The Positive Energy Workplace

I’m in the midst right now of some big stuff. Our family just relocated 4 people, a dog named Ruckus, a new job for hubby, and my business…2200 miles across the country back to the West Coast where I am again at peace with mountains, sunshine and lots of water. It’s tougher in some ways that I wouldn’t have imagined…and easier in other ways that I wouldn’t have imagined. All in all, it’s great to be back. And I find myself stepping into new things with a new perspective, ranging from leading my business, growing my business, serving our clients, and even how I parent. And in the midst, we are experiencing the interesting process of buying and selling homes in a new market, getting used to a new school system, transferring business over to CA, moving into new office space, and learning to live in temporary living space while we do all of the above. To say it’s an adventure…would be…an…understatement. It is nerve racking…And the learning is grand.

I’m a “swimmer”…I like to get things done. I like to keep moving. I get frustrated when movement is slow. This serves me 90% of the time. This tortures me the other 10. If I use this "power" intentionally – it's a strength. If I let it get the best of me, that "strength" turns into a weakness…and fast. See, so much is out of my control or influence (I can truly only influence/control myself and how I show up in it), and while I know this and have spent countless hours and episodes of making peace with this – and learning patience…I’m still a swimmer. Being a lifelong swimmer, I’ve learned to pay attention to mindset and focus. This, I’ve found is crucial, and often the difference between working WITH myself and working AGAINST myself. (For those of you who don’t know, though I suspect if you’re on my blog you know this quite well: Swimmers like to get there fast…and all those little details; fish, waves, coral, seaweed, etc. can slow down the process…yet, they’re all part of the process…AND, if we allow it….the beauty of the experience.) As a swimmer I can CHOOSE how peaceful the process is by paying attention to mindset. I can choose to sink or swim. For example…

With Thanksgiving around the corner, one of my very favorite days, I find myself in a swirl of gratitude for the people in my life, the business that I get to be a part of, the clients that do this work with us, my adorable kids who show me everyday the gift of unconditional love and goodness, my husband who supports me and makes doing this work and doing the "mom/ceo" thing easier, and so much more. Am I gushing? Yes, a tad.

Earlier this week I recorded a new video…you can see it by clicking here. It's about gratitude and it's about 3:30 minutes. After the quick recording, I'd intended to follow it up with a blog post to talk about the power of gratitude. The power of mindset. The power of everything great. AND along the way…I received the gift of a challenge to work my own stuff (which happens more than folks might realize.) Literally as I sat down to write the new shiny happy post, literally…I received a "nasty" phone call (the deliverer was great, the message stunk.) And it gave me the opportunity to reconnect with that place of gratitude to get out of a #$%^ mood. ;-)

In parts 1 and 2 of this series, I shared the old Native American parable of "the wolf you feed" and how these different "wolves" show up in our lives and organizations impacting energy, mindset and results. In the final part of this series, I offer some more ways to get into action and make shifts that will serve you, and those you care about, at work, at home, and everywhere in between. Enjoy!

I had a fascinating and eye opening experience this last week. A vendor we’ve been working with, who is wonderful and has always been eager to be helpful…was not her normal self. I’ll spare you the details, except to say that here’s what I noticed: her energy was off, she was short with me and tense, and when I asked her to help me with something – that I knew she wanted to help me with – she said “it’s out of my control, my power has been taken away.” I left there feeling less excited about and connected to the company, bothered about my customer care person and the experience, deflated, and not really eager to go back. I also felt a breach of trust (no great reason for it, just the feeling I had.) I left there wondering if I should find another vendor, drop the deal (it’s a BIG deal – high dollars, high value), or just blow it all off. The more I thought about it, the more bugged I got...it was incongruent with my experience of the past. I went back to find out what was up…In a word…”leadership.”

I hiked about 28 miles last week. Real “hiked”. Not the kind of hiking you do on flat ground, on a trail, in the park, real, full on, “mountains, boulders, rocks, lava, slick rock, switch backs, mochi ball, cacti, watch for snakes, scorpions, hila monster, heart rate hiiiiighh, altitude adjust please, second skin, hiking boots a good idea, camel backs necessary, need a massage afterwards” hiking…It was great. I’m always in my glory in the mountains (part of the reason I was happy to move back to the West Coast), and I find it a great place to do this work with my clients. Years ago, my first job out of college was as the Fitness Director for a hiking retreat in California. I didn’t realize then how much that job would influence how I evolved my work with clients years later in my own little organization. Every time I hike, and even every time I train period, but hiking especially, I am reminded of how great the metaphor for life hiking actually is. Add in a client or participant or twelve, and the metaphors come flying in! Here are just 7 things to keep in mind on the “hike” of your life…grab your boots and hit a trail and see how these things resonate for you. For those of you who joined me for the “Leading With Boots On™” Hike last week, you’ll get a nice refresher here. (And this doesn’t even have the half of it! More later perhaps!) :-)