The Positive Energy Workplace

In my work with clients I notice trends. After all, we’re all human beings; we’re bound to have some similarities in how we navigate our lives, conflicts and leadership in general, right? The “trend” that’s on my mind this morning is twofold – the behavior of looking “outside” for answers and the trend of “blame.” And more specifically in my awareness today is the absolute waste of energy that comes from doing both. From an energy leadership perspective, they’re both unproductive and exhausting behaviors. I know this for myself personally, I witness it in others (as individuals and as teams), and I even see it in the grocery store. Exhausting. Not a joyful activity.

Here’s the thing (and something that intuitively we all know, but easily forget)…The answers are not “out there.” The answers are “in here.” They’re in ourselves. And when we focus externally for others to find them, fix them, or change…we’re giving away our seniority as leaders and as spiritual human beings. Energetically, we let the energy seep out in hopes that something external will “fill the void.” I don’t think this works so well. This is often where a “band aid” fix will do…for a bit perhaps…but it’s not sustainable... To create sustainable change, real change, that works we have to do more and it starts “here.”

What does it mean to be a hero in your life? Everyone has their personal stand for what they believe makes a hero. No matter what our personal definition of “hero” is, we all have the opportunity to be the hero of our own lives. Sometimes it takes a bit of an awakening and sometimes it’s just connecting with and “owning” that hero inside us…Whatever the case, we know when we are being a hero in our own life. Being authentic, fully engaging and truly caring about others is a great start…But often it’s not enough. There is much more to being a hero in your life and it centers on creating more energy, stamina, self-awareness and courage for YOU. This article address what it is to be your own hero and how you can use energy, leadership and daring to call forth an even greater hero in you everyday.

I've had this conversation with many people and find it highly fascinating. I've found that the meaning of "hero" is very personal and unique to each individual. Everyone has their personal stand for what they believe makes a hero and some have varying degrees they've designated of the "hero scale."

Need a vacation? Some space, some time to clear your head and get strategic? Go.
So there are 10 things you could start doing today that will help you move through this recession and the challenges of your business and life in a more peaceful, productive and engaging way. You'll notice there is action in here to ground it and make it real - but really - all of these stem from mindset and finding opportunity for moving forward.

LEARN. This is not the time to hide or wait. Lean in and learn all you can. Make yourself better, stronger, more aware. Check your mindset and beliefs (see next week's article.) You don't have to spend a ton of money to do it - buy a book, take an afternoon to ask yourself the BIG questions, take a class, work with a coach, purchase a self study program. Do it individually, do it as a team. But do it. (The new DTE Power Pack Program is a resource we can help you with here.)

This morning I was sitting with my kids, having breakfast, drinking my a.m. Joe, and catching up on a bit of email. It’s a gorgeous Monday morning out. And I was excited to cruise through email so that I could devote an entire day to creating content, wrapping up Power Pack audios, and writing. I love these mornings; they’re fresh, they provide a lot of inspiration, and I always have some new really simple but important “different lensed” insight emerge from having different space in the weekend. Yesterday was Mother’s Day and I got the gift of 4 hours to write and be, so I was particularly refreshed this morning.

As I reviewed client notes, I started to think about what my clients (self included here) deal with on a day to day basis, things/issues/solutions/ways of being that they may have learned as kids, but in the chaos of life, games, and politics, so easily get lost, buried and even forgotten. I often notice in my work that ironically most of what we really need to know as adults, was taught to us in elementary school and Human Goodness 101. I find this thought entertaining, sometimes saddening, and then almost always inspiring. Of course it gets more complex as we age and get into our lives, but not that much. Not that much if we keep it in perspective and stay true to ourselves. So I sat back, pulled out 3 key things that I believe are foundational to “being” and told my kids to look me in the eye, imprint my face in their psyche and remember these three points for the rest of their life…(no pressure now to make these “3 points” profound and significant with an intro like that!)