Creating Positivity

Monday mornings at Mth Degree are “shout-out” days. At the end of each production meeting we wrap up with a string of “shout-outs,” or public kudos for individuals and teams that are performing at high levels and exemplifying our core values in action. Anyone can give a shout-out and most people do.

When we were about to wrap-up our shout-outs, I found myself offering up a group shout-out. The shout-out was for what we’ve all done, together, to create the team and the overall vibe. Specifically, this shout-out was aimed at a key attribute that we continue to create and uphold: our culture.

What I found myself saying was “we all face challenges within our daily work, big ones as of lately. As a team we have been highly successful in turning these challenges into opportunities. The doorway in which we do this is positivity. Kudos to each and everyone of you for upholding our individual and collective positivity.”

Shawn Achor, the well-known and highly respected Positive Psychologist and author of the Happiness Advantage offers some tips on nurturing positivity.

1. Priming positivity. Create a two minute daily habit of thinking of and writing down 3 new things you are grateful for each day, journaling about a positive experience for two minutes, meditating by watching your breath go in and out, or writing a positive 2 minute email.

2. Use success accelerants. Coffee cards where you have to get 12 stamps and you get two free stamps before buying the 10 other cups of coffee accelerates purchasing because your brain sees that you are already 1/6 the way there. Our brain accelerates the closer we perceive success. If you make a checklist of tasks for the day, include several things you have already accomplished. If you are starting a new positive habit, don’t start at zero, include the day or two you have successfully exercised or avoided dessert.

3. Don’t wait for happiness. If we raise your success rates, happiness remains the same. Raise happiness levels in the present, find meaning at work, connect to the people around you, perceive stress as enhancing, and your success rates rise dramatically. Happiness at work fuels success.

Any company has challenges. It’s the nature of doing business, and overcoming them is the nature of most work. When we are at our best, we humans are essentially creators. All creation is born from positivity.

Also check out Shawn Achor’s brilliant TED Talk: The happy secret to better work.

If you want a more trusting team, a culture of belonging or a magnetic brand that attracts more of the right customers, I can help. If you'd like to explore if working together makes sense, drop me a line.

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