Living A Guilt Free Life Philosophy Essay

Living A Guilt Free Life Philosophy Essay There are millions of people who are constantly living with feelings of guilt. Some feel guilty if they eat a rich dessert. Some feel guilty whenever something goes wrong, thinking they should have tried to prevent it. Some feel guilty because they recovered from some accident while others did not. Some feel guilty about their past behavior. Some just feel guilty about anything and everything. It is crucial that you dig deep inside you and find out what it is that you truly feel. You need to realize that abusers will abuse no matter what you say or do and that you are not responsible for their behavior. Do not let your guilt mislead you into believing that it is you who did something wrong. You need to accept that you are the one being wronged and you need to speak out or seek help. Survivors Guilt is best described as a mental condition. It occurs when someone believes that he or she must have done wrong by being a survivor or a tragic or traumatic event. You may feel guilty that you survived a car accident that killed a family member. You may thing that you did not deserve to live through a war. You probably feel that you should have died instead of your mother. Survivors guilt can be very destructive. It can lead you to condemn or punish yourself for being alive. You can become debilitated by depression. The best way to deal with survivors guilt is to talk about what happened. It will help you accept the fact that there are others who feel such feelings and that you are not alone. You need to let grief take it full course. Allow yourself to grieve. Try to find a support group or network. Seek help from professional counselors. They can guide you through the recovery process. Break The Guilt Cycle Guilt often turns into a cycle that is self-perpetuating. What happens is you do something, you feel guilty, you condemn or punish yourself, and you repeat the behavior whenever the opportunity presents itself. The cycle keeps repeating itself because you are unable to take responsibility of what you do or for changing yourself. How do you begin to take responsibility? You must try to be honest. You need to honestly consider what part you play in the situation and accept it. If you are in an abusive relationship, you need to honestly look deep inside and accept that you did not do anything wrong. how to let go of guilt If you are feeling guilty for having done something wrong (healthy guilt), you need to take action to fix the situation. There are so many people who are just mega-gluttons for self-punishment; guilt is like a huge anchor weighing us down. It is easy to say Im sorry-it wont kill you. If you have offended someone by saying something offensive, apologize. You may find that it is not only more challenging to recognize that your busy work schedule is putting your marriage at risk, but also to actually make changes in your schedule. Healthy guilt keeps us in line. It tells us that we need to do something different from what we are currently doing so that we can fix relationships that are valuable to us. The sooner we make amends for what we have done wrong, the sooner the guilt will leave us alone. Accept that you did something wrong, make amends and move on. Learn from your behavior The purpose of guilt is not to make us miserable. Guilt is trying to tell us that there is something we can learn from what has happened. If we learn, it will be less likely that we will make the very same mistake again. Let us say that you have made a hurtful comment to someone, your guilt is telling you that (a) you should apologize and (b) take time to think about what you are going to say before you say it. If the guilt that you are feeling is not trying to correct an actual wrong behavior (unhealthy guilt), then there is not much for you to learn. So instead of wracking your brains on how to change the behavior, you need to understand why such a behavior is making you feel so guilty. Let us say that you feel guilty about not being a good mother because you are not with your kids 247. Since you are a single parent, you need to work so you can provide a good future for your kids. There is no need for you to feel guilty. You are working for your kids sake. Being their shadow and staying glued to them 247 wont put food on the table for them to eat. No human being anywhere on this earth, or elsewhere, is perfect. Even the person you look up to as a hero has some flaws. Striving to be 100% in control all the time and making sure every tiny thing is perfect is a recipe for disaster. All of us make mistakes and there are so many of us who take a path that can make us feel so guilty later in our lives. All we need to do is realize that we made a mistake and accept that we are not perfect. Spending every waking moment regretting something is not going to change anything. All it will do is disable you from moving on in your life. You are not perfect, neither is the rest of humanity.

A Long Walk to Freedom- Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela in his book, Long Walk to Freedom argues through the first five parts that a black individual must deal, coop, and grow through a society that is hindering their lives† with apartheid and suppression of their rightful land. Rolihlanla Mphakanyiswa or clan name, Madiba was born on July 18, 1918 in a simple village of Mvezo, which was not accustomed to the happenings of South Africa as a whole. His father was an respected man who led a good life, but lost it because of a dispute with the magistrate. While, his mother was a hard-working woman full of daily choirs. His childhood was full of playing games with fellow children and having fun. In school, Mandela was given his English name of Nelson. After his father†s death, he moved to love with a regent, who was a well-off individual and owed Nelson†s father for a previous favor. The next several years were full of schooling for Nelson. These schools opened Nelson†s eyes to many things, which we will discuss later. He and the regent†s son, Justice decided to travel to Johannesburg and see what work they could find. They left on their journey without the regent†s permission, but eventually escaped his power and settled down in the town. In Johannesburg, Nelson settled down in a law firm as an assistant and went to University of South Africa and Witwatersrand University to further his law education. Witswatersrand University brought many new ideas to Nelson and awakened a spirit inside of him. The next several years, Nelson met many new political friends and began his involvement in the ANC. Also during this time, he met Evelyn and they became married. Gradually Nelson†s political involvement grew and his family life declined. Nelson and his good friend, Oliver Tambo opened a law firm, which took up most of Nelson†s time. Evelyn mothered two of Nelson†s children, but the gradually grew apart. Now, Nelson was an influential political individual and bans and jailing began to follow him around. One day, a young woman came into his life by the name of Winnie and they got married. Winnie gave birth to two more of Nelson†s children. As time passed, Nelson†s spirit for freedom grew more and more each day. Though his life was full of bannings and jailings, he never gave up his fight, but he knew that the south African government was becoming agitated with him and the ANC. The South African government became ruthless and strict and this forced Nelson to leave his family. After he left his family, he went underground. Nelson†s life has been full of hardships and decisions, but his heart for the struggle has never faltered. Now let us examine Nelson in closer detail. Nelson is an individual who fought through many hardships, but was also faced with decisions that affected his future, his family, and his livelihood. As we look at Nelson deeper, we can see many interesting points. He was opened to new ideas and beliefs through his experiences in the schools of Heraldtown and Fort Hare, but knew there was something better. He decided to travel to Johannesburg to find new and greater opportunities. While, in Johannesburg, he believed education would be a key asset. While working for a small firm, he took classes at University of South Africa and eventually Wits University. Here is where his mind and social life flourished. He interacted with great minds and influential political individuals. He talked to many Africans without proper education, who contained more knowledge and better social skills than many Africans with education. But, he still persisted in acquiring his B. A. Wits University brought his life to new extents. He was also talking to Indians, Coloureds, and whites for the first time in his life and Becoming friends with many more prominent African individuals. Nelson soon joined the ANC and became very prominent in the fight for freedom. Nelson was always open to listening to new ideas, but when his was just starting his fight. He believed that just Africans should fight the struggle and that the Indians, Coloureds, and communists would hinder their fight. As the ANC grew, Nelson also became well known. He was part of the Youth League, another beneficial part of the ANC. Nelson was not president yet, but was powerful enough to voice is opinions, which many people listened to and believed in. As Nelson†s political involvement grew, the police became more aware of him. Nelson received ban after ban, which ranged from months to years. He also experienced jail time constantly. Eventually, the police†s pursuit of him forced him to go underground. Nelson was also becoming more open-minded. He now believed that the fight should involve the Indians and the Coloureds. He also believed that Communism did have some good points, but he would never accept the whole communism aspect. There were many freedom fighters in South Africa. One that stood out was Dr. Xuma. Dr. Xuma was friend of Nelson and the president of the ANC, but the struggle forces many hardships on one†s life. Nelson gave everything up to pursue his fight for freedom. He left his family, his prospering law firm, and his past for the struggle. Dr. Xuma believed in the same ideas as Nelson, but would not give up his prominence with the whites and his wealthy occupation for the struggle. This decision had to be made by many freedom fighters. Nelson gave his life for the fight. While, Dr. Xuma thought his career was more important. Now let us look closer at some issues seen through Mandela†s book. Through this paragraph, I will compare foreign influence seen in Long Walk to Freedom to foreign influence seen in Mexico through Professor Hornibrook†s lectures and notes. As I have seen through your lectures, South Africa was affected by foreign influence from the British and the Dutch. Mandela†s autobiography helps give more detailed accounts of the European influence seen in South Africa. Ever since Mandela was born, the European†s power affected his people. European influence could be seen through every aspect of life. In Mandela†s school, he was given an English name and this was because â€Å"this was the custom among Africans in those days and was undoubtedly due to the British bias of our education. â€Å"(14) Also, â€Å"the education I received was a British education, in which British ideas, British culture, British institutions were automatically assumed to be superior. There was no such thing as African culture. â€Å"(14) This shows that it was difficult to get away from the British influence even for children in school. The British and the Dutch governments passed several acts that were instituted to fight against the Africans freedom struggle. The Africans struggle for independence was slowly growing and this scared the government. A new term was being seen and it was called â€Å"apartheid. † The government enacted laws and acts that prohibited Africans from doing Many things that were vital to their fight and survival. The Group Areas Act was one example. This act called for each racial group to be separated into separate areas. Another act was the Population Registration Act, which showed that race had become the most important and influential aspect of South African law and society. Another act was the Suppression of Communism Act. This act called for all communists to be brought to trial. The police could arrest anyone they believed were trying to overthrow the government by violence and communist ways. Lastly, the government put bans on individuals who were becoming to involved in the struggle and finally the government banned the ANC and all other liberation groups. This ban now made freedom fighting was illegal in South Africa. The effect of foreign influence was drastic. Africans lost sense of African culture in schools. While, the foreign government tried everything to break down the Africans chance for liberty. The foreign influence seen in South Africa crushed the African†s hope and survival. While this was occurring in South Africa, Mexico was also seeing the effect of foreign influence. Americans and Europeans came into Mexico and gained much power. Haciendas helped their rise and foreign investment in many minerals and oil. But, Mexico did not approve of this and changed it. In 1917, Mexico created a new constitution, which limited foreign investment and promised land reform. This showed that Mexico did not want an overpopulation of foreigners and would not allow it. While, in oil, the foreigners controlled much of the oil, which Mexico had an abundance of. In 1938, oil workers went on strike and the companies would not give in, but instead of allowing foreign influence to become too powerful. The Mexican leader, Cardenas sent in arbitrators. The arbitrators called for the one/third pay increase, but the companies refused. Therefore, Cardenas nationalized oil and limited the power of foreign influence in Mexico. Now, Mexican oil was controlled by PEMEX, which is controlled only by Mexico. Mexico become a large influence in the oil market during the oil crisis, but also went though hyperinflation and eventually needed some foreign help. But, the Mexicans would not allow foreign influences to dominate the Mexican state as foreigners have affected South Africa. Now I will examine another issue seen in the book. In this paragraph, I will examine the movement seen in Long Walk to Freedom to the movement seen in China during the 1900†³s. In South Africa, the movement I saw was the Africans fighting for freedom. In their time of struggle, they had little help from those with power. The liberation movement involved peasants, educated, and well-off Africans. But, the government did what ever they could to put down this struggle. They set up organizations, such as the ANC, Youth League, and others, but as seen in other places the wealthy and powerful would not help the struggle. Many people were blind to the struggle. â€Å"Most of these wardresses had no idea why we were in prison, and gradually began to discover what we were fighting for and why we were willing to risk jail in the first place. (249) Many individuals did not realize what the Africans were really fighting for and why the government was harassing them, but slowly they were learning. â€Å"Seeing prominent and educated white women discussing serious matters with a black man on the basis of perfect equality could only lead to the weakening of the wardresses† apartheid assumptions. â€Å"(249) The government tried to separate whites from blacks so whites would not turn sympathetic towards the Africans fight. This scared feeling made the government acts and laws stricter and harsher towards the African struggle. Therefore, in South Africa, the movement received little help from the people who had influence in the country and the help they truly needed. While, in China, their movement involved their peasants and they had help, which truly helped their struggle. Mao stated that â€Å"In a very short time,†¦ several hundred million peasants will rise like a mighty storm†¦ They will sweep all the imperialists, warlords, corrupt officials, local tyrants and evil gentry into their graves†¦ â€Å"(Mao, 24) Here Mao stated that the peasants would destroy the landlords and corrupt individuals. He helped the peasants by making some reforms. He gave peasants land and made marriages a free choice. He also instituted the 100 Flowers Campaign. This campaign allowed peasants to speak out and have freedom of speech. We see here that the peasants had help in their struggle, while the Africans had very little. This assistance helped the peasants to get the things they were fighting for. Mandela†s Long Walk to Freedom, helped show the rise of an incredible individual, who fought with many of his countrymen against the oppression and apartheid of white supremacy in South Africa. Throughout the book, I have seen Nelson†s open-mindedness. Nelson always listened to communist ideas and Indian goals, eventhough he did not agree with them. Nelson faced many hardships through his struggle and this had to cause some resentment against his oppressors. But if anyone would not be bias in his writing, I would say it would be Nelson Mandela. He has showed in his book that he is great individual and that he will not let his past feeling cloud his writing. You can see his feelings in his book and that is what makes it so good, but I believe he does not hide anything from us on both sides of the stories. In conclusion, Mandela†s autobiography is a brilliant book written by an incredible individual. I wish I could of read the whole book for this essay, but that was not possible. It is hard to write an essay on the first 5 parts when I know some things that happened further in the book. I did not know if I should include that information in the essay, but I did not involve it. This book helped to show the other side of the story. We always hear the victor†s story and in this class we got to hear the other side of the story.

A Whack on the Side of the Head – Paper

Creativity can be the source of fame and success, but tapping into this resource can be difficult for some. Some say that you are either born with or without creativity, while others argue that it is learned and absorbed throughout a person’s lifetime. In either case, there has to be a trigger that can jump-start the creative process for those who are in need a creative spark. Roger von Oech’s A Whack on the Side of the Head is a short book describing how to figuratively â€Å"whack† some creativity into people.Roger von Oech states that there are ten mental blocks that hinder creativity, and sometimes, all people really need is a whack on the head to think differently and more clearly about their current situations. Members of society do not have a need to be creative for most of what they do, but for when people need to â€Å"think something different† these mental locks need to be identified and opened. Without unlocking the mind of its creative hindran ces, new technologies and inventions would cease to exist.Roger von Oech’s book discusses the various techniques and tips to whack people’s thinking, and tries to enlighten his readers with mentally stimulating puzzles and theories. A Whack on the Side of the Head is primarily sectioned into the ten mental locks that von Oech feels are forcing people to think â€Å"more of the same† in multiple situations. Each lock must be identified and overcome to progress toward a more creative and fulfilling lifestyle. The first mental lock is looking for the right answer. The educational system has taught us to always look for the single, correct answer.This is acceptable in most academic situations, but the problem with applying this â€Å"one right answer† philosophy in real world applications is that people stop searching for answers once they have found one that works. There are multiple solutions to problems, and just because one seems correct, it may not be th e most correct. Looking for the second and third right answers can lead to more efficient and innovative production. The second mental lock is thinking that something isn’t logical. There are two ways of thinking, hard and soft. Things with a hard side have one correct answer, while soft sided thinking has many correct answers.Also, there are two main phases in the creative development of ideas. The first phase is the imaginative phase, where one generally plays with ideas and asks many â€Å"what if† and â€Å"what rules can I break† type questions. On the other hand, practical thinking evaluates and executes ideas by asking questions such as â€Å"what is the deadline† and â€Å"who can help us? † Soft thinking is quite effective in the imaginative phase when searching for new ideas, while hard thinking is best used during the practical phase when one is preparing to carry and idea into action.Both thinking techniques should be used to produce mo re and better ideas, even when a certain style of thinking does not seem logical. The next creativity lock is always following the rules. Roger von Oech doesn’t become cliche by saying â€Å"rules are meant to be broken† but he does insist that some rules should be challenged. In an ever-changing world, some rules are outdated and should adapt the appropriate, current way of living. For example, basketball used to have a jump ball after every basket. In 1938, after almost a half decade of basketball, this ruling finally was changed in order to make game play more continuous.It just made sense to break and change this rule for so long, but no one ever suggested it. One should be flexible with the rules. Breaking and bending the rules won’t necessarily lead to creative ideas; it is one possibility. Many rules outlive the purpose to which they were intended, and thus should be occasionally challenged. Always being practical is an encumbrance to creativity. This wor ld was built by practical people, but they knew when to unleash their creative side and achieve an imaginative frame of mind. The author proposes asking â€Å"what if? questions throughout your day to try to spark some creativity. These questions can then be used as stepping stones towards a new idea, and although the questions will not always yield brilliance, they will surely make someone more productive. Another strange, yet effective, manner of being impractical is imagining yourself as the idea. Let’s say, for example, that you are in charge of designing a new parking meter. You could ask questions such as â€Å"What does it feel like when my time has expired? † or â€Å"What would I look like if I took credit cards? These silly questions could actually initiate a completely new design of debit card system parking meters. Being impractical not only allows ourselves to think differently, but it can almost always lead to new ideas. Roger von Oech’s fifth me ntal lock is thinking that play is frivolous, as well as pausing your mind. One must break free from their dull tactics and allow themselves to play with an idea. Having fun is one of the most positive motivators in the workplace and it is contagious, causing others around you to want to get in on the action.By playing and having fun, one can rid any preconceived notions about the proper way to do things and truly direct productive and creative thinking towards a new idea. Along with fun, taking a break to let your mind unwind can be useful in trying to solve a problem. Many times, people will have a problem on their mind all day but will never come up with a solution. Then on their drive home, while thinking about absolutely nothing, an idea, almost magically, pops into their head and they have their solution. Software developer Rick Tendy says, â€Å"I never try to solve a problem by solving it. By putting your problem on the mental back burner, one can put the problem into persp ective, it allows the seed of the problem to grow over time, and lastly, it allows a person to approach the same problem later with new assumptions and focus. The next creative lock is saying to yourself â€Å"That’s not my area. † One shouldn’t rely too heavily on specializations when creating an idea. When this happens, a person many not only delimit their problems to too small an area, they may also stop looking for ideas in other fields.These people will stop searching for an answer because it is â€Å"an administrative problem† or â€Å"only a computer person would know this. † One has to look outside their area of expertise to find solutions. For example, if you are an engineer with a problem, it might be beneficial to think of how an artist or a teacher would find a solution. By looking at a problem from different perspectives, a whole new realm of creativity can be unlocked. ADD MORE. Trying not to be foolish is major way to limit creativit y and get stuck in a routine of being sensible with decisions.Conforming to society may make people feel safe and secure, but not one single invention has come from this thinking. Someone has to be foolish, by either consulting a fool or being the fool themselves. Roger von Oech says that a fool keeps people from always thinking the same things. In other words, even though they may be a fool, they bring a new way of thinking that is full of interesting and silly ideas. People must let their â€Å"stupid monitor† down and allow themselves to play with dumb ideas and see if they work. However, you must be prepared to laugh at yourself and not be worried about being embarrassed.Just like having fear of being wrong, one can’t expect to have silly ideas and most of them not work. The next creative mental lock is avoiding ambiguity. Creative minds think ambiguously and they let ideas be open to interpretation. Just because everyone has the same notions and ideas regarding a certain problem, doesn’t mean that it is correct, or the most correct. Avoiding ambiguity is an especially good idea in practical situations where the consequences of misunderstanding would be serious. In imaginative situations, however, this manner of thinking stifles your imagination and ingenuity.There is a place for ambiguity, perhaps not so much while evaluating and executing ideas, but certainly when you are searching for and playing with them. Another way to be ambiguous is to let an oracle decide, or in other words, use a random outside source. Let random, unexpected information stimulate your imaginations. Native American Indian medicine men used to let wet rawhide dry in the sun, and the resulting wrinkles in the leather would be their new hunting map where the wrinkles represented new trails for the hunters to follow.Ambiguity was used to solve the Native Americans problem of diminishing game on their current hunting trails, and can be used today in the same manner . The next mental lock incorporates many other locks. This lock is thinking â€Å"to err is wrong† or that one must be correct all of the time to have a positive result. You must be wrong to be creative. Inventors do not get things right the first, second, tenth, hundredth, and so on time. They may go years without finding the correct solution, but they are allowing narrowing in on the answer but allowing themselves to fail.Thomas Edison said that he knew 1,800 ways to â€Å"not† make a light bulb. Christopher Columbus thought he was finding a shorter route to India. One of Madame Curie’s failures was radium. Failures give us an opportunity to try a new approach. Maybe you find a new way to â€Å"not fail† which leads to a new idea. If you make an error, use it as a stepping stone to an idea you might have otherwise not discovered. As Woody Allen says, â€Å"If you’re not failing every now and again, it’s a sign you’re not trying any thing very innovative. † The last lock is simply thinking that you are not creative.If you want to be more creative, believe in the worth of your ideas, and have the persistence to continue building on them. With this type of attitude, you will be open to take more risks, learn how to fail, search for more than one answer, and occasionally break some rules. By giving yourself a creative license, you allow yourself to be silly, imaginative, and foolish even if that isn’t typically you. By applying all of the mental lock remedies, you will be on your way to a great idea, and by doing so, you will be able to whack yourself into creativity. ADD MORE.Now once you have an idea, you must use it. Someone can be the most creative person in the world and have millions of terrific ideas, but if those ideas aren’t carried into fruition, it is almost pointless. People who are successful in the creative process can master four key roles to allow themselves to move from incepti on into deployment. Each of these four roles embodies a different method of thinking. The first is the explorer who searches for new information and resources. The explorer pokes around in new areas and seeks out a variety of different information.The next role is the artist, whose responsibilities are to turn these resources and information into new ideas. The artist follows their intuition, asks â€Å"what if? ’ questions, and breaks or creates rules of their own. The third role is the judge who evaluates the merits and validity of the idea. The judge runs risk analyses, questions assumptions, and listens to their gut. The judge ultimately makes a decision on the idea. The last role is the warrior, whose sole responsibility is to carry an idea into action. You must have the courage and desire to do what is necessary to make your idea a reality.By mastering these roles, Roger von Oech says you will be a master of creativity. Roger von Oech has conducted creativity seminars with renowned companies such as CBS, Coca- Cola, GE, HP, and IBM to name a few. These companies all hired his services because they know of the true value of creativity throughout any phase of organizational behavior, individual, group, and organization. Organizational performance depends on individual performance from the entire work force. Hiring and molding creative workers is an excellent way to increase efficiency and boost morale in the office.Managers seek creative individuals for two basic reasons. One, they bring fresh thoughts which lead to better productivity. Secondly, they are frequently much better workers as they are not solely preoccupied with results, but rather the steps involved in achieving these results. Anyone can find an answer once, but what truly makes creative individuals an asset to an organization is their desire to find multiple correct answers in any scenario. Just as individuals are important, how groups of individuals collaborate with their creative m inds and ideas is beneficial to any company.Without a creative team of workers, a group would only be as strong and adaptive as its most intuitive member. For example, if a manager organizes a team of mostly uncreative workers, one can expect that this group will get its work done, but not offer any alternatives or advanced results. On the contrary, a group comprised of many creative minds will not only produce the desired results, they may in fact find better ways of solving problems and perhaps challenge rules to make the production more efficient.With creative mental locks slowing down idea creation, it can be seen as imperative to mold individuals into creative workers. Lastly, the entire organization will benefit from its employees ridding themselves of these deterring mental locks. This creative behavior processes give life to an organization. An organization thrives on its ability to be adaptive to change, and its ability to create the changes themselves. Apple revolutionized the concept of digital media with their iPod, and it was due to creative individuals who had disregard for the way other companies were thinking.This type of thinking is the mother of invention, which brings about a happy workforce, increased revenue, and job satisfaction. Improvements of individual, group, and organizational performance are an output of creative organizational behavioral changes and developments. This â€Å"whack in the head† thinking keeps the workplace from being monotonous and predictable, a characteristic that every organization hopes to avoid. In a society where companies race to put out the next best â€Å"tech toy,† it is crucial for any organization to heed Roger von Oech’s advice.Not only must every level of the organization be creative, they must have the will and desire to carry out their ideas into action. Creativity is a resource that will be valuable forever. Those organizations that have it will continue to be innovative, while those without will be forgotten about. The future will basically be dictated by innovative minds, and their ability to carry out brilliant ideas. A Whack on the Side of the Head was written more than 25 years ago, but all of the information is timeless.Organizational behavior has been, and always will be structured around the creative minds of the individuals, the camaraderie of the organization, and the overall effectiveness of the organization. Roger von Oech’s book demonstrates an importance on creativity that is sought after by every organization. The study of organizational behavior is a careful application of how people in groups and individuals act within an organization. Although creativity is only a single characteristic of people, it may be one of the most valued when groups are systematically studied.As stated before, the basic goal of any company is to take an idea or problem, and solve it with as little resources as possible. CEOs, program managers, and floor man agers alike could all benefit from this book both for personal development and to help their employees unlocked their minds. There will always come a time in the workplace where an individual or group will get stuck on a problem that will result in a negative effect all around them. By being creative, employees will be stimulating their mind and playing with ideas which lead to higher office morale.Interactions of workers is the whole principle behind organizational behavior, and more creative these workers are, the more positive and productive these individuals will be within their groups. A Whack on the Side of the Head has several practical applications in the workplace. Upon reading the book, a manager can use the knowledge attained to help employees solve problems by pinpointing which mental lock they need to overcome. Furthermore, these managers will also know the remedies that are stifling their workers. This book is a simple, yet enjoyable, read that can be processed on many levels.For the younger audience, this book is meant to create a future of limitless creativity by molding the mind. For the older, professional audience, this book retrains the mind to thinking differently and breaks old suffocating habits. WRITING STYLE. A Whack on the Side of the Head is a wonderful book for those looking to merely be more creative recreationally, or do so for the betterment of an organization. From an organizational behavior standpoint, Roger von Oech’s work will improve interactions individually, within a group, and among an entire organization by allowing new and exciting ideas flow freely from these now unlocked brains.

The Definition of Quest in Literature

A quest is an adventurous journey undergone by the main character or protagonist of a story. The protagonist usually meets with and overcomes a series of obstacles, returning in the end with the benefits of knowledge and experience from his quest. There are several elements to a quest in storytelling. Typically, there must be a protagonist, i.e. the quester; a stated reason to go on the quest; a place to go for the quest; challenges along the journey; and sometimes, the  real  reason for the quest - which is disclosed later on during the journey. Examples in Literature Can you think of a favorite novel, movie or play with a strong protagonist ready to go on a quest? Here are a few examples to get you started.  In J.R.R. Tolkiens The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins is persuaded by the wizard, Gandalf, to set out on a great quest with thirteen dwarves desirous of reclaiming their ancestral home from Smaug, a marauding dragon. L. Frank Baums  The Wonderful Wizard of Oz  features protagonist Dorothy, who is on a quest to find her way back home. In the meantime, shes joined on her journey by the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion who work together to find their way back to Kansas. Dorothy develops new understanding and self-knowledge during her sojourn of Oz, symbolized through her friends: brains, heart, and courage. In literature that spans more than one volume, such as  J. K. Rowlings  Harry Potter  series, J.R.R. Tolkiens  The Lord of the Rings, or Pierce Browns  Red Rising, there will often be a quest for the protagonist(s) in each volume which are part of the overall quest of the entire series.