The Positive Energy Workplace

Work with your team. Talk about what's going on. Be open about it. Invite them into the conversation. Tell the truth (be aware of and response-able for your impact here.) Brainstorm solutions. Give them ownership for creating solutions that will help you move through challenges together.

Mission & Vision. Why are you in business? Why does your company exist? What's the impact you want to have? What's the overall vision here? Do you remember? Do you have one? Are you clear on where you're going? Individually, as a team? What are your shared values that will get you there? You can have more than one vision, for different areas of your life, but if you don't have at least one - it's going to be hard to get there. Having a mission, vision and shared values can pull you through times of adversity (and make it more fun in the process which in my opinion is a really good thing.)

Make a plan. Nothing breeds greater clarity and a sigh of relief like actually making a plan. Whatever your current situation is - what's your plan? Doesn't have to be perfect - just jot down some next steps, get into action, and be awake in the process so you know when you need to make a left turn or switch gears.

Acknowledge. A close cousin to gratitude. What's your team going through right now? How are they showing up? Who are they "being" in the face of challenge and unknown outcomes? How can you be more helpful to them?

We talk a lot about avoiding burnout these days: "the economy", "work/life balance", and all sorts of topics provide us with lots to discuss and lots to "work harder" on. In my experience, the quickest way I know to prevent burnout is not to "avoid it" (after all, we create what we think about, and even more so what we avoid), but rather to make sure we're doing stuff that has meaning and purpose for us - EVERY SINGLE DAY. Especially when in the midst of stressful or challenging times. Finding joy, dreaming and focusing on the impact we want to create with our lives, can help us focus on the right things, put our attention in productive areas, and lead us through the unknown paths.

If you're not in the dream role, dream business or dream situation right now, it's worth taking the time to explore what that dream role might be, and then getting into action. If you're not feeling "the love" in your life or connected or engaged, it's worth reaching out to create it. If you're dissatisfied, it's worth, finding the "request" under that dissatisfaction and getting into action. I believe that one of the greatest GIFTS we have in our lives, bar none, is to be able to identify where we're at, where we want to be and then to do something with it. Those "gaps" in satisfaction are beacons that can show us what needs to be designed in our lives (and organizations) to make it even better.

How does this apply to you personally? I'm not sure, obviously only you can know what's true for you. And I do know that I personally am in the question everyday of "What reality am I creating for myself?" "How am I helping things go right? Or not?" My beliefs and mindset influence the actions I take which influence the results I get - at work, at home, and in life in general. Seeing this makes it easier, because I can create a "presence point" to check my mindset and see where it's at and where it may need to shift in order to create my intended impact.