The Positive Energy Workplace

When I travel I get to meet all sorts of people in airports. Those who inspire me, like Jim, 82 years old with a ton of energy, a strut, and a sparkle in his eye, who was flying off to fulfill one of the items on his bucket list; Christine, a surgeon who cares so immensely about the patient experience — as well as effective treatment — that it brought tears to my eyes; Julie, a traveling senior executive with a child she adores and raises alone, who has made her life hum so well that she’s able to be a rock star mom AND rock it in the business world everyday; and Gene, whose commitment to his culture and his employees feeling seen and cared for, is so high up on his priority list — even more so than the numbers — that the numbers are higher than they’ve ever been.

I also get to meet less than delighted people who teach me to use my skills. Take “Bert”… Boarding a plane last week, I noticed him ahead of me in line, made eye contact, smiled, and said “good morning”. Nada. Turns out he was my seat mate. So I got settled, smiled, said good morning again, and asked him how his day was.

“I’m surviving” he said/scoffed. I felt the energetic “dip” (you know what I’m talking about). “Great!” I offered back. I took a breath, smiled, sat back, relished my coffee and the fact that I’d made my flight (it was close), reflected on the intentions I’d set earlier in the morning, and rebooted. I felt my energetic vibration recalibrate and elevate as I got present in my own space and experience (not his), and envisioned the day, and the people I’d get to work with, ahead of me.

Bert sat for a bit, and then asked me this…

My daughter and I took a little vacation up the coast. It was beautiful, weather perfect, simply lovely. But I made one huge mistake that almost cost us the trip. Due to last minute planning, I put us in a hotel that I’d booked against my better judgment and compromised our environment.

A couple of years ago I had a speaking engagement overseas. Due to scheduling and trying to save the client money, it ended up that I’d have only one day of acclimatization time, fly 12 hours sitting up with no sleep, and be on stage right when it all hit. Bottom line, I’d compromised my self-care.

Last fall I got “set up” to meet a new friend for coffee. A quarter coffee and 10 minutes in, he talked all about how tough it was to work at his company, how worthless his boss was, how much it sucks to be divorced, and more niceties (he talked fast). I felt twinges of my life force trying to leave my body, and 18 minutes later, I was out the door. Had I stayed, I’d be compromising my “posse”.

Know any of these?

“I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”

“I’m so so so busy. I have no time to create what I want.”

“It’s not my fault.“Aghhhh… I’m happy enough."

Of course, they’re all related. If you’re too busy to create what you want, and you’re getting no sleep, and nothing is your fault, then it makes sense that you might be “happy enough”. If you hold that self-care is not important, then of course you’re going to be overwhelmed, and happy enough will be enough (and of course it’s not your fault because you are sooo busy). See? We could do this all day. They all relate.

There’s something super powerful running your “show”… and you may not even be aware of it. See if any of these scenarios are familiar...

I moved into my house 7 months ago. There’s a doorstop the previous owners placed by the garage door that every time I walk by it, it annoys me. It’s not a big deal. It’s just that I get a momentary flinch of “ugh ick” every time I walk by it. And then it’s gone, I forget, and I leave it there and go about my business. Only to repeat the cycle the next time I see it. This is a silly example, but it has energetic impact.