Planning or improvising

Some people would get nervous and insecure when they discover that they have an
unannounced work or school presentation because they would assume that lack of
preplanned script would lead to failure. Furthermore, that feeling is worsened if you
are expected to speak in a foreign language. It just sounds so overwhelming to be
put on the spot! That’s why it’s so important to learn to improvise more and plan
less. There are also some extra benefits that you can get from leaving your comfort
zone. For example, according to a study from April 21, 2020, when improvising,
people enhance their ability to think of more ways to solve problems, producing
multiple solutions. This helps to break patterns of behaviours and diversify the
thinking.

Mediation (1-2 minutes)

Read the text and explain the main ideas to your partner

Production (2 minutes)
What do you think about the ideas in the text?
Do you generally stick to the game or improvise?
What are the advantages or disadvantages of being a planner?

The psychology of habits

Just as we know some habits are bad for us, we know others are good. But are
habits really as cut and dry as we make them out to be? After all, even healthy
ones can be taken to a worrisome extreme. Maybe you're a fitness enthusiast
who spends the whole day in a bad mood if you have to skip your morning
workout. “Our behaviors don't just impact our physical health, they affect our
mental well-being, too," explains Dr. William Orme. "This is most readily apparent
with habits that are unhealthy for us, but even habits that we think of as healthy
can sometimes have adverse psychological implications under certain
conditions."

Mediation (1-2 minutes)

Read the text and explain the main ideas to your partner

Production (2 minutes)
What do you think about the ideas in the text?
Do you have any recurrent habits?
Are there any people’s habits or attitudes that you consider unacceptable?