An Coppens - Gamification and Gender Differences... The Feminine Viewpoint

In this episode of Gamification Talk Radio, An and Monica discuss the gamification industry, which like most technology fields, has been male dominated and often not very lady friendly. With Gamification in enterprise and learning however, we need to appeal to both genders.

Discussion topics include:

Is This the Right Problem to Solve?

Imagine if you did not speak until you were four years old and didn’t read until you were seven. What if your teachers described you as “mentally slow, unsociable and adrift forever in his foolish dreams.” Do you know that is true for one of the greatest thinkers of all time – Albert Einstein.

Albert Einstein said, “If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I know the proper question; I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.”

How often do you spend time and resources on problems which don't necessarily demand such attention? 

Too often our approach to problem solving is reactive; we wait for the problems to arise. The real starting point then for any problem solving process is to find the right problem to solve.

Ask yourself, "Is it the right problem to solve?" and "What opportunities are created by this problem?"

Society teaches us that to see what is good in life is to be naïve, whereas to be critical is perceived to be informed, grounded, sophisticated, and grownup. This is why when we are looking at a situation and thinking of possibilities, we often focus on what is wrong and what can go wrong, instead of possibilities.

The consequence is that our thinking is usually based on an unbalanced and, therefore, incorrect picture. In this video I am delivering my What Were You Thinking? keynote at the Las Colinas IAAP 25th Anniversary celebration dinner.

You'll see that you can learn how to change the way you think... FAST!



Fear constricts everything, especially thinking. Thinking stops when we are upset. But if we express feelings just enough, thinking re-starts. Laughter actually improves thinking.

And did you know that you become smarter after a good cry? 

Unfortunately, we have this backwards in our society. We think that when feelings start, thinking stops. And so when crying starts, for example, we try to stop the crying. When we do this, we interfere with exactly the process that helps a person to think clearly again.

So the next time a colleague or friend begins to show signs of feelings – relax and welcome them. Good thinking lies just around the corner.

More articles on thinking differently to achieve uncommon results:

• The Five Most Common Self-Limiting Beliefs
• Perception of Reality is Everything
• Ask the Wrong Question... Get the Wrong Answer

About the Author: Monica Cornetti
Founder and CEO, Sententia www.SententiaGames.com www.monicacornetti.com

A gamification speaker and designer, Monica Cornetti is rated as a #1 Gamification Guru in the World by UK-Based Leaderboarded. She is the author of the book Totally Awesome Training Activity Guide: Put Gamification to Work for You, What Were You Thinking, and Your Face Isn't Finished Until Your Lipstick is On, writes The Gamification Report blog, and hosts the weekly Gamification Talk Radio program.

Baggage on the Trip of Life

Have you ever had to drag a load of luggage through an airport? As you’re running to catch your flight you think to yourself, “Why did I pack so much junk?” I just got back from a three week speaking and gamification design tour that included places with diverse climates -- Las Vegas, Boston, Johannesburg, and Cape Cod, and each trip to the airport had me calculating if maybe I had packed far too much and was carrying too much weight with me.

Yet, we may walk around every day carrying a couple suitcases full of shame, fear, insecurities, and a distorted view of who we really are. It may be words or thought patterns that have stayed with you your whole life. This kind of baggage weighs you down as you drag it around, day after day.

Its torture and you end up getting nowhere fast.

Take a play from my What Were You Thinking Playbook that I do in many of my workshops called The Baggage Sweep. This tool will help you to unpack and start travelling a little lighter.

The Five Most Common Self-Limiting Beliefs

There are a set of theories that I call Monica’s Laws of the Universe. Granted, these theories are not based in science, or documented research… just behaviors and results that I observe in family, friends, clients, colleagues, and even enemies.

One of the Laws is called Greatest Fear – Greatest Success. It states that your greatest area of fear, the thing you are most afraid of, the thing that causes your hands to get clammy and shake, your heart beat faster, and your stomach churn, whatever that is … your greatest fear will be your ultimate area of success and triumph...

I believe for example that people who are terrified of getting in front of a group of people to speak really have something to say that others need to hear. Your main area of fear is more than likely the area where you are called to shine.

In every situation that you face there is a filter that frames your perception of the world and the Law of Perception says, “You do not see the world as it really is, you see it as you perceive it to be.” Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you see someone being successful in something and you say, “I could never do that?” That kind of statement is based in a habit of fear or self-limiting belief.

Although I grew up with an athletic sister, I never saw myself as an athlete. Only 18 months older than me, people often compared us and my earliest memories involve comparisons of our looks, singing talents, brains, athleticism, and weight.

I have an old black and white photo that became the main theme of my beliefs and habits that shaped my childhood, teens, and most of my adult life. It is a picture of Melanie (my sister) and me. Melanie is about 4 ½ and I am 3 years old. In the picture we are facing each other; my sister has a pink and white gingham bikini with ruffles on the butt… cute, cute, cute! I have on the ugliest navy blue tank suit you have ever seen.

The annoying thing is that my sister has no “fufu” in her at all – she could care less about those adorable ruffles on the butt. I asked my mom if I could have a cute suit like Melanie’s, and I was told that I was too “chubby” to wear a bikini that I need to cover my belly and my thighs.

So from the age of 3 all my decisions were based on the belief that I was the chubby girl and when you are the chubby girl you make decisions based on the “chubby girl factor.”

I learned that big and beautiful aren't ideas that go together. Chubby girls aren’t the most popular, don’t become cheerleaders, never date the hot guys, and aren’t as smart as the thin, pretty girls. Most of my important life decisions were based on my belief of the “chubby girl factor” – that I was not good enough, thin enough, smart enough, strong enough, or pretty enough.

I only did those things that are appropriate for chubby girls to do – play an instrument in the band, sing in the choir, become a cast member in the musicals, earn straight B’s, and serve as editor of the yearbook – all acceptable for chubby girls. I squashed many of my own desires, dreams, and ambitions because of these feelings of unworthiness.

Reality Check: Your fear or self-limiting beliefs may have nothing to do with being a chubby girl, but you've got something. Here are five of the most common self-limiting beliefs:

1. Believing that you are not good enough to do anything. You weren't born into the right family, not the right race, not the right gender, born on the wrong side of the tracks, whatever it is; you are just not good enough to achieve anything. Maybe someone said you weren't smart enough, that you don't have special abilities or qualities, or that you just need to do the “best that you can.” If you aren't smart enough, have no special qualities, than you aren't worthy enough to achieve great things.
2. People just don't like me. This is a big one a lot of people believe. Now I'm not talking about rude people, I'm talking about your basic nice person. This belief makes you think that no one wants to be your friend or would like you because of the flaws you have. The reality is that we all have flaws. We are all likeable. People like people who like them. To have a friend be a friend.
3. You will be rejected. Driven by fear that people might not like what you have to say, or may object to what are asking them to do. One of the main reasons that sales people don't “ask for the sale” is because they are afraid they won't get it, they are afraid they will be told “No.” The trouble is, if you don't ask, you don't get.
4. Something is impossible to achieve. For example, I've been told for a couple years now by people who hear me speak that I am as good as the $15,000 keynoter they saw recently. I've not yet been paid that kind of money, so evidently I'm not. It’s not that I actually believe that it is impossible to achieve, it’s just that I don't know how to make it happen, and if I don’t learn, it is impossible. The same may be true for you, you think that you can, but you don't really know how to achieve your dream, and if you don’t find out how, study with the right people, study, learn, change mindsets, etc. it will be impossible to achieve.
5. The belief that you are destined for failure. This is one of the most damaging self-limiting beliefs that you can have, the belief that whatever they do will end up in failure. If you try, it is not going to work, so why bother. So they don't do anything beneficial or you stop half way and then ultimately you do fail. That could be why you haven’t started or put much energy into the 3 or 4 things that you know will make the difference in achieving your dreams. Perhaps you are afraid of failing, or you believe that you will fail. So, if you don't do it, then you can’t fail.

As an adult I still fight that chubby label. I often take clothes into the dressing room that are way too large, but when eyeing up the smaller sizes, my belief is that I would never fit into them. It is amazing how the faulty belief system causes you to make certain decisions such as a career choice, fees charged to clients, the friends, colleagues, and even lovers you choose.

So what is your greatest area of fear? Push through it because it may be your  ultimate area of success and triumph!

About the Author: 

Monica Cornetti

Founder and CEO, Sententia

www.SententiaGames.com

www.monicacornetti.com

A gamification speaker and designer, Monica Cornetti is rated as a #1 Gamification Guru in the World by UK-Based Leaderboarded. She is the author of the book Totally Awesome Training Activity Guide: Put Gamification to Work for You, writes The Gamification Report blog, and hosts the weekly Gamification Talk Radio program.

Begin Your Change Imaginations...

While prepping content recently for a strategic planning retreat with a client, I stumbled upon the story that you’ll read below.

As tears filled my eyes and threatened to overflow, I was reminded of how our thought process and frame of reference determine what we believe to be true… whether it is true or not.

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year-old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness.

The doctor explained the situation to her older brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, “Yes… I’ll do it. If it will save her.”