Writing

1. Write a précis of the text.

2. Expand on the following.

The way to true self-esteem is through real achievement and real learning.

3. Write an essay on one of the following topics.

a) “Nothing in education is so astonishing as the amount of ignorance it accumulates in the form of inert facts” (Adams, H. Broons).

b) “He wishes not to seem, but to be, the best” (Aeschylus).

c) “Knowledge is power” (F. Bacon).

d) “Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man” (F. Bacon).

Text 3

How to plan for happiness

S. Lauer, B.J. Gebhardt

The most powerful and basic of all elements necessary to attract and keep people is happiness.

Employees who are happy in their jobs will work hard and well  and won’t leave.

So, how do you create happy employees? The first step, and a recurring theme of this summary, is to be happy yourself.

Employees are happier in a workplace run by managers who enjoy themselves, their work, and their employees. On the other hand, managers unhappy with themselves or their work inevitably cause their employees to be equally unhappy.

Four Principles of Happiness

Dr. Christian Almayrac, a French physician and management consultant, developed four simple principles of happiness. Follow them to be happy and create a happy workplace — and workforce.

Step 1. The Law of Happiness

Your enjoyment of your work is the most important thing for you and for all those around you.

How you handle work situations and relate to workers and colleagues depend on your state of mind.

For example, a manager who enjoys his or her work will lecture a tardy employee on punctuality in a more positive and constructive way than a manager who is unhappy or frustrated in his or her job.

Step 2. The Law of Linkage

You enjoy your work when you enjoy the thoughts you are thinking, and the stories you are telling, right now.

Happiness is linked to your thinking process. Think positively. If you think negatively, you’ll be unhappy.

To think positively, choose to think the thoughts and stories about your work that you enjoy thinking about  and avoid thinking about the rest.

Step 3. The Law of Spontaneity

Whenever necessary, ask yourself, “Am I enjoying this thought about my work? If the answer is not an immediate and spontaneous yes, then it’s a no.”

By requiring an immediate and spontaneous “yes!”, there is never any doubt about whether you are truly enjoying your thoughts.

Of course, you can’t always be enjoying your thoughts about yourself, your job, or your co-workers. So then what?

Step 4. The Law of Joyous Action

If you’re not enjoying your thought about work, either choose to enjoy that thought or drop that thought and choose an enjoyable one.

In other words, take control of your thoughts. As a manager your job is to take responsibility. The first thing you should take responsibility for is what you are thinking.

Manage your thoughts, and you’ll be surprised at how easy the rest of your work becomes.

That doesn’t mean you have to sugar-coat reality. No one enjoys themselves every minute of every day. Just don’t dwell on problems or unenjoyable thoughts one minute longer than you have to.

Who’s Happy and Why?

Social psychologist David G. Myers isolated four primary traits of a happy person.

1. Self-esteem. Happy people like themselves. When you think thoughts about yourself you don’t enjoy, you’re lowering your self-esteem. To raise it, think enjoyable thoughts.

2. Personal control. Happy people believe they control their destinies. As you learn to control your thoughts, you feel that you are controlling your destiny.

3. Optimism. Happy people are filled with hope. When you are in despair, you are thinking thoughts you don’t enjoy.

4. Extroversion. There are, no doubt, effective, efficient introverted managers. But most effective managers are outgoing.

E x e r c i s e s