aspect of your personal growth and development. It’s important to set aside time each day to reflect on things that you’ve done, said and plan on doing or saying. When you’re conscious of your thoughts, words and deeds you’re able to affiliate positive change towards future events. Truth be told, many people do not know who they are and rarely take the time to self-reflect. Forgive yourself this and you take the time to get to know yourself. You may be surprised at who you come to find yourself to be.

Dr. Jaye

Two-Cents Tuesday – Growth

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Taking the time to grow requires the ability to understand oneself from a deeper level. Growing requires struggle, challenges, understanding and the ability to realize that time is of the essence. With growth comes pain, and happiness. The pain is outlined in one’s ability to realize one’s weaknesses, and decide to come up higher in the strengths. In life’s, weaknesses there are the appearances of flaws in oneself. The truth is; weaknesses teach us more about ourselves than being perfect does. With growth comes change, with change, comes uncertainty and with uncertainty comes a decision to come up higher. Today, decide to take a deep self-reflection of who you are and who you want to be in this life.

Dr. Jaye

Monday Morning Mindset – Who Are You?

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It is time to wake up. Have you decided to make a drastic change in your habits? Have you decided to go back to school and become an influential person in the community? Are you ready to be the person that you know you ought to be? These questions and more are becoming common conversational topics among each other. We are all searching for purpose, understanding and unconditional love. This Monday take a look at your overall self and decide who you choose to be in this moment. Making the choice could be a continuing factor of who you should be and who you will be in life.

Wisdom Wednesday – Life Sources

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The life source of the human body is sustainable food. If you eat food loaded with sugar and high in fats, it will not sustain you. You will be hungry all the time and gain weight. Eating highly fatty foods will cause you to have bad health in the long run. Understanding and growing your health knowledge by learning what food is actually good for your body. Healthy food will increase your focus, your ability to think clearer, and improve relationships with people. Yes, it’s true – eating nourishing and sustainable food will provide a lifestyle change that will ultimately increase your ability to have a better overall life. Take small steps, make a list of what you currently eat and then decide to implement more fruits and vegetables into your diet. You’ll be surprised at what small changes will do for your mind body and your soul.

Dr. Jaye

Monday Morning Mindset – Keeping Your Word

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Keeping your word is important. The average person means to keep the word, although there are situations where a person may have to break a promise or the word in reference to something they said they would do. Back in the day, keeping your word was as good as a contract. If you broke your word, you broke contract. In many instances, breaking your promise to do something meant losing notoriety and credibility in the community. It’s important to do what you say and say what you do. This week think about being honorable in what you say and in what you do.

Dr. Jaye

Monday Morning Mindset – Being Creditable

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This week’s Monday Morning Mindset focuses on “Being Creditable.” Being credible implies that you are a person of virtue and substance. When you think of the word credibility, what do you think of? Credibility implies that you are honorable and understand the value of keeping your word, keeping your promise and keeping track of your own ethical purpose. Although there are times in life where we are unable to keep a promise, being credible adds to the conversation by explaining the reason for changes. Within situations, it is important to be honest when changes arise. In today’s world, credibility is lacking. In order ensure you were being credible, take note of how you were being, how you were acting, and how you respond in adverse situations. Being credible is more than just doing something, it’s about being a certain way on purpose.

Dr. Jaye

Forgiveness Friday – Excepting Imperfections

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Today’s Forgiveness Friday focuses on “excepting imperfections.” We all have the ability to strive for perfection. In striving for perfection, we must also realize that is ultimately impossible to do anything perfectly. It is time for the acceptance of imperfections and to allow our imperfections to enable us to be better today than yesterday. Our ability to strive for perfection comes from the notion that we must be better than somebody else. The realization that everybody has innately natural gifts which allow for everyone to bring a little bit of something different to the table. This enables us to appreciate other people’s gifts, abilities and thought patterns. Imperfections are not weaknesses, and rather they are a reminder of our need for one another. It is time to forgive yourself for the imperfect thought of perfection being necessary. Take some time and examine your imperfections, and then find the best parts of the imperfections and use them to grow. It’s important to remember that everybody isn’t good at everything all the time. Embrace your imperfections, share them with people that can grow and learn from them. The truth is you are imperfectly perfect just the way you are, live and grow in that truth.