Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Absolutely Positive: A 2-4 for positive thinking

Having a positive attitude towards any situation starts with awareness so when I recently facilitated an inspiring group of people over 55 (www.alberta55plus.ca ) we started by intentionally focusing on our attitudes, devised a positive dictionary and moved from the cerebral to the physical. How? We practiced biting our tongue (which signals the negative talker that something isn’t right) then practiced smiling at one another (ever practice smiling? It’s sure to evoke laughter, eye rolls and a little light-heartedness), then worked on speaking up with language that’s positive and solution focused. I’ve coined it the BS2 method: Bite your tongue, Smile, Speak up - stay solution focused/say or turn negative into positive. 

While the practice seems rather surface, and it is, the intent and outcome runs deep into how we act and interact with others. The physical manifestation, if turned into a habit in our brain and body, begins a change in thinking, action, process and outcomes. With a positive attitude, opportunities arise out of challenges, encouragement out of fear, strength out of powerlessness. Next time someone bites their tongue listen to what you’re saying and discuss solutions framed with positive language.  

Calgary fog...lifting
Check out my website www.fourward.ca for Absolutely Positive: A 2-4 for positive thinking, posting soon.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

We've all done it

F - fun
O - opportunity
U - unity
R - relationships

Taking a word like 'four' and writing down words or phrases that start with the letters - we've all done it.

Today I stumbled on a book called 'nowhere.' When I took a closer look I read the insert and it disected the meaning of its title: nowhere - no where, know where, now here. As I read about the Way of nowhere, I was amazed at how it fit so incredibly with my work. "The Way of nowhere is a living practice designed to unlock the creative and collective potential of organizations and their people."

A few years ago I connected with another entrepreneur, Linda Naiman, whose company, 'Creativity at Work' shares a newsletter that touches all my senses sending shivers up my spine. People like - Cynthia Watson of Soulstar Discovery, Suzanne Evans @ helpmorepeople.com, Stephen Heppell @ heppell.com,  magazines -Yes!, movements - TED.com, centres - CSI - Centre for Social Innovators are some of the freshwater drops that fill my bucket and nourish me.

Listening for fresh drops create movement that stirs the 70% or so of my physical body composed of water. The other 30%, muscle and fat, are fed by the wonders of ideas, sectors, people, objects that are foreign to my experiences, education and culture. Equally important, curling my hair, piercing my nose and shading my eyes to see new, I feed with frenzy, love and curiosity.

Keep on doing it!