30 Mar On Positivity
This year I decided that my household was going to have great mornings. No more of this dragging kids out of bed. I wanted to change my habits because I hated the way I started my day with all that stress and negativity.
I stumbled upon a study that said that if you think positive thoughts you will be 19% more productive! Wow! I liked the sound of that. Now what did I have to do to make that happen? The steps I took reminded me a lot of the mental commitment required to be a good fundraiser.
Want to be more positive in your workplace? Here are the steps to make it happen.
1) Think positive thoughts
I have now buffered my morning with an extra 45 minutes. That’s time for me to get up, get coffee, set my priorities for the day, pack lunches and unload the dishwasher. That means that when I wake the kids up, I am in a positive place and can be happy to see them. As an added bonus, I have time to actually talk with them while I’m waking them up! Trust me, it’s MUCH better than the old way. (Insert panicky screaming mom here). If you showed up at the office ½ hour earlier, what would be different about your day? If you worked with the vision that the grant WOULD be successful, instead of assuming that it would be denied, how would your approach to your work change?
2) Be a cheerleader and celebrate your team’s success
“Do the voice again mommie,” says Charlotte. That’s the high pitched voice that I make when the kids put their lunch boxes on the counter by themselves after school. When they first did this, I said (in a high pitched squealy voice) Oh thank you so much, that is so helpful to me you are the BEST! Now, not only do the kids successfully put their lunchboxes on the counter, they turn and look at me, waiting for the squealy voice. Are you celebrating your team’s accomplishments? Are you creating a culture where execution is rewarded?
3) Have a vision for what success will look like
I had to truly believe that an alternative morning routine was possible, and I had to take responsibility for making it happen. There are fundraising shops out there where nobody owns up and takes responsibility for their actions. They are not ready to change their behaviour, or their habits to get to their vision of success. I wanted to change my morning, and I had to change my behaviour to change the outcome. I wanted a “tear-free morning.” Your vision of success might be reaching 10 donors per week via phone or coffee date. That’s two a day, or a full day of calling donors. What are you doing right now to make your vision for success happen? What do you need to stop doing in order to make your vision for success happen?
Positivity, productivity and results go hand in hand. If you’re stuck, I’d like to help you get unstuck, reinvigorated and reenergized. Drop me a line at [email protected] to talk about how I can help. Because being positive at your job – right now – is in your power. It really is!