Professional Development

The conscious (thinking) brain and the subconscious (emotional) brain

Our brain is a complex and fascinating organ. The thinking (conscious) brain operates at an intellectual level, giving us perspective and good problem-solving capability. When it works in healthy harmony with our emotional (subconscious) brain, we function at our best and can be at our most robust and resilient in dealing with whatever life throws at us. Research has shown that the emotional brain processes around 2 million pieces of information every second. In contrast, the thinking brain can hold only between five and nine things in conscious awareness at any one time. So, of necessity, all the pieces of information that the emotional brain deals with (like blinking, regulating blood pressure, telling us when we need food, etc., as well as the range of feelings and thoughts which it generates) need to be filtered before being brought into conscious awareness. The brain’s own filter mechanism is capable of developing and retaining unhelpful negative processes, the three most usual culprits being deletion, distortion and generalisation.

If at first you don’t succeed – take a different approach!

There are two ways of tackling a problem – logically and creatively. Most people use the former approach. However, many problems just cannot be solved logically, because we are used to making assumptions about the information that we gather in an effort to try and overcome the problem. It is important, with problem solving, to beware of having fixed ideas.

There are times when we talk to ourselves critically. Perhaps we just think it, or perhaps we voice it out loud. “I’ll never get this right.” “I’m such an idiot.”

Phrases like this are a sure sign that emotional hijacking is at work. If we become aware that this is going on, however, we can challenge the thought rather than become a helpless victim to it. Challenging allows us to better control our emotions. The emotions are sure to be giving us some message, but the real message is more than likely to be obscured by emotional hijacking and so we risk misinterpreting what is actually going on.

After months of determination your hard work has paid off, and you have now qualified as a Legal Secretary. Some of you may wish to further your qualifications and strive for a career as a Paralegal or even as a Solicitor or Barrister. Whilst others are satisfied that they have an excellent qualification to be proud of, does this mean it is the end of developing your knowledge and skills?

We all carry around a fair amount of emotional baggage – things which have annoyed or worried us, whether they are to do with work, home or our social life. These things can create emotional clutter in the mind unless we develop healthy ways to clear them out so we can concentrate better on what is good for us.

Words are only a very small part of communication.  While you are saying the words, your body may well be saying something else.  Or even if you don’t say anything, your body language will still have said it for you!  So here are the top ten tips to help you get your message across in the way you intend:

The typical work life of Legal Secretaries or Legal PAs, especially those working with top executives, is very challenging, time constraining and full of trying relationships often resulting from conflicts of interest.  Universally, it is believed that ineffective communication, unhealthy competition, personality clashes, conflicting interests, jealousy, time constraints and unclarified assumptions are the major causes of conflict.  Oftentimes, when conflict is not well managed, our emotions are negatively affected, as it leads to confusion, frustration and demotivation.  Conversely, where it is constructive and properly managed, it becomes a healthy tool for achieving greater performance, creativity and higher productivity.

Spring is a great time to see the process of renewal in the natural world and is a great time to take stock of our lives – what is working well for us, what is not working so well and seeing what changes we can make or influence.

We often spend a lot of time on automatic pilot: busy getting things done as well as thinking about what needs to be done next, as well as experiencing distractions of one sort or another. We often feel that there is little time to spare outside everything that is going on. However, there might just be spaces which we haven’t fully recognised or put to best use and perhaps we can also create some new spaces in order to build in time for something which nourishes us – this might simply be some peace or quiet.

Do you need to stretch yourself more in terms of development?  Do you wish you could achieve more?  Do you sometimes feel stuck in a rut?  Set yourself some personal objectives to achieve.  To help you achieve them, here are the top ten tips, including the SMART model:

The term ‘cutting the red tape’ is believed to have derived from the works of Charles Dickens; an international campaign in February marked the bicentenary of the writer’s birth.

The expression relates to avoiding bureaucratic barriers to fulfilling an objective and is often applied to government, corporations or other large organisations. It also refers to tape that is in fact now pink in colour (originally the red faded to pink over time, and therefore, probably to save money, it was later manufactured in pink!) which is used to tie up bundles of official papers. Pink tape is still in use today in legal circles. Such tape is strong, cotton-like material which has been dyed.