Skip to main content

Positive Psychology

There is a movement called Positive Psychology that I believe is crucial, especially when the odds of success of a venture are low. Believe in the success and the actions you take tend to be more successful. Believe you'll fail, or collect all the hard data that says you'll fail, and chances are: you fail.

Detractors suggest that we could be hit with cold water of reality no matter what we "believe."

I say hogwash.

Check out Sue Shellenbarger's article, "Keep Thinking Happy Thoughts," (link below) if you'd like for two reasons. One, I always thought of the WSJ as infalliable (even though they do have a 'corrections' section.) And for my own part, one of my lies is that I need to be perfect to be successful. That any failure on my part was attributable to some error I made.

Also hogwash.

Winners just stay in the game and believe they can win and in the cause or adventure they are on so fully that they put their all into it.

So, do you believe you deserve a career of your dreams?

Or do you believe "the man" is punishing you? Or that you're fundamentally flawed? Or that you're owed a fantastic job and so they better give it to you? Or that they've done you wrong?

What story are you wedded to and collecting data against?

http://online.wsj.com/article/work_and_family.html#articleTabs%3Dcomments
Labels:

Comments

WorkWellGroups said…
Steven, thanks! I loved the Change Therapy e-book. And readers can link to it now through your comment.
8:43 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

100 Lives in 2023

Legacy -- what I leave behind. Executive Function -- I just looked that up and have a lot more to learn about it. The concept struck me as core to this next chapter of my life that brings together all I've learned so far. Building ability to learn, resilience in the face of terror and disaster, being bendable and shaping while maintaining a spine, having a North Star -- a clear direction, a system of support, and an operating system. Getting regular feedback to dim the echo chamber effect. Regular cadence of reflection time. This is what's required in 2023 and beyond. Cal Newport is correct -- companies have put the full responsibility on each worker to determine how to orchestrate their lives. At the same time, we can work 24 hours--technology allows us to use the same device to wake up and learn what's happening halfway around the globe. Athletes have coaches who share best practices on what to do holistically step by step to optimize their performance on the court or f...
Post a Comment
Read more

I love the A-list

The A-list is Gossip Girl for gays: a frothy eclair for turning the brain off. And yet, in response to some who'd analyze it, I think there's something to say for the underbelly of distorted personalities depicted. I say it's a collective call for us to get better as a community in the way we tell our stories and treat each other, now that we've got some stuff. We've had a fiery time forging our identities in a world that can be hostile. The jaw-dropping cruelty (beyond dangerous liaisons) depicted during the A-list episodes borders on farce, and yet, I'd challenge us to notice that the farce is only a smidgen heightened for dramatic effect in the circles some of us aspire to enter. The face: one of utter disdain betraying no vulnerability or hurt and the collection of humans as figurines to decorate our coffee tables and scream, "I belong here," damage more than the pin prick to keep our lips supple, taut and puckered. The other places that we are cre...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Profitable Man

How do you define a successful life? I think, post-holidays, this idea of what this year should be comes to mind. What if it's in the quality of sleep each night, and the love you enjoy from those closest to you? What if any profit is really from having enough time, money, and other stuff to enjoy the love around you? Then, how do the actions you take this year, this month, this week align with that vision you have for yourself as a viable human being and then your career? Reminder: we spend the most time at work. How does work time move the dial forward for the total being of you. If it goes against, it detracts from what you want to be in the world. Is that a worthy sacrifice? Challenge. Write about it this year. Talk with trusted friends. If you need to adjust the work you do: mold the current work, find a new position within the current organization, or seek new frontiers, do it, for life is short and the years they roll along quickly. Happy New Year. Live and Work ...
Post a Comment
Read more