Dynamic

Dynamic It doesn’t take being an employment expert to realize that workplaces are evolving in the 21st century. Still, it may come as a surprise to discover that recruiters are looking for “superstars,” “ninjas” and “wizards” to “work hard, play hard” on a “tight-knit team,” in a job that for whatever reason involves “nerf guns.”A new project published on United Kingdom job aggregator AdView compiles the most popular words among the copious amounts of jargon job seekers have to sift through to try to understand listings (see the full list below). Some of the terms on the list are all too familiar: “Dynamic,” “proactive,” “self-starter” - words that mean nothing but encompass everything. But other terms are even vaguer: Employers are apparently hoping to find “rockstars” fond of “blue sky thinking” who “kick it into the long grass.” And somehow, “ping-pong” fits into the equation?This lingo may fuel confusion - and frankly prove emotiona lly upsetting to those of us who were told we couldn’t be wizards when we grew up because they “didn’t exist” (thanks, Mom). But there’s a reason why recruiters are changing how they talk about work, and it’s kind of our fault.So we’re ninjas now?In an economy where skill shortages are the norm, companies are desperate to recruit the best talent they can to keep their businesses running smoothly. Part of their tactic is to come up with catchy job titles that appeal to young people who want to do good for the world, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article. Incorporating “evangelist” or “wizard” into a job listing does more than just imbue a role with purpose; for companies that have been around for a while, it shows a potential applicant that executives are willing to adapt and modernize.As one might suspect, there are indeed downsides to these catchy titles, the Journal reports. They will likely be less searchable for older applicants, and people in t he workforce may have trouble defining what a “recruitment ninja” actually means on a one-page resume when they look for future opportunities.Whether positive or negative, the trend has taken off as companies across the country and in Europe try to rebrand their culture as “synergistic” and “incentivized.” New age jargon that clouds the specificities of a role continues to gain traction, with cities known for hipster, youthful vibes taking a special liking to the terms.According to the AdView project, Seattle, and San Francisco were the guiltiest cities for using jargon, and other cities across California as well as Austin, Texas, ranked high. Far lower on the list were metropolises such as New York, Detroit,  and Philadelphia.But even major political and financial hubs are jumping aboard the jargon cruise. Washington, D.C., and London were both among the top 10 guiltiest cities for using jargon, though neither capital is especially known for its hip workforce.So what do es all the jargon mean? Well, it gives employees more agency - now, they can be “shine artists” at shoeshine places or PR ninjas at their corporate office. But it also means that job listings are getting that much more homogenous, misleading, and imprecise for job seekers who just want to know if they’re qualified and whether to apply.Here’s the gist: For those of us who dreamed of going to Hogwarts, this is our moment. You’re a wizard, random applicant, just leave the wand at home. But for everyone else, let the jargon headache ensue - it’s going to be a wild ride.The 40 most used buzzwords in U.S. job listings1. Fast-paced 2. Dynamic 3. Team player 4. Detail-orientated 5. Action-orientated 6. Self-starter 7. Proactive 8. Deliverables 9. Leverage 10. Proven track-record 11. Results-orientated 12. Can-do attitude 13. Actionable 14. Action plan 15. High-growth 16. Impactful 17. Groundbreaking 18. Benchmark 19. Disruptive 20. Growth opportunity 21. Synergy 22. Superstar 23. Go the extra mile 24. Go-getter 25. Win-win 26. Pain points 27. Think outside the box 28. Work hard, play hard 29. Plan of action 30. Results focussed 31. Rockstar 32. Brainstorm 33. Ping pong 34. Ninja 35. Strategizing 36. Independent thinker 37. Wizard 38. Doer 39. Tight-knit team 40. Laser-focused %%title%% I had to overcome several obstacles while in the FBI Academy as I trained to become an FBI agent. I needed to learn how to stay calm in the face of daily stress because I found it difficult to pass the physical fitness requirements.Among the many lessons I learned along the way about how to stay calm is this: it’s important that we understand the obstacles that we face and not run from them. I found a natural ally in the Stoic philosophy.The dictionary describes a stoic like this:  Being Stoic is being calm and almost without any emotion. When you’re Stoic, you don’t show what you’re feeling and you also accept whatever is happening. The noun Stoic is a person who’s not very emotional. The adjective stoic describes any person, action, or thing that seems emotionless and almost blank.This is misleading because Stoics are very aware of their emotions and go to great lengths to understand them. There’s none of that  stiff upper lip  nonsense with them; Mr. Spock was  not  a Stoic.They feel every emotion as acutely as anyone else. They acknowledge, experience, and then domesticate them in order to achieve inner calm. In other words, they keep control of their emotions so they can stay calm in the face of daily stress. They developed  mental toughness  to get through hard times.Stoic philosophy asks us to differentiate between what we can change and what we can’t. We can’t control the weather, stock market, our genetic makeup, or the rudeness of a stranger. We can yell and shout but it won’t make a difference. We can wish and hope but no matter how hard we try, there are many things we can’t change or control.Since we can’t control external events, we need to focus on the things we can control- ourselves and our response to external events. It’s a philosophy that reminds us that the world can be unpredictable; we need to strive to be steadfast and develop a strong mind so we can be in control of ourselves.In other words, we need to grow up, s top feeling sorry for ourselves, and take responsibility for our own actions.The Stoics believed that fulfillment should be based on behavior rather than words, on the things we can control and not those we can’t. They were not idle philosophers who sat on a porch and pontificated; they were people of action who solved their problems on a battlefield, not in a classroom.Leaders like Marcus Aurelius found a stoic attitude prepared them for failure and guarded them against the arrogance of success.I know how hard it can be to maintain a positive attitude when you feel you’re in over your head but here is what I learned from the Stoics about how to stay calm in the face of daily stress:1.  Be mindful of your dayWhen at work, we fantasize about a vacation; on vacation, we worry about the work that’s piled up on our desk. We dwell on intrusive memories from the past and imagine the glory that lies ahead of us. Anywhere but here, our minds pop in and out of the present moment. As a result, our thoughts and emotions control us, something the Stoics warn against.Jon Kabat-Zinn  wrote, “Ordinary thoughts course through our mind like a deafening waterfall. We need to rest in stillness- to stop doing and focus on just being.” Living in the moment is also called mindfulness, and Kabat-Zinn is the biomedical scientist who introduced meditation into mainstream medicine.When we become mindful, we observe our thoughts from moment to moment but we don’t judge them. Mindfulness requires us to be with our thoughts just as they are, neither good nor bad, and not grasp the positive thoughts or shove away the negative ones.Acceptance of a negative emotion doesn’t mean you have to like what produced the negativity. It simply means you accept that certain things are beyond your control. The anger, jealousy, or pain is there whether you like it or not. Just embrace the emotion- sadness, stress, pain, or anger is there whether you like it or not.According to Kabat-Zinn, a cceptance of the present moment has nothing to do with resignation. Acceptance doesn’t tell you what to do; what happens next and what you choose to do comes out of your understanding of this moment.“True fulfillment is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing. The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not.”- SenecaHow To Make It Work For You: Read  â€œFull Castrophe Living” by Jon Kabat-Zinn. He writes about his medically-proven stress reduction program based on mindfulness. It gave rise to a whole new field in medicine and psychology. He illustrates how mind-body approaches derived from meditation and yoga can help us stay calm in the face of daily stress so we can establish greater balance of body and mind.2. Select with careA  recent study  of 5,000 top performers in business yielded a surprise. The study found that the highest-ranked performers were not those who did the most.Nor was a better ability to organize or delegate. Instead, top performers accepted fewer tasks and then obsessed over them. Whenever they could, they carefully selected which priorities, tasks, meetings, customers, ideas or steps to undertake and which to let go.They then applied intense, targeted effort on those few priorities in order to excel. Talent, effort and luck mattered, but not so much.“You are living as if destined to live forever; your own frailty never occurs to you; you don’t notice how much time has already passed, but squander it as though you had a full and overflowing supply - though all the while that very day which you are devoting to somebody or something may be your last.”- SenecaHow To Make It Work For You: Focus is the key when you want to pursue goals with value ra ther than stick with the status-quo. You do not need to work longer hours to outperform; you need to set your priorities and then pour your blood, sweat, and tears into those areas. It’s easier to stay calm in the face of daily stress once you select the important goals in your life that produce value for you.3. Quiet the inner nagDistractions often occur when our inner nag starts to fret about all the things that need to get done. As a result, intrusive thoughts constantly interrupt our productivity, and we end up second-guessing our choices.Research behind the  Zeigarnik Effect  proves that the unconscious mind needs the conscious mind to plan how to finish tasks or accomplish goals. That’s why the inner nag keeps fretting about all that needs to be done. When this happens, it’s impossible to stay calm in the face of daily stress.“Today I escaped from anxiety. Or no, I discarded it, because it was within me, in my own perceptions not outside.”- Marcus AureliusHow To Make It Work For You: Sit down in a quiet place with a pen and paper and let your thoughts ramble. Whether it’s small or large, important or not, write down every single thing that either needs a decision or has your attention. Don’t take the time to prioritize the items on your To-Do list at this point. Just listen to the voice of that inner nag and write down whatever pops up. 4. Identify the stepsFBI firearms training showed me to how to narrow my focus to the one thing that needs attention immediately (front-sight) while at the same time registering awareness of the bigger picture of other things around me (the target).In the same way, your conscious mind may now be focused on a new goal, but the unconscious mind still sees everything else that needs to get done. It needs closure and it will continue to create intrusive thoughts that won’t go away until you’ve turned your attention back to those other tasks that also need to be addressed.In his book,  Getting Things Done, David Allen talks about the importance of identifying Action Steps after you’ve created your To-Do List. The list by itself doesn’t narrow your focus enough when you have lots of priorities clamoring for your attention. You continue to create anxiety for the unconscious mind because it needs more than a goal- it needs a plan! It needs an action step. Prioritize the to-do list you created in Step 3. You’ve addressed all the tasks that your unconscious brain is anxious about, but now you need to prioritize each item according to importance. Beside each item on the prioritized To-Do list, identify the specific next action step to be taken regarding that item. For example, if you need to buy a birthday present, write down “Drive to Nordstrom tomorrow.” The unconscious mind needs specifics like time, place, and opportunity. Once the plan is formed, the unconscious stops nagging with constant reminders. If you have a presentation to make at 8:00 am, your unconscious mind wants to know exactly what needs to be done. You may have 100 other items that also need attention, but you can relax and not worry about the inner nag bothering you again about it if you make a plan to review your notes at 7:00 am that morning. It is human nature to finish what we start, and front-sight focus is how we pay full attention to one goal at a time so we can be successful. Although millennials sometimes get a bad rap in the media - not all of us are on our phones 24/7, thank you very much - no one can deny that we’re somewhat trendsetters when it comes to the food and beverage industry. Since the millennial generation currently has thegreatest buying power   in today’s food and beverage market, it’s no surprise that when millennial foodies make it clear that something is trendy, restaurants and grocers are quick to supply more of it (ever wondered why there are so many different build-your-own salad places?). Food suppliers spend big bucks trying to figure out what will be this year’s trendiest food-related habits and favorite items among millennial consumers. Thanks to them, we were able to uncover the seven millennial foodie trends that you’ll likely see more of in 2019.1. More millennials are dining at homeMenu prices at restaurants across the United States are expected to  steadily increasein 2019. As eating out becomes less affordable and supermarket prices  stay steady, more millennials are opting to eat in. A recent study by  Better Homes Gardensindicated that 93 percent of millennials spend at least four nights a week dining in. Our collective decision to eat in more might be spurred by the booming meal kit market, better-prepared foods at the supermarket and the fact that many of us make Netflix-and-dinner a nightly ritual.2. CBD-infused drinks and foods are becoming more mainstream and popularWhen talking about Cannabidiol  (CBD), we’re referring to a compound derived from hemp that mellows you  without getting you high and that  has been linked  to pain relief in some. As more jurisdictions in North America legalize marijuana in one form or another, more CBD-infused foods and beverages are appearing on restaurant menus across the country. Vermont-based organic eatery  Green Goddess Cafe  is leading the trend with “chill-latte” infused with CBD oil and CBD-enhanced tonic juices. NYC-based bakery  Swee ts by CHLOE  has a CBD-infused chocolate ice cream cake called  Mary Jane  that has CBD frosting and green sprinkles (clever).3. Low-carb diets are here to stayIn 2018, the  ketogenic diet  - one that involves eating a high-fat diet with little-to-no carbs  - became increasingly trendy among millennials. That trend is likely here to stay in 2019. According to a recent  Business Insider survey  that included 1,037 participants, the most popular “dieting choice” among millennials surveyed was a low-carb diet. The Atkins and keto diets are among the most popular low-carb diets out there, but new offshoot diets that are gaining popularity include the ketotarian diet (a plant-based version of keto) and the mild keto diet (one that allows more carbs per day in your diet).4. Millennials are fed up with inhumane farming practices and looking for alternativesIt’s no surprise that sales of plant-based meats grew  over 23 percent  from the start of 2018 to 2019. But this year, millenni als who are looking to eat meat in a more sustainable way might finally be able to try the first ever lab-grown meat product.  JUST, a California company that specializes in plant-based eggs and other products, plans to sell its first ever “slaughter-free” meat this year with its  lab-grown chicken product. The movement is likely to spark controversy, but we’re willing to bet that it’ll be well-received among many millennials who are increasingly turning to plant-based diets.5. Millennials are prioritizing eating for gut healthWe’re becoming increasingly aware that a healthy gut is closely tied to overall wellness - you can’t have one without the other. That’s why more and more millennials are seeking out foods and ingredients that are meant to promote gut health. In 2018, digestive health sales were  expected to exceed  $4.9 billion. According to Whole Foods Market, sales of probiotics-enhanced pantry staples like granola, oatmeal, nut butters, soup and nutrition bar s  will increase  throughout 2019.6. We like food that’s tailored to our specific tastesMore than previous generations, millennials are known for prioritizing individuality over much else. When it comes to our food choices,  customization is key, and a trend that will keep growing steadily well into 2019. We like food that’s tailored to our specific tastes and nutritional concerns. That’s why  build-your-own blank  fast-casual places like Sweetgreen and poke hot spots are trending. Restaurants that offer custom-built meals will keep thriving this year, and more cuisines, like Indian and Korean, will likely jump onto the build-your-own bandwagon.7. We  adore  food mashups and fusionsRamen burgers?  Check. Cronuts?  Check. Millennials love mashups of different foods and cuisines, and the food industry has followed suit in recent years. Restaurants that combine two different cuisines to create a unique menu gained popularity among millennials last year and they’ll likely  keep trending  in 2019. Our favorite food mashups of the past? Oreos baked inside of cookies, nacho lasagna and spaghetti bread.  This post was originally published on Swirled.