Shows
Life HabitsLH154 — Future Proofing Your CareerIn this episode, Karel builds on the previous episodes which focused on dealing with job loss, being effective at getting a job, and designing and marking yourself. He now focuses on "future-proofing your career." Karel shares practical strategies for career development, including using strategic foresighting to anticipate industry trends, creating an "aspirational resume" to set goals, and performing "premortems" to avoid potential pitfalls. He also introduces the concept of "career workouts," encouraging listeners to approach career advancement as they would physical fitness—with regular, structured efforts, tracking progress through a career journal, and conducting "career checkups" with mentors. Drawing on...2024-11-0628 minLife HabitsLH153 — Designing and Marketing the Product YOUIn this episode, Karel continues the focus on those who are looking to further improve themselves to get a new or better job, or a new partner, or just to make themselves the best version of themselves that they can be. He starts be asking “What do companies do when they want to improve their products and services?” They use design and design methods. And “What do they do to sell those products and services?” They use marketing and marketing methods. Karel then reprises edited versions of two of the most popular episodes of the entire podcast series focussed on using...2024-10-3049 minLife HabitsLH149 — Feeding Your Soul with Purpose and MeaningKarel devotes this episode to a topic that has been central to his life—feeding your soul with purpose and meaning. He makes the case for exploring a more fulfilling life going beyond simply feeding your wallet by also feeding your soul. After charactering the situation many people are in of being stressed and burned out, Karel outlines his own approach to always balancing his life with outside interests that have purpose and meaning to him. He then outlines three approaches to determining what would feed your soul and how to realize it. 2024-10-0228 minLife HabitsLH148 — The Influencers in my LifeIn this episode, Karel reflects on the two people who have had the greatest influence in his life. These aren't your typical current social media influencers. They're instead people who provided him insights, lessons, and habits for everyday life.The first is the late Stephen R. Covey and second is Gerritdina Leida Vredenburg, Karel’s late mother. He recorded a tribute episode after each of these influencers in his life passed away. Covey published a book "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" in 1989. Karel read it that same year and it changed his life. In fact, that bo...2024-09-2545 minLife HabitsLH145 — Life and Career LessonsIn this episode, Karel shares his career and life lessons after retiring from a successful 36-year career at IBM and co-founding the Habits for a Better World nonprofit. Before leaving IBM, Karel went on a global nine design studio tour during which he met with staff one-on-one and in groups and he also reflected on his career and shared his life and career lessons. The staff and others on LinkedIn who heard about the presentation encouraged him to share his reflection and insights on the podcast. This episode was the result. Enjoy!2024-09-0442 minLife HabitsLH143 — Dealing with Divisiveness & PolarizationIn this episode, Karel tackles the pervasive problems of divisiveness and polarization. World events—like wars and elections—and particular issues have a tendency to lead to these challenges. So much so, that they generate disharmony in families and tension among friends. Some will say, “someone should do something about that”. Karel says, “why not start with ourselves”. There are two sets of habits that Karel thinks are perfect for countering divisiveness and polarization, checking your biases and becoming an authentic listener. He reprises two previous episodes that address these issues.2024-08-2138 minLife HabitsLH133 — Build Habits That Stick, One Stack at a TimeIn this episode, Karel and Paige explore the concept of habit stacking, a method of building new habits by linking them to existing ones. They explain how this technique can make habit formation easier and more effective. Karel and Paige share practical examples and provide 10 actionable recommendations to help you successfully implement habit stacking in your daily routine. Their recommendations include identifying existing habits, choosing new habits, linking new habits to established routines, starting small, environmental design, accountability, positive reinforcement, visual cues, tracking progress, and reflection and mindfulness.10 Recommendations for Habit Stacking:1. Identify Existing Habits 2024-06-0524 minLife HabitsLH130 — Harnessing the Power of AIExplore the transformative potential of AI with Karel and Paige as they delve into generative AI using ChatGPT as a prime example. This episode examines AI's revolutionary impact on industries and emphasizes the importance of integrating human skills with AI capabilities. Karel and Paige demystify AI concepts, explaining how generative AI functions through large language models to generate statistically probable outputs.Discover actionable advice for effectively leveraging generative AI, whether you're new to AI or already experienced. From accessing and understanding AI tools to using them for tasks like analysis, summarization, and content creation, uncover essential strategies...2024-05-1544 minLife HabitsLH127 Disconnect to Reconnect: A Guide to Digital DetoxIn this illuminating episode, Karel and Paige delve into the transformative practice of digital detoxing. Together, they explore the concept and offer practical recommendations for integrating it into daily and weekly routines.Through insightful quotes and eye-opening statistics on smartphone and social media usage, Karel and Paige share anecdotes about their own detox experiences. They define what a digital detox truly entails and emphasize its profound benefits for mental well-being, social connection, and overall life satisfaction.Drawing from their own experiences and research, Karel and Paige provide eight actionable recommendations for implementing a successful digital...2024-04-2427 minLife HabitsLH122 — Hybrid Work: Doing it RightKarel and Paige delve into the intricacies of hybrid work, sharing insights and best practices to set you up for success in this evolving work landscape. They explore the transition from mandated remote work during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to the current embrace of hybrid work schedules by many companies. Drawing from their personal experiences and inspirational quotes, they emphasize the importance of intentionality and flexibility in navigating hybrid work successfully. Karel and Paige discuss optimizing the work-from-home experience, maintaining work-life balance, and enhancing video conferencing practices. They stress the significance of being intentional when designing hybrid...2024-03-2029 minLife HabitsBe Kind, Age Well Part 1Karel and Paige welcome back the esteemed MJ Shaar, a returning guest, to delve into the fascinating realm of healthy aging. With extensive research under her belt, MJ unveils the intricate web of factors contributing to this concept. From genetics to lifestyle choices, she navigates through the realms of nutrition, exercise, sleep, love, relationships, self-perception, and finding purpose in life.While the World Health Organization defines healthy aging in terms of functional ability and well-being in older age, MJ posits that it transcends mere absence of disease, encompassing physical, mental, and social well-being. She underscores the pivotal...2024-03-0659 minLife HabitsLH119 — Lifelong LearningKarel and Paige devote this episode to discussing the importance of lifelong learning. Lifelong learning is defined as on-going, voluntary, self-motivated learning in the pursuit of knowledge for either personal or professional reasons. In last week’s episode LH118 — Landing the Job, one of the recommendations was to further improve your skills. This episode expands on that recommendation and explores lifelong learning that is outside of career advancement and opportunities. Karel and Paige provide 11 recommendations for pursuing lifelong learning and highlight its benefits such as personal growth, staying relevant in a changing world, and making a positive impact.R...2024-02-2836 minLife HabitsLH118 — Landing the JobMany people are out of work right now, especially in the tech sector. Paige and Karel devote this episode to providing strategies on the entire journey of finding and then Landing the Job. This episode is an expansion of LH55 — Getting the Job where Karel mostly talked about the job interview. You can listen to that episode here. Recommendations:1. Read the job post and job requirements carefully.2. Make sure you satisfy the basic requirements of the job.3. Make sure your application clearly demonstrates your suitability.4. Create multiple resumes, each fo...2024-02-2139 minLife HabitsLH116 — Resilience with Mandy KloppersIn this episode Karel and Paige welcome back, by popular demand, Mandy Kloppers. Mandy has been on the podcast 7 times sharing her insight as a psychologist and cognitive behavioral therapist. In previous episodes Mandy talked with Karel about self-confidence, relationships and mindfulness to name a few of the topics (Please see the bottom of the show notes to listen to past episodes with Mandy). In those episodes Mandy spoke with Karel through the lens of a psychologist and therapist. But in this week's episode Mandy shares with us how she applies the same techniques she teaches her clients in...2024-02-0739 minLife HabitsLH99 — Diversity & InclusionKarel's back with a podcast episode dealing with the important topic of diversity and inclusion. In addition to reviewing previous episodes related to the topic and providing some inspirational quotes, Karel focuses on three habits: Recognizing and eliminating bias, understanding and empathizing, and championing and celebrating. He finishes up the episode talking about the episodes to come which will focus on insights from people who have gone through significant life changes. 2024-01-2128 minLife HabitsLH96 — Mindful MeditationThe results of a listener poll led to a request for an episode on Mindful Meditation and Karel delivered on that request in this episode. Karel talks about the research evidence for the benefits and then provides guidance of practicing mindfulness and meditation. 2024-01-2121 minLife HabitsLH95 — Escaping AverageKarel is joined by Cynthia Tripathi to talk about her first book "Escaping Average". Karel and Cynthia discuss ways of upping your game in the areas of mental state, health, career, finance, and social life. 2024-01-2136 minLife HabitsLH92 — Optimizing HappinessAfter conducting a poll with listeners via social media as to what topic to focus on next, Karel determined that Optimizing Happiness was far and away the most asked for. Karel builds on the foundation that was built in LH84 - Being Happier to provide additional advice in this episode to further hone particular habits to achieve even greater levels of happiness in life. 2024-01-2119 minLife HabitsLH81 — Becoming More ProductiveKarel devotes this episode to a listener suggestion to address becoming more productive using technology. Karel discusses four major themes 1) doing things more efficiently, doing more things at once sensibly, doing fewer things at once sensibly, and doing nothing.2024-01-2123 minLife HabitsLH65 — Life LessonsKarel reflects on the life of Steve Jobs and discusses his life lessons as conveyed through Walter Isaacson's authorized biography "Steve Jobs" and Steve's 2005 Stanford Commencement Address. You may also want to check out Karel's blog post on Steve Jobs's contributions to design.2024-01-2119 minLife HabitsLH33 — Electronic CommunicationWant to improve your electronic communication? Karel devotes this longer than usual episode on the topic of electronic communication which includes everything from Facebook and Twitter to texting, instant messaging, e-mail, conference calling, and video conferencing. Karel provides advice on increasing your effective use of these mechanisms as well as how to limit them as well.2024-01-2153 minLife HabitsLH25 — Blogs and PodcastsWant to make sense of blogs, mini-blogs, and podcasts? Karel devotes this episode to describing the current trends in blog and podcast technologies (Google Alerts, Twitter, iTunes) and providing specific advice on how to find the content that is of interest to you using these technologies. The top 10 list for this episode provides Karel's specific recommendations of blogs and podcasts. Feel free to provide any recommendations you may have for blogs and podcasts via comments on this site or in an e-mail to lifehabits@gmail.com.2024-01-2132 minLife HabitsLH24 — Managing StressFeeling stressed? Karel devotes this episode to a set of ideas and skills to develop into routine habits to help you manage stress on a day-to-day basis. After summarizing the ever popular insightful famous quotes on the topic, Karel starts by helping you understand your circle of influence then describes a series of practical techniques and encourages listeners to try them and assess progress in using them. He also briefly outlines but doesn't provide the detailed instructions for practicing a technique called Progressive Muscle Relaxation. Here is some further information on this technique.2024-01-2129 minLife HabitsLH20 — Fostering CreativityEveryone wants to be more creative but few know how to go about it. After reviewing some insightful and thought-provoking famous quotes on the topic, Karel details 10 ideas for fostering creativity. The approaches are applicable to work situations involving products, services, and processes but equally to your personal and home life. At the end of the episode, Karel also asks for input on a suggestion for improving the podcast series by providing short 5-8 minute daily refresher podcast episodes.2024-01-2131 minLife HabitsLH14 — Sex DifferencesThe sexes are different. Karel reviews some surprising recent research findings regarding gender differences, provides some personal context for the topic, and then summarizes 10 ideas for developing some good skills in this area which can be honed into life habits. Karel deals with topics having to do with equality, ideas for cross-gender learning yielding optimized androgyny, and advice regarding the celebration of one's gender including its strengths and advantages. Karel recommends the book "Why Gender Matters" by Leonard Sax which can also be found at audible.com.2024-01-2133 minLife HabitsLH13 — Taming TechnologyTechnology pervades all aspects of our lives. This episode provides you with advice to make technology work for you rather than you being a slave to it. Karel gives advice on how to control the inputs, which are often technology interruptions, and the outputs, which are your ways of taking action. He also provides his usual list of 10 items to consider in this case to optimize the aspects of your life that have to do with technology. During the podcast, Karel mentions several products or tools. Here are the links to those that were mentioned, audible.com, post-it notes, Faceb...2024-01-2138 minLife HabitsLH4 — The Power of the MindThe mind is amazingly powerful. We can either control it or be controlled by it. This episode is all about being aware of what your mind is capable of doing when you don't control it and, once you're aware of it, to take control. Karel quotes Marcus Aurelius, who said, "You have the power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this and you will find strength". Karel gives a few examples of the power of the mind and the ways in which it can take control without our knowledge.2024-01-2126 minLife HabitsLH3 — Staying PositiveOne of the most important habits to learn is to stay positive no matter what the stimulus and now matter what the context. Karel starts off this episode by quoting Helen Keller who said, "when one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us". The episode includes a story about a university coach who was overly negative but whose behavior changed dramatically when confronted to an unwavering positive reaction. We have the power to decide how to react...2024-01-2120 minLife HabitsLH2 — Time ManagementKarel Vredenburg focuses on time management in this episode. You might be thinking, "I don't have time for that!" but after listening and taking the advice given you will have a lot more time to devote to the important items in your life. Karel starts off by quoting Thomas Edison who said, "Time is really the only capital that any human being has, and the only thing he can't afford to lose." to reinforce the importance of valuing time and thus managing it effectively.Karel discusses taking control of your time, yearly and weekly time scales, prioritizing...2024-01-2131 minLife HabitsLH1 — Overview & Setting PrioritiesKarel Vredenburg welcomes listeners to this new podcast series and provides an overview of the content, format, and frequency. He also introduces the first topic - starting with the end in mind and finishes up by inviting listeners to provide feedback via the website or gmail.2024-01-2114 min
Life Habits MentoringLH108 - Checking-in to Stay the CourseThis is the third episode in the "Checking-in" series focused on coping during the pandemic and beyond. Karel devotes this episode on providing ideas to help you stay the course during this long-running pandemic.2020-11-2900 minLife Habits MentoringLH107 - Checking-in on Mental HealthKarel is joined by UK Psychologist Mandy Kloppers to discuss mental health during this difficult period of a pandemic and social unrest and to discuss a variety of approaches to coping given different situations and circumstances.2020-06-1036 minLife Habits MentoringLH106 - Check-in - Working from HomeWith the overall series tagline for all these years being “staying sane in a crazy world”, Karel was inspired to start record episodes again with a collection of Check-in episodes to help listeners deal with and cope during the Coronavirus pandemic. This, the first in the collection, provides advice on working from home.2020-04-0700 minLife Habits MentoringLH105 - Exploring the WorldKarel continues his occasional major life changes episode series this time interviewing world traveler Kate Paddison.2018-12-2921 minLife Habits MentoringLH104 - Innovation by DesignKarel devotes this episode to design methods and tools everyone can use to be more innovative. He summarizes his seven habits of highly effective design thinkers.2018-11-0420 minLife Habits MentoringLH103 - Career PivotsKarel is joined by Lendy Krantz of WeWork to discuss insights, lessons learned, and advice on career pivots.2018-10-1531 minLife Habits MentoringLH102 - All You Need is LoveKarel and Marie-Josée Shaar explore an extension to Sleep, Food, Mood, and Exercise by focusing on love, caring, and connectedness.2018-08-3042 minLife Habits MentoringLH101 - Creating Your Own JobKarel interviews Chui Chui Tan who quit her job to start her own company.2018-08-2639 minLife Habits MentoringLH99 - Diversity & InclusionKarel's back with an episode dealing with the important topic of diversity and inclusion providing specific advice on three areas of focus.2018-06-0628 minLife Habits MentoringLH98 - Career WorkoutsKarel expands on his previous episodes dealing with career advice by making the case for approaching career health much like we know how to deal with physical health by doing workouts, journals, and checkups.2017-08-2719 minLife Habits MentoringLH96 - Mindful MeditationThe top request on a listener poll was for an episode on Mindfulness and Meditation so Karel devotes this episode to that topic. He discusses the research evidence regarding the benefits and then gives guidance on practicing mindfulness and meditation.2016-09-0621 minLife Habits MentoringLH95 - Escaping AverageKarel is joined by Cynthia Tripathi, the author of Escaping Average. Karel and Cynthia discuss ways of upping your game in the areas of mental state, health, career, finance, and social life.2016-06-0536 minLife Habits MentoringLH94 - Fixing Unhelpful Thinking HabitsKarel is again joined by UK Psychologist Mandy Kloppers to discuss recognizing and fixing common errors in thinking.2016-01-2430 minLife Habits MentoringLH93 - Social Intelligence for SuccessIn response to listener suggestions, Karel devotes this episode to three themes for developing and applying social intelligence to entrepreneurial, intrepreneurial, and self-improvement initiatives.2015-12-3127 minLife Habits MentoringLH92 - Optimizing HappinessAfter conducting a poll with listeners via social media as to what topic to focus on for this episode, it was determined that Optimizing Happiness was far and away the most ask for. Karel builds on the foundation that was established in LH84 on Being Happier to provide additional advice to further hone particular habits to achieve even greater levels of happiness in life.2015-07-2419 minLife Habits MentoringLH91 - Optimizing TravelKarel has been traveling a lot and hasn't recorded episodes lately so he decided to devote this return episode to the topic of optimizing travel.2015-06-0733 minLife Habits MentoringLH90 - Gender EqualityInspired by Emma Watson's UN speech, Karel devotes this episode to providing advice for women and men to promote gender equality.2014-11-2826 minLife Habits MentoringLH89 - Developing EmpathyKarel devotes this episode to the critically important habit of developing empathy for others.2014-09-2823 minLife Habits MentoringLH88 - Life as a SportKarel is back after a hiatus and devotes this episode to understanding what insights and lessons sports can provide in improving our life skills.2014-07-2025 minLife Habits MentoringLH87 - Thinking Errors that Hurt Your HealthKarel is joined again by Marie-Josée Shaar this time to address the errors in thinking that can hurt your health and what you can do to prevent them from doing so.2014-04-0528 minLife Habits MentoringLH86 - Profit from the PositiveWant to apply the power of Positive Psychology to business and to your working life? Karel is joined by Margaret Greenberg for this episode discussing the book she wrote with Senia Maymin, "Profit from the Positive: Proven Leadership Strategies to Boost Productivity and Transform Your Business".2014-02-1030 minLife Habits MentoringLH85 - Affirmations & MindfulnessKarel addresses listener questions and introduces affirmations and mindfulness together with guest UK Psychologist Mandy Kloppers.2013-12-0628 minLife Habits MentoringLH84 - Being HappierKarel devotes this episode to the topic of being happier and summarizes a list of ten items from Positive Psychology that you can start to do right away to be happier. He also recommends a new social network focused on increasing happiness in the world, called Happier.com.2013-10-2323 minLife Habits MentoringLH83 - Communication ChallengesKarel devotes this episode to listener questions on the topic of communication challenges.2013-09-0225 minLife Habits MentoringLH82 - Dealing with ChangeKarel is again joined by UK Psychologist Mandy Kloppers as they address a listener question asking for advice on dealing with change.2013-07-1327 minLife Habits MentoringLH81 - Becoming More ProductiveKarel devotes this episode to a listener suggestion to address becoming more productive using technology. Karel discusses four major themes 1) doing things more efficiently, doing more things at once sensibly, doing fewer things at once sensibly, and doing nothing.2013-07-0323 minLife Habits MentoringLH80 - Cultures of WellnessKarel is again joined by Marie-Josée Shaar this time to discuss four approaches to creating cultures of wellness. Make sure to visit Marie-Josée's website smartsandstamina.com which also includes a link to her book. For further information on this topic, make sure to visit positivepychologynews.com.2013-05-2629 minLife Habits MentoringLH79 - Impression ManagementIn response to a listener suggestion, Karel devotes this episode to various ways of improving your personal impression management using the techniques and approaches from product marketing.2013-05-2128 minLife Habits MentoringLH78 - Staying True to YourselfKarel devotes this episode to listener requests along the theme of staying true to yourself. He addresses awareness, consistency, and strength.2013-03-3116 minLife Habits MentoringLH77 - Workplace ChallengesKarel addresses five questions listeners submitted on the topic of workplaces challenges. The questions deal with communicating across age and experience level differences, knowing who to trust, workplace bullying, managing anger outbursts, and working effectively with a world-wide team.2013-01-0131 minLife Habits MentoringLH76 - Mom's Life LessonsThis episode is a tribute to Karel's mother who passed away recently and reflects on seven of the life lessons she taught, lived, and modeled, and will serve as her gift and legacy.2012-11-1923 minLife Habits MentoringLH75 - BullyingWould you like to be more aware of bullying of various types and what can be done about it? This was a topic that rose to the top of our Facebook poll of listeners. Karel has university student, George Janeteas, as his guest on bullying in general and cyber-bullying in particular. You can find more about George at his website at georgejaneteas.ca. George also provided the following additional resources: the Trevor Project, Youth Line, Kids Help Phone, and Prevnet.2012-09-0443 minLife Habits MentoringLH74 - Covey's 7 HabitsThis episode is a tribute to the late Stephen Covey, the author of the seminal book "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People". Karel discusses the influence Covey has had on listeners, himself, and the world. He then provides a few quotes and briefly summarizes Covey's seven habits.2012-08-0532 minLife Habits MentoringLH73 - Questions about RelationshipsKarel dedicates this episode to a set of questions submitted by listeners on the theme of relationships and is again joined by UK Psychologist Mandy Kloppers. The questions address how to deal with infidelity, getting over a failed relationship, and dealing with parents as they are progressing through a divorce. Mandy has also written further on these topics on her blog, specifically "infidelity" and "end of a relationship".2012-07-1032 minLife Habits MentoringLH72 - Growth MindsetAfter having heard Carol Dweck being interviewed on the Harvard Business Review podcast and checking with the Life Habits listeners on the Facebook page, Karel decided to read Carol's book "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success" and to dedicate this episode to its major insights and recommendations. Learn how to transition your thinking from a fixed mindset to one leading to growth in all aspects of your life.2012-06-1820 minLife Habits MentoringLH71 - Doing the Right ThingAt the suggestion of a listener, Karel devotes this episode to the topic of "Doing the Right Thing" and provides some practical advice on what to consider in weighing options when needing to make an ethical/moral decision.2012-04-2319 minLife Habits MentoringLH70 - Managing MoneyWould you like a broader perspective on managing your money? At the suggestion of a listener, Karel provides both a conceptual perspective and some practical advice on managing money in this episode.2012-04-0922 minLife Habits MentoringLH69 - Stop WorryingIn response to a listener question, Karel provides advice on the process to use to stop worrying, including the identification of your degree of control and taking action on the basis of this.2012-02-1318 minLife Habits MentoringLH68 - Type I PersonallyKarel summarizes key insights from Daniel H. Pink's book "Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us", on the recommendation of a podcast listener. He summarizes the alternatives to "carrot and stick" approaches which include a focus on Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose. Find out more about Dan Pink and how to get a copy of his book.2012-01-1618 minLife Habits MentoringLH67 - Types of HelpKarel is again joined by guest UK Psychologist Mandy Kloppers to address a listener request about professional help. Mandy outlines when you seek help, what types of help are available, and what to expect so that you can get the most out of any professional help you seek. More information and advice on a number of topics from Mandy can be found on her YouTube channel and on her website.2011-12-0934 minLife Habits MentoringLH66 - 5 Lazy Ways to Get in ShapeKarel is joined again by guest Marie-Josée Shaar who describes five simple, lazy, ways to get in shape based on the content in her great new book Smarts and Stamina: The Busy Person's Guide to Optimal Health and Performance, which she authored with occasional guest on the podcast, Kathryn Britton.2011-11-2425 minLife Habits MentoringLH65 - Life LessonsKarel reflects on the life of Steve Jobs and discusses his life lessons as conveyed through Walter Isaacson's authorized biography "Steve Jobs" and Steve's 2005 Stanford Commencement Address. You may also want to check out Karel's blog post on Steve Jobs's contributions to design.2011-11-2119 minLife Habits MentoringLH64 - Visualizing ProgressAre you still getting stuck and lacking sufficient motivation? Karel devotes this episode to using visualization of the goal and progress toward the goal as additional means of increasing your motivation and being successful. These techniques are applicable to virtually all the areas of focus and topics covered in this podcast series.2011-09-0516 minLife Habits MentoringLH63 - Take Time for YourselfMany people either don't take time off or do so only with others. Karel devotes this episode to advice for taking time for yourself via five Rs.2011-08-0214 minLife Habits MentoringLH62 - Making a DifferenceWant to make a difference in life, at home, at work, or throughout all society? Karel devotes this episode to an approach to plan and make progress on this topic.2011-07-0421 minLife Habits MentoringLH61 - Mastering GratitudeWant to improve your overall sense of well-being? Master gratitude. Karel is joined on this episode by guest Kathryn Britton who is the author of "Gratitude: How to Appreciate Life's Gifts". You can reach Kathryn by sending her email at kathryn@theano-coaching.com.2011-06-0641 minLife Habits MentoringLH60 - Complaining EffectivelyClinical Psychologist Dr. Guy Winch joins Karel on this episode to provide a set of quotes and top 10 tips for learning to complain effectively. Guy is the author of a great book on the topic called "The Squeaky Wheel: Complaining the right way to get results, improve your relationships, and enhance self-esteem". Learn more about Guy at his website, Facebook page, or on Twitter.2011-05-2831 minLife Habits MentoringLH59 - Listener QuestionsAt the suggestion of an Australian listener, Karel solicited questions from listeners and devotes this episode to providing answers to three listener questions.2011-05-1631 minLife Habits MentoringLH58 - Authentic ListeningWant to improve your interpersonal communication? Learn how to listen authentically. In this episode, Karel provides 10 ideas for developing the habit of authentic listening.2011-04-1820 minLife Habits MentoringLH57 - VegetarianismWhether you're interested for health, the environment, ethics, or just to eat tasty food, this episode will help you with moving toward a plant-based diet and provide you with 10 practical progressive steps to get there. Karel has long-time vegetarian advocate Dilip Barman as his guest on this episode. Dilip makes reference to two websites during the session: the first is an article on FAO and the second is an article on the Guardian website. For more information, you can visit Dilip's own website, his cooking site, his photography site, and the International Vegetarian Union site, and also the Triangle Vegetarian...2011-03-1949 minLife Habits MentoringLH56 - Get Up and MoveWant to get into shape? Karel has guest Marie-Josee Shaar back again this time providing advice on the exercise part of her Sleep, Food, Mood, and Exercise system. Make sure to visit Marie-Josee's website and sign up for her amazing newsletter.2011-03-0243 minLife Habits MentoringLH55 - Getting the JobNeed advice on getting that next job, a new position in your current organization, or any other situation where you'll be evaluated and assessed? Karel devotes this episode to outlining 10 practical tips for preparing for and handling the interview.2011-02-2726 minLife Habits MentoringLH54 - RelaxationWant to learn to achieve a deep state of relaxation? Karel provides this special episode with guided instruction to achieve deep progressive muscle relaxation. This episode can be listened to whenever you would like to achieve deep relaxation and it is recommended that you only listen to it in a private and quiet setting with no distractions. The background music used on this episode is Antonio Vivaldi's Sonata 5 Largo (I & III) performed by the Telemann Trio and is used courtesy of Musopen (musopen.org).2011-02-0718 minLife Habits MentoringLH52 - Taking Things PersonallyDo you tend to take things personally more than you should? Karel devotes this episode to a listener request to address the topic of taking things personally. After discussing some developmental and individual difference dimensions related to the topic and some relevant quotes, he provides advice for improving in this important area via a top 10 list.2010-12-0731 minLife Habits MentoringLH51 - SleepDo you have difficulty with sleep? Karel has guest Marie-Josee Shaar back again to do a follow-up drill-down episode on the topic of sleep. Check out Marie-Josee's website at SmartsandStamina.com.2010-10-1929 minLife Habits MentoringLH50 - Effective ManagementDo you want to improve your skills for managing people either in a formal management position or an informal one (as a parent, coach, etc.)? In response to a listener request, Karel devotes this episode to providing practical advice for becoming more effective in the management of people.2010-09-0723 minLife Habits MentoringLH49 - AssertivenessDo you tend to be too passive or too aggressive? Do you want to optimize the effectiveness of your communication? Karel devotes this episode to providing advice on becoming appropriately assertive.2010-08-1524 minLife Habits MentoringLH48 - Difficult PeopleAre you dealing with a difficult person in your life? In response to a listener request, Karel provides 10 suggestions for dealing with difficult people.2010-07-1226 minLife Habits MentoringLH47 - TeamworkDo you have to work with others in groups? Pretty well everyone does. Do you want to improve the teamwork exhibited by those teams? In response to a listener request, Karel devotes this episode to the various ways teamwork can be optimized.2010-06-2826 minLife Habits MentoringLH33 - Electronic CommunicationWant to improve your electronic communication? Karel devotes this longer than usual episode on the topic of electronic communication which includes everything from Facebook and Twitter to texting, instant messaging, e-mail, conference calling, and video conferencing. Karel provides advice on increasing your effective use of these mechanisms as well as how to limit them as well.2009-07-2053 minLife Habits MentoringLH25 - Blogs and PodcastsWant to make sense of blogs, mini-blogs, and podcasts? Karel devotes this episode to describing the curent trends in blog and podcast technologies (Google Alerts, Twitter, iTunes) and providing specific advice on how to find the content that is of interest to you using these technologies. The top 10 list for this episode provides Karel's specific recommendations of blogs and podcasts. Feel free to provide any recommendations you may have for blogs and podcasts via comments on this site or in an e-mail to lifehabits@gmail.com.2008-11-1832 minLife Habits MentoringLH24 - Managing StressFeeling stressed? Karel devotes this episode to a set of ideas and skills to develop into routine habits to help you manage stress on a day-to-day basis. After summarizing the ever popular insightful famous quotes on the topic, Karel starts by helping you understand your circle of influence then describes a series of practical techniques and encourages listeners to try them and assess progress in using them. He also briefly outlines but doesn't provide the detailed instructions for practicing a technique called Progressive Muscle Relaxation. Here is some further information on this technique.2008-10-2729 minLife Habits MentoringLH20 - Fostering CreativityEveryone wants to be more creative but few know how to go about it. After reviewing some insightful and thought-provoking famous quotes on the topic, Karel details 10 ideas for fostering creativity. The approaches are applicable to work situations involving products, services, and processes but equally to your personal and home life. At the end of the episode, Karel also asks for input on a suggestion for improving the podcast series by providing short 5-8 minute daily refresher podcast episodes.2008-09-0631 minLife Habits MentoringLH14 - Sex DifferencesThe sexes are different. Karel reviews some surprising recent research findings regarding gender differences, provides some personal context for the topic, and then summarizes 10 ideas for developing some good skills in this area which can be honed into life habits. Karel deals with topics having to do with equality, ideas for cross-gender learning yielding optimized androgyny, and advice regarding the celebration of one's gender including its strengths and advantages. Karel recommends the book "Why Gender Matters" by Leonard Sax which can also be found at audible.com.2008-07-0733 minLife Habits MentoringLH13 - Taming TechnologyTechnology pervades all aspects of our lives. This episode provides you with advice to make technology work for you rather than you being a slave to it. Karel gives advice on how to control the inputs, which are often technology interruptions, and the outputs, which are your ways of taking action. He also provides his usual list of 10 items to consider in this case to optimize the aspects of your life that have to do with technology. During the podcast, Karel mentions several products or tools. Here are the links to those that were mentioned, audible.com, post-it notes, Facebook...2008-06-2238 minLife Habits MentoringLH8 - Authentic ParentingKarel Vredenburg2008-05-1137 minLife Habits MentoringLH4 - The Power of the MindThe mind is amazingly powerful. We can either control it or be controlled by it. This episode is all about being aware of what your mind is capable of doing when you don't control it and, once you're aware of it, to take control. Karel quotes Marcus Aurelius, who said, "You have the power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this and you will find strength". Karel gives a few examples of the power of the mind and the ways in which it can take control without our knowledge.2008-03-1626 minLife Habits MentoringLH3 - Staying PositiveOne of the most important habits to learn is to stay positive no matter what the stimulus and now matter what the context. Karel starts off this episode by quoting Helen Keller who said, "when one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us". The episode includes a story about a university coach who was overly negative but whose behavior changed dramatically when confronted to an unwavering positive reaction. We have the power to decide how to react to...2008-03-0920 minLife Habits MentoringLH2 - Time ManagementKarel Vredenburg focuses on time management in this episode. You might be thinking, "I don't have time for that!" but after listening and taking the advice given you will have a lot more time to devote to the important items in your life. Karel starts off by quoting Thomas Edison who said, "Time is really the only capital that any human being has, and the only thing he can't afford to lose." to reinforce the importance of valuing time and thus managing it effectively. Karel discusses taking control of your time, yearly and weekly time scales, prioritizing the roles you...2008-02-2231 minLife Habits MentoringLH1 - Overview & Setting PrioritiesKarel Vredenburg welcomes listeners to this new podcast series and provides an overview of the content, format, and frequency. He also introduces the first topic - starting with the end in mind and finishes up by inviting listeners to provide feedback via the website or gmail.2008-02-0214 min