Positive thinking….

I was at a seminar a couple of weeks ago titled ‘Be happy – the art of being brilliant …’ – a great day and thanks to CAS our accountants for arranging this event. The message was pretty clear – be positive, be grateful for the little things in life ….and make a point of thanking the world for every day that you spend in it.

LIFE… is a special occasion – and should be greeted as such …on a daily basis.

I’m not saying that the day has changed my life but it hasn’t half made me think. I come across an awful lot of people in my line of work and many of them are just really depressing. In my head I call them ‘Eeyore’ people (Eeyore the donkey from Winnie the Pooh that was constantly depressed). ‘Oh no, oh dear, everything’s going wrong ….’ etc etc etc

These people don’t half drain the life out of you.

Not only that …. but…they do it insidiously – you aren’t aware of how draining they are until you get home and realise how tired you are from the constant barrage of negativity.

I personally am on a crusade to change the way I greet people – when they ask… ‘hi Mike how are you…’ I now respond with… ‘fantastic/great/stunning/marvelous ‘ – just try it – its a game changer. I’m not sure why, but the phrases seem to release some chemical which makes you feel good – then …because you are feeling good …you act more positively ….and the day just goes better!

People do spend far too much time ‘destination thinking’ – I’ve noticed that my wife seems to wish time away when looking forward to a holiday or some new piece of interior design this she’s having done. Her constant phrases are …’I cant wait for my holiday in (insert exotic holiday destination)’ or ….’I can’t wait for the bedroom to be finished’…. wishing the days to pass quicker – when really she should be savoring each day and relishing the experience of each journey that she is on – whether it be looking forward to a holiday or finishing the decorating.

Enjoy it all – not just the final result.

It’s easy when at work to be thinking – ‘…if only we could win that project’ or ‘I can’t wait to finish the scheme at (insert site location) …. yet half the time when at work we are too busy and never have time to enjoy actually doing the project works.

We get in a cycle of hitting targets and exceeding expectation – which is great from a business point of view – but – you can’t always exceed every target.

Rush, rush, rush – …. just slow down for pity’s sake and enjoy the moment!