You’ve probably heard people say that students who are athletic or hobby oriented usually do well in academics. Ever wondered why that’s the case? Based on all the information gathered I think it has something to do with a refreshed mind, a positive attitude, exercise and most importantly concentration. So one is bound to ask can hobbies improve concentration? Considering the points discussed so far, you are probably wondering, how these aspects are related to hobbies? Here’s how?

Refreshes the mind It is a perfect activity to engage in, if one takes a break form the tasks that need to be completed or studies during examinations. Taking time off from whatever it is you are doing and spending it in a hobby refreshes the mind at is provides an outlet for releasing pent up emotions.

Creates a positive mindset Since engaging in a hobby lets you clear your mind and emotions; it for the time being releaves you of any negative emotion or negativity you may feel or encounter. Thus, you come out feeling positive and so a positive person with a positive attitude.

Exercises the body and mind If your hobby is the right one, then it is the kind that gives you some physical exercise. For instance if you are a foot-baller than you are exercising both your mind and your body. Similarly, someone playing a musical instrument like the violin or a guitar exercises the creative part or musical part of the brain while exercising the body as well which is dependent upon the choice of instrument.

Builds Concentration Irrespective of your hobby preferences, there is always room for building your concentration. Whether it is a sport that you enjoy or like playing a musical instrument, or simply knitting you are building your concentration. Take for example; basket-ball you are expected to shoot hoops whenever an opportunity presents itself. Similarly, if you play a guitar then you have to be attentive to minute changes in notes to identify the chord. If you are passionate about crochet than you need to give focused attention to the type of stitch you are creating while a minor change in the way the stitch is done can increase your work twice fold. If you are a painter this too requires a lot of concentration as a simple stroke mistake can ruin what you are attempting to create with the colours and the strokes.

So can hobbies improve concentration? In my opinion yes, for reasons I have elaborated within this article. If you are looking for more information about hobbies or extracurricular activities or tips to balance the two or are faced with time management problems or if you have developed a procrastinating habit and are looking of ways to stop procrastination then you can visit our website for tips and even check out articles covering a wide range of topics which you might find very useful on www.careerfutura.com.

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Most students are unusually anxious due to the anticipation of the examinations. It is around this time that children tend to seek some assurance, motivation and support from their friends; more so from the immediate family. They do this to feel secure and to gain some hope if they lack it. With the exams round the corner parents need to be even more careful when interacting with their kids. In view of the sensitivity that children display around the examination time, if adequate support is provided it can do wonders to the child’s performance hence, an article on parenting tips – How to show your child that you support them? So here are some tips that can make all the difference to your child’s performance.

• Parents can show that they are supportive by creating a study plan with the kids
• They can let them know that no matter what the outcome of the exam is, they will be there for them if needed.
• If your child has planned to pull an all nighter for studies, parents can bring in some biscuits or brew a cup of Hot Coffee or Chocolate (preferable) for the child. This communicates a supportive nature.
• Engaging in relaxing conversations over meals helps in building the confidence of the child and refreshes them simultaneously.
• Ensuring that the environment at home is conducive to study, too gives them a sense of support
• By easing the number of chores that need to be done, it too creates a supportive atmosphere
• When a topic seems to be difficult to comprehend; your child may falter, thus, encouraging them and helping them to understand the topic, if possible, is very supporting indeed.
• Parents should avoid scheduling outings or family gatherings; around and during the examination time.
• When conversing with children; speaking in a reassuring or encouraging way also indicates that you support them nonetheless.
• Engaging in positive talk as often as possible; helps build their confidence and assures them of your presence and guidance at all times.

These are but some alternatives that can help you to show your child that you support them and that they can always come to you if they ever need help. If you are looking for more information about tips to reduce stress, identifying your child’s learning style, signs that parents should look for to identify an overloaded child or simply tips to bridge the communication or generation gap etc. you can visit our website www.careerfutura.com.

Its that time of the year when most students experience butterflies in their stomach and are more anxious than usual especially with the exams fast approaching. They are busy preparing for the examinations, some are completely focused on revision; having completed the portion in time. While the more ambitious ones resort to solving mock question papers for reasons which we will be discussing shortly.

Average students who are relatively prepared for the examination usually refrain from testing themselves for fear of not being able to perform well. This thought makes them anxious and worried therefore they equate their preparation as complete after covering the entire portion and generally stop at that. On the contrary the behaviour of ambitious students causes one to ask the question solving mock questions papers – is it useful? So here are some of the reasons why ambitious students prefer to solve mock question papers, in a attempt to ensure that they are thoroughly prepared for the examination.

Creates an examination setting If students solve previous years question papers, it helps in developing a sense of examination time. Thus preparing them for the exam environment well in advance. Other than that it also helps them realise possible problems which are sure to arise. Hence, they are prepared for surprises that they may encounter following the examination.

Get familiar with the exam pattern Apart from creating an examination environment it also familiarises students with the pattern that the examination follows. In addition to this it teaches them to time themselves properly thus ensuring that they complete the paper on time and with ease.

Identify the frequently asked questions Aside from this it even assists them in identifying the commonly asked questions, thus enabling them to pay more attention to these questions as the probability ratio of these questions being repeated is pretty high.

Allows you to test your preparation For those students who are thoroughly prepared for the examination is gives them a chance to assess their preparation, identify the loop holes if any, realise which topics need a brush up or more learning. Therefore it ensures that they are well prepared assuming that they have enough time to study topics that they are weak in or need another revision.

Completes a thorough preparation If students have already done a thorough study, taking a mock test adds to their thorough preparation. It helps them develop confidence in the matter studied all the while giving them the assurance that they remember all the material that was studied. It makes them sure that they will score good grades and pass with flying colours provided, they have answered every question based on the expectation. It even helps them to gage the marks that they are sure to get.

Assists last-minute preparation It reduces the anxiousness of students who study last minute. As they can identify questions that are likely to come in the examination thus they tend to focus mainly on such questions. Because the possibility of completing the portion is not an option for such individuals. All said and done, at the end of the day acquiring good grades is a necessity if students wish to pursue a course that they are interested in and aspire to become eventually. If you are looking for examination tips, tips to overcome stress or are simply looking for information about a course of interest, then you can visit our website www.careerfutura.com.

There has been a long standing debate about whether Personality Tests help. Due to the difference of opinion, it can be argued from both sides either for or against personality tests. But I for one would like to be for it. Hence, the question, personality tests – How do they help? comes to the fore.

In an attempt to answer this question, we first need to familiarise ourselves on the concepts that are sure to arise. Beginning with the the main question What is Personality? In simple terms personality is everything that you are as a person. Your strengths, weakness, likes, dislikes, your talents, interests all together make you the person that you are, “A unique individual with your own experiences, capabilities, talents, interests, weaknesses; set apart from the others.”

Another term that is most likely to surface is the concept of personality traits. Put simply it is nothing but the characteristics that you possess which are displayed in a situations, if given an opportunity – such as leadership qualities, perseverance so on and so forth.

Now that we are clear about the concepts lets discuss cases to find out more about the benefits of enrolling your child for a personality test and to proceed to the questions, Whether personality tests help, and if they do how?

In an attempt to answer these questions, here are a few benefits that you and your child can avail off.

Insight into oneself

A personality assessment can help individuals to discover things that they didn’t know about themselves. It can help them realise their potentials and capabilities. And help them identify their hidden talents.

Insight into your personality

Besides gaining an insight into oneself, personality tests also highlight the aspects of ones personality – their strengths, weaknesses, capabilities, and their dominant characteristics. For instance it can help them to identify whether they are extroverts, introverts or are ambiverts instead.

Suitable profession

Based on the information gathered, they can identify which professions best suit them and ones that they need to stay away from or what aspects about themselves they need to improve to pursue their desired course. Thus helping them to arrive at a decision that work best for them based on their personality traits.

Success rate

Once they are aware of their personality type or the kind of personality they have and have chosen a suitable profession, they are bound to succeed nonetheless provided they possess the necessary skills and display their potentials as well.

These are but only a few aspects that a personality assessment can shed light on. So if you are curious about your child’s personality you can enroll them for our comprehensive test battery that not only assess the personality type but even assess the abilities, study habits, aspired career and that takes into consideration their academic performance in order to guide children in the right direction by our counsellors and help them succeed nonetheless. For further details you can visit our website www.careerfutura.com.

Stress is a but a necessary evil, because dealing with stress helps us to grow and mature. Even though stress causes a lot of negativity to develop, if there is one thing you can control is how much it affects your life. If stress keeps building up in your life then you need to find ways to deal with it. Besides an overload of stress can harm your health. Irrespective of age differences, the one thing that affects us all whether student or adult is stress. Although the degrees differ based on the age, knowing how to keep a stress free mind becomes essential for both students as well as adults.

So if you find stress eating into your life or you find yourself snapping at the ones you love the most, it means that you need to come up with better ways to deal with the stress in your life. In view of this here are 7 ways to keep a stress free mind.

1. Know the reasons for the stress

The first step to keep stress at bay is to identify the reasons as to why you are stressed. This is important because without knowing the reasons, tackling it becomes that much more difficult.

2. Identify the mechanisms used to overcome stress

Once you have identified the reasons the next step is to identify the methods used to tackle stress. Sometimes, the methods used can be ineffective thus leading to the situation becoming worse resulting in further stress.

3. Analyse your reactions to stress

At times the methods used or your reactions to stress are faulty resulting in the situation worsening. So you need to determine whether your behaviour was appropriate in the given situation. And find out if there was a better way to tackle the situation in a more healthy manner.

4. Rate your stress

It is important for you to rate your stress levels depending upon the situation. So you can rate your stress levels on a scale of 1 to 10. With 1 being the least stressful and 10 being the most. Based on the analyses of the reasons you can then decide whether it is a minor issue or a major one that is getting you stressed out.

5. Develop effective ways to combat stress

Upon identifying both the reasons and the mechanisms used to tackle stress, you then need to form ways or plans that will help you overcome stress in an appropriate manner. Some stress busting tips that can help are listed out.

• Develop a hobby

• If you play a musical instrument then pick it up and play along

• For some listening to music helps, so go and listen to your favorite music

• If you are more of a singer than sing along

• If you play a sport then you need to take the ball out and play in your veranda

• If you prefer dancing than just dance

• If you are a basket ball player then go out and throw some hoops

Several studies have highlighted the effectiveness of engaging in hobbies when one is stressed out, so if you don’t have one than develop one it will help you in the long run nonetheless.

6. Get adequate sleep

Sometimes inadequate sleep also increases stress. So ensure that you get adequate sleep. If you have trouble sleeping than here are few tips that you can try out:

• Read a book or two

• The all time favorite exercise that can help is counting backwards from 1000 to 1

• If you are the type that thinks too much than try to stop

• sometimes dreaming about scoring a goal or winning the game also helps

7. Get some exercise

Lack of exercise also causes stress. So another way to tackle stress is to engage in regular exercise, preferably in the morning. Exercising relaxes and refreshes the body and also assists in developing a positive attitude.

Following these simple tips can help your to keep stress at bay, thus improving your health as well.

Yet another entrance test designed to assess ones awareness of current affairs and let’s not forget the General Knowledge too. Great, now how am I supposed to keep myself updated and prepare for the entrance as well. This is how most individuals react to tests that assess ones general awareness about current affairs and General Knowledge.

For both students and adults alike building or developing ones general knowledge doesn’t hurt. If anything it keeps you updated on the various happenings nonetheless. While we are talking about awareness then being updated on the current affairs of the country and the world can help a great deal. Besides having all kinds of information especially about the current affairs at both the International and  National level helps one to be updated on the happenings around and sometimes give you an insight into the current job market status. Having information about the various programs along with the market scenario helps one to make an informed decision on the course that one needs to follow for their career.

But for management and professor aspirants having knowledge about current affairs and displaying a good general knowledge, knowing how to prepare for the entrances that assess their general awareness can be a life saver. Because it boosts their chances of attaining good scores. In light of this here are 6 easy ways to  improve general knowledge.

1. Practice the 4 core skills

Students should ensure that they make use of all their senses to improve their general knowledge. They should practice the 4 core skills namely; read, watch, listen and speak to like-minded individuals if possible. As this will enhance ones general awareness.

2. Read

Individuals should read newspapers, journals, magazines or books that will improve their knowledge. Going through the sports section can help build your general knowledge about the awards, it introduces one to famous sports personalities at present and in centuries but from around the world. Apart from this you can even read past issues of business magazines (from January 2012)  or ones that are prior to the current year. While reading  pay attention to the main events in the corporate world. It makes you realise how injuries even if minor can affect ones performance in a particular sport.

3. Watch educational channels

People should watch educational channels such as Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel, the History Channel, Animal Planet etc. that will boost your general knowledge. To know about the current affairs watching news channels such as BBC World etc. will keep you up to date with the current happenings. GK questions like countries, capitals, currencies, inventions and discoveries in science can be very helpful. Even watching general knowledge quiz competitions can improve your G.K.

4. Surf the Internet

A good start to improve your knowledge of India is by visiting www.india.gov.in which has information about the latest happenings in the country.  Having information about organizations /associations like the UN and its associate agencies such as ASEAN, SAARC, NATO, BRICS etc. can prove to be very helpful. Apart from this even a good knowledge about the stocks can help.

5. Play games

Solving cross word puzzles can also aid in improving ones general knowledge. Since we are living in a technology driven works even on-line quizzes are available. So try to solve them as this too can assist in developing your general knowledge.

6. Get familiar with the general concepts used

Banking aspirants need to familiarise themselves with the general banking concepts used to help them perform well in the entrance exams, hence reading business magazines or business and real estate supplements can help you to improve your general banking vocab for instance.

 These are few tips that can assist students in their preparation for exams that assess ones general knowledge and general awareness. Apart from these individuals even those individuals who simply wish to enhance their general awareness stand to benefit from these tips as well.

We have heard it countless number of times, “students not performing well on examinations.” Be it Maths, Science, History  or for that matter even Languages. Many students generally have a tough time performing well in subjects that are difficult and boring or are least interested in the subject altogether. These are but common reasons for bad results. But as parents we need to know what are the main reasons for our child’s poor performance.

While a hand full of students are blessed with exceptional intelligence, the average student isn’t. But they too have the ability and are capable of understanding and remembering matter with a little effort. So here are 6 reasons why students perform poorly in examinations?

1. Environmental Factors

Who knew that the environment whether family, school or college, social and experiences can drastically affect a child’s performance?

• Family Environment

If you didn’t know it already then now is a great time to get to know the various reason for performance differing. The environment in which the student is born plays a vital role in their performance. If the child is living in a healthy family environment with  supporting and nurturing parents, students are more likely to obtain good grades. Most children try to do well to please their parents nonetheless.

•  School or College Environment

If the school or college environment is a healthy one, that focuses and encourages the all round development of the pupil. Or if it strives to help students by preparing them at a young age to tackle the unknown has a bearing on the child’s performance. As it teaches them life skills that can assist them and it too plays a vital role in a child’s life and growth. The kind of people their classmates and teachers are, affects the performance. The way they are treated by their teachers or professors also affects their performance.  Because if a child likes their teacher or is fond of their teacher, it motivates the child to do well in an attempt to please their teacher.

• Individual Experiences

Whether these experiences come from interacting with either classmates, teammates or teachers it in variable affects the child as a whole. Because experiences whether good or bad can affect the child’s performances as mentioned earlier.

2. Learning Methods

Most students usually follow faulty learning methods such as rote learning. Subjects like Arithmetics, Science and Language require the student to understand the concepts taught. They need to have a good basic foundation with a clarity in the concepts; which they usually lack. This in turn  results in students not liking the subject and sometimes detesting it which isn’t good either.      

3. Differing Interests

When it comes to subjects that most students are least interested in or find difficult for example Mathematics, Science or Languages, their disinterest definitely shows in poor grades. The difficulty level that these subjects bring can affect the child’s interest even if the subject is easy merely requiring lots of practice on a regular basis.

4. Faulty Study Habits

Most students have a tendency to prepare for a test or an exam at the last minute, resulting in them engaging in all nighters or  studying till the earlier hours of the morning. Mostly students refrain from revising the matter taught in class the same day. Several psychological studies have highlighted the importance of reviewing the matter that was taught the very same day. We all know that repetition helps students to memorise the matter better especially when it is fresh in their mind.

5. Ineffective Memorising Methods

Several psychological studies have been conducted. And several memory improvement techniques have been derived based on these studies. Ideally the best way to remember any type of material is by using Mnemonics or developing associations. These techniques are best to remember subjects like Science, History, Geology, Geography etc. The average student is either unaware of these techniques or think that they are time consuming and ineffective nonetheless. They don’t realise that for these techniques to show results one needs to use them right from the beginning of the term when they have the time to utilise them.

6. Health Matters

It is important for students to ensure that they get enough rest, eat a balanced diet and most importantly exercise. It is important that you sleep in time, eat properly and exercise, if you wish to perform well in the examinations because both the body and the mind need to rest to function to its maximum potential. This is another reason that affects the performance. Lack of either of these three aspects affect students nevertheless.

Therefore, as parents it is important for us to help children realise their mistakes and assist them in their preparation in any way we can. Especially if we can help them to improve their grades and get them  interested in a subject that they dislike, by highlighting the fact that it is actually easy once you are clear about the concepts and have the basics in place. We need to make them realise that the only way to overcome their fear of the subject and to memorise the formulas or chemical compositions is through practice. That is why Jaspher Kantuna says, “Practice as if you are the worst, perform as if you are the best.”

For information about memory improving techniques, tips to improve English, Vocabulary and Maths   and study tips visit www.careerfutura.com.

Every parent out there prefers it, if their child develops a positive attitude.  All of us would like it if our kids had or developed a positive outlook towards life. Because lets face it life isn’t perfect and we all will get better rest knowing that our children are equipped with a positive attitude to help them cope with the ups and downs of life.

Besides how we perceive and think about life experiences has an impact on how we feel and our health. If your child’s brain goes naturally to the negative, you’ll need to open up new neuronal pathways for more positive thinking. And it takes – writing, talking, movement, drawing and more to build a positive attitude.

So if you are wondering how to develop a positive attitude in your child? Or if you are a parent struggling with developing a positive attitude in your kid, then following these simple tips will serve the purpose well.

Be a role model

We all are aware of the fact that our children are excellent observers. They learn mainly through observation. Might I ask, “Observing who exactly?” Us parents of course! Therefore it is absolutely necessary for us to monitor our behaviour, because actions speak louder than words. Besides our kids can’t be fooled by our mask’s. They sense and understand things; sometimes even better than us. And can even show us that they don’t too. Hence if you want your child to have a positive attitude than it starts with us. Try not to lie to your kids, they will sense it immediately. But if you have to, then explain to them Why? So that they understand and prevent misunderstandings from cropping up.        

By Thought, Word and Deed

If you want to reinforce and develop a positive attitude in your child then you need to ensure that you speak, think and address your child in a positive way at all times, if possible or as and when it is applicable. So here is a list of positive words that you can use on a regular basis to instill a positive attitude in your child:

•  THINK in a positive way

When things are most likely to go wrong either way; instead of complaining, think objectively and come up with solutions. If an alternative is not available at presents then use humor – such as learn to laugh at your self, smile, believe in your self and know that you will eventually figure out a way somehow.

• TELL your child 
• Yes, Good Fine, Very good, Very fine, Excellent, Marvelous, At-a-boy, Right, That’s right, Correct, Wonderful, I like the way you do that, I’m pleased with (proud of ) you, That’s good, Wow, Very nice,  Good work, Great going, Good for you, That’s the way, Much better, O.K., You’re doing better, That’s perfect, Good idea, What a cleaver idea, That’s it,  Good job, Great job controlling yourself, I like the way you ______, I noticed that you ____, Keep it up, I had fun ______ with you, You are improving at ______ more and more, You showed a lot of responsibility when you ______, Way to go I appreciate the way you ______, You are great at that, Good remembering, That’s beautiful I like your______, I like the way you ______ with out having to be asked (reminded), I’m sure glad you are my son/daughter, Now you’ve got it, I love you!
• SHOW them how you feel

Smile,  Nod, give a pat on the shoulder.

• SIGNAL or GESTURE to signify approval

High five, Touch cheek, Tickle, Laugh (with, not at), give a Pat on the back, give a Hug instead.

Teach your child to understand emotions

Although most children can sense both positive as well as negative emotions, sometimes they lack the understanding of the emotion altogether. They are usually caught off guard and are unaware of the reasons behind it. At times they may even misunderstand the emotion and take it to be that the teacher doesn’t like me or my friends don’t like me. At such times the following tips will help you to guide their understanding of their emotions and even help you to realise yours!

You can take a play ground ball and bounce it and bounce it back and forth between the two of you. Talk in a slow and easy manner about  your child’s concerns. Ask open-ended questions. If your child cannot put the experiences into words, offer your ideas and ask, “Am I getting this right?”

“It seems like something is on your mind.”

“Shall we talk about it?”

“How are the kids treating one another at school?”

“What do the kids do that is kind to one another?”

“What do you see when people being mean.”

“How would you like things to be different?”

As your child starts to explore his thoughts and feelings ask him if he’s open to “drawing it out.” Sit down at your kitchen table and begin with a simple exercise.

“Take an 8 X 11 inch piece of paper and draw a line in the middle. On the left side you can make a note of the negative thought and on the right side note down your transformed positive thought.”

Or

“This time follow the same process but ask your child to note down their negative thought about their experience and on the right side help your child to transform the negative thought into positive ones and make a note of it.”

Another option is to “Take an 8 X 11 inch piece of paper and draw 2 lines dividing it into 3 equal parts. On the left side you can make a note of all the negative emotions, on the right side note down all the positive emotions and in the middle ask your child to either draw or write down the emotions they are feeling. Once they have done this you can then help them to identify whether it is a positive or a negative feeling or if they have been able to distinguish between the two.”

By following these simple tips your child will begin to think and develop a positive attitude nonetheless.

If you think your kids’ clothes are too weird and their music is too loud, and, although they’re speaking English, you can’t understand a word — you might be on the wrong side of a generation gap. In order to cross the distance you need to get in touch with yourself when you were their age. It helps to remember how much you wanted to be understood by your parents when you were coming of age. To know the reasons as to why s / he is behaving the way they are, it can best be understood by remembering how you behaved at their age.

Besides you don’t have to like — or even understand — your kids’ tastes. What’s important is that you make an honest effort to try and understand them by recollecting how you behaved, felt and reacted when you were their age. So if you are wondering how to bridge the generation gap between Parents and Children? Then here are some things that can help you to hold up and create a conversation with your child which yields results that you seek.

Effective Communication

According to the American Psychological Association communicating with children on a regular basis can take your a long way in bridging the gap between Parents and Children. Listening and talking are essential elements for a healthy Parent – child relationship. Here are some things you can do:

Be up to date with the current trends

If you want to bridge the communication gap  with your child you need to speak their language. So you need to be up to date with the current trends of your child’s generation right from slang, music, movies, and clothes to social networking. You also need to be up to date with today’s technology in order to monitor your child’s on line presence. This will help your child to make wise choices on the Internet and beyond.

Avoid Comparisons

As a parent you need to accept the fact that things have changed in comparison to how things used to be back when you were there age. Try not to ask your child to conform to old models of thinking rather explain to them how to distinguish between what is right and wrong. These things will never undergo change even if everything else changes.

Be Accepting

Parents should be flexible in their ideas and more accepting about change. They should be able to adapt to the changing times. They need to remember that parenting is not an exact science, meaning that what works for one child may not work for another.

Know the consequences of your actions

From a little poem you will be able to figure out how your actions can affect your child in the long run:

“If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn.

If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight.

If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy.

If a child lives with fear, he learns to be apprehensive.

If a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guilty.

If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient.

If a child lives with encouragement he learns to be confident.

If a child lives with acceptance, he learns to love.

If a child lives with recognition, he learns it is good to have a goal.

If a child lives with honesty he learns what truth is.

If a child lives with fairness, he learns justice.

If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith in himself and those about him.

If a child lives with friendliness, he learns the world is a nice place in which to live to love and be loved.” - Anonymous

So if you follow these simple tips you will see a tremendous change in his / her attitude towards you, therefore your child will be more open to what you have to say with acceptance and understanding nonetheless.