Dr. J's Blog

Do you understand what critical thinking means? Is there an indicator when thinking becomes or transforms into critical thinking?

The phrase "critical thinking" has become widely used in this field and it is a skill which students are told they must learn. The challenge is that this phrase can have multiple descriptions when educators are asked to define it. The descriptions provided by students are even more varied and often described using clichés such as "thinking outside of the box", or they can come closer to what this concept means when they relate it to problem-solving.

This poses a challenge for the inclusion of critical thinking in a list of skills students need to learn because there isn't a clear standard regarding how best to teach it, along with an...

"Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings." -Samuel Johnson

There is one particular quality which makes everyone shine, one which shows through their work and even within their resume. Do you know what it is? It is having a well-established sense of self-confidence.

A person who is self-confident will approach their work with a measure of certainty; possessing self-awareness of the experience and knowledge or know-how needed to get the job done.

Even a resume will reflect that confidence through the word choice used and this will also come across through a person's tone during an interview. Being self-confident comes easily for some people, yet others struggle to try and sustain it. For most people this is a feeling that can fluctuate...

Are you feeling unhappy about your job or your career? Does it feel as if you are going nowhere in your job no matter how hard you work or the amount of time you devote to performing your very best? Or have you just given up and resigned yourself to the present circumstances?

Most people want a reliable and steady job, one that provides a feeling of security and a sense of accomplishment. A job can serve a variety of purposes and that includes meeting a need for income or serving as part of a specific career plan and becoming a step towards meeting career goals. Over time a job can become the basis for a stable career, one that allows for the development of new skills and provides new opportunities. While stability in a career is important, what happens when that job you value...

What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?  – Vincent Van Gogh

Consider the last time you looked back at your life or your career. Did you ever question the choices you made or had to make? Did you ever wish that outcomes experienced had been better or different? 

Hopefully you are able to look at the past and consider it to be old news or something that is beyond your ability to control now. However, many people cannot let go of the past – even knowing that it cannot be undone or changed. As a career coach and educator, I have had heard many negative statements made about past decisions during self-reflection exercises and many of these comments can be summarized as follows.

If I only had the courage to:

• Take a Stand
...