A Message from Mahaney Group President Damon Young | Be Positive
I don’t know about you, but when I hear “Be Positive”, I think of “always seeing the sunny side of life” and that sometimes feels fake to me. It feels like we are saying things are good when really they are bad and that no matter the situation that we should see the positive. The problem with this thinking is that it can lead to ignoring negative things that we need to adjust to or learn from. So, I do not think “being positive” is ignoring the negative. I think being positive is a mindset to approach both positive and negative situations that can help us and our teams.
Here are 3 aspects of being positive that I think we can think about to allow this value to take shape in our lives.
ENCOURAGE
Instead of saying “Be Positive”, we could have said-“Be Encouraging”. I think that when we encourage each other we are absolutely being positive. When do we need encouraged?Usually, we need encouraged most when things are tough. So, try and be encouraging to those who you are around most. Encourage your family, your friends, and those on your work crews and teams. It lifts people up and creates an uplifting culture that is fun to be a part of. And, it’s contagious and spreads and it might come full circle and encourage you when you need it most
ASK FOR HELP
If throughout the course of your day-to-day work and home life you have problems seeing the positive in situations and negative thoughts seem very difficult to get away from, we owe it to ourselves and those in our lives to ask for help. Thinking negative thoughts all the time is a warning sign and if you find yourself in that situation, please-ask for help. Our HR Team has some great resources for personal or family counseling that we would love to share with you. I have had counseling several times in my life, and it has personally helped me a great deal. This action of asking for help is a great way to be positive because you are seeking abetter and more positive perspective for you, a family member, or a team member and that will lead to many great things. Another way to model this value is to ask others, “Are you ok?” if you see them struggling to be positive and then taking a minute to listen and possibly point them toward a great resource that could help
BREAK THE CYCLE
According to the National Science Foundation the average person has about 12,000 to 60,00 thoughts per day. Of those, 80% are negative and 95% are the same repetitive thoughts as the day before and about 80% negative. What we tell ourselves on an ongoing basis reflects not only the way we think but how we feel and act.(Psychology Today-Dec. 4th 2017)We all know these thoughts-they sound something like, “I’m too…..old, young, fat, skinny, dumb, smart, intense, passive….” OR “I will never…get a raise, make progress, improve my marriage, lose weight, save money, get out of debt…”. So, the mindset shift here is to break the cycle of this negative cycle and introduce “Be Positive” to yourself with encouraging and positive steps that you can take to make progress on your challenge and to accept yourself in the areas that you literally can’t change. Be positive can simply mean being kind to yourself and setting small achievable goals instead of dwelling on the negative thoughts.
Together this month let’s all try and encourage one another, ask for help (or ask others if they are ok), and break the cycle of negative self-talk and see if we can increase the positivity in the air at Mahaney.
Be Positive!
