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Neil Thompson’s Lessons for Living – Be open to learning from mistakes

Neil Thompson’s Lessons for Living – Be open to learning from mistakes

The idea of the value of learning from our mistakes is well established, but unfortunately many people don’t manage to get the benefit of this. That is because they adopt a defensive approach to mistakes; they see them as things to cover up or deflect attention from. Nobody is perfect and so mistakes are inevitable, so there is little point in trying to give the impression that we never make mistakes. Some mistakes can be embarrassing, but most are not unless we are trying to come across as ‘mistake proof’. Some mistakes are quite serious, but the more serious they are, the greater the scope for learning. However, that’s not to say that even small mistakes cannot produce significant learning.…
Dr Neil Thompson
October 13, 2021
How creativity has been key for social workers in safeguarding adults during Covid

How creativity has been key for social workers in safeguarding adults during Covid

Covid-19, and the response to the pandemic, has presented extraordinary challenges to the care sector. New research funded by the Health Foundation and led by researchers at Keele University, however, sheds light on how creativity has played the biggest role in continuing adult safeguarding practice within the constraints of the challenges posed by the pandemic. Evidence shows that referrals for adult safeguarding referrals dropped early on during the pandemic, followed by a jump exceeding ordinary levels and an overall increase in referrals from previous years. Moreover, there have also been particular concerns about the extent to which ‘hidden’ forms of harms such as financial abuse, domestic violence and self-neglect were being exacerbated by lockdowns and, consequently, how visible they were for adult safeguarding…
Dr Neil Thompson
October 13, 2021
‘Revolutionary in a quiet way’: The rise of community gardens in the UK

‘Revolutionary in a quiet way’: The rise of community gardens in the UK

The first melon of the season always tastes amazing,” says Lucy Mitchell. “I don’t think anyone has ever taken one home – every year, we just cut them into as many slices as there are people in the garden and make sure everyone gets a melon moment.” After almost a decade of being involved with the Golden Hill community garden in Horfield, Bristol, she never gets complacent about the significance of these simple things. “We remember ‘Big Jim’, the biggest sunflower who ever grew here, or the miracle sunflowers that grew in the gravel and we wait for the frogs to return to the pond. These things all layer into our story and we look forward to them.” Click here to…
Dr Neil Thompson
October 13, 2021
Neil Thompson’s Lessons for Living – Why helps with how

Neil Thompson’s Lessons for Living – Why helps with how

In any project or task we undertake, it can be very easy to get engrossed and lose focus on why we are doing it. If, however, we can make sure we don’t lose sight of the why (the purpose), we will be in a stronger position to decide on the how (the method) and put it into practice. Sadly, though, it is not uncommon for people to become so busy doing something that they forget why they are doing it. They then lose sight of how best to move forward. Clarity about why we are doing something will make us more motivated to achieve our goals and give us a more helpful picture of the possible ways of achieving them.…
Dr Neil Thompson
September 28, 2021
WeThe 15 – ‘Game-changer’ plan for 1.2bn disabled people

WeThe 15 – ‘Game-changer’ plan for 1.2bn disabled people

A global campaign described as a "game-changer" has been launched to improve the lives of more than one billion disabled people by 2030. WeThe15 wants to improve inclusion, raise awareness and end discrimination of disabled people around the world. It brings together a coalition of organisations from the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to Unesco. Using the event as a springboard, the IPC and International Disability Alliance has joined forces with arts, business and human rights organisations including UN Human Rights and The Valuable 500 to "raise awareness, change attitudes and create more opportunities" for disabled people. The campaign has been set-up to represent the 15% of the world's population that is disabled - about 1.2bn people, according to the World…
Dr Neil Thompson
September 28, 2021
Seth Godin’s blog – Defending change (or the status quo)

Seth Godin’s blog – Defending change (or the status quo)

The easy argument to make is that the thing we have now is better than the new thing that’s on offer. All one has to do is take the thing we have now as a given (ignoring its real costs) and then challenge the defects and question the benefits of the new thing, while also maximizing the potential risk. “A hand-written letter is more thoughtful, more likely to be a keepsake, and a more permanent record than a simple email.” On the other hand, the technophile defending change simply has to list all the new features and ignore the benefits we’re used to. “An email is far faster, cheaper and easier to track than a letter. It is more likely…
Dr Neil Thompson
September 28, 2021