Our Attitude is Contagious!

Do you ever have those days where you’re not quite feeling it? You know, you wake up and you’re in a bad mood and everything is sort of irritating? Well, we could look for all sorts of answers for why we have all had these days. There can be any number of reasons at any given moment to be feeling down in the dumps.

Now, do you let it carry throughout the rest of your day? Or do you nip it in the butt and toss it away? Although, it may not be easy, it’s important we give it a toss. Once we’re in that state of unhappiness it’s contagious. Whether you like to admit it or not, your energy bounces off everyone you come in to contact with. So remember if we’re having a rough day, what right do we have to take someone who is having a great day and pull them into our negativity? On the other hand, the complete opposite is pure gold. When we’re in a good mood the same thing happens. We pass on our energy to others adding value to their day rather than taking away from it.

For the most part, when we’re not quite feeling it, we are focused on what we don’t have, what we’re missing out on and even what we don’t want to do. If we’ve found ourselves stuck in this mindset, we can flick a switch to begin turning our thoughts.
I’m currently reading a few books. One in particular is “The Art of Happiness” by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler. M.D. Here is an excerpt from page 25 that relates to today post.

“Researchers have conducted a number of experiments demonstrating that one’s level of life satisfaction can be enhanced simply be shifting one’s perspective and contemplating how things could be worse. In one study, women at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee were shown images of the extremely harsh living conditions in Milwaukee at the turn of the century or were asked to visualize and write about going through personal tragedies such as being burned or disfigured. After completing this exercise, the women were asked to rate the quality of their own lives. The exercise resulted in an increased sense of satisfaction with their lives. In another experiment at the State University of New York at Buffalo, subjects were asked to complete the sentence “I’m glad I’m not a …” After five repetitions of this exercise, the subjects experienced a distinct elevation in their feeling of life satisfaction. Another group of subjects was asked by the experimenters to complete the sentence “I wish I were a …” This time, the experiment left the subjects feeling more dissatisfied with their lives.”

So, the morale of this post and the above excerpt is that, when we are feeling down, we should reflect on the things we do have and be grateful for these things. Once we flick that switch and begin to be thankful for our health, for the roof over our head and the great family and friends we have you can wash away those thoughts that placed you in a bad mood. Let’s face it, we don’t enjoy those moments of self doubt and insecurity. By monitoring our thoughts we can slowly but surely change the way we think and finally be in control of our destiny!

Scott Wain

Overcoming Adversity

Anyone been watching the Leafs lately? The past week was quite a roller coaster. On Tuesday of last week, the Toronto Maple Leafs got pumped by the Florida Panthers
8 – 0. Not a fun game to watch, let alone play in. Looking forward after game, they had to get ready to meet the red hot Montreal Canadians on Thursday and then on Saturday, the first place overall Detroit Redwings. Uh oh!

Let’s face it, losing 8 – 0 in a hockey game is like losing 56 – 0 in a football game, pretty embarrassing either way. Little did we know, the Leafs would take out the Canadians and the Redwings over their next 2 match up's. Not too many would have thought of such outcomes. The Leafs on the other hand dug deep and bounced back in a way no one would have imagined. Although the Leafs still have an uphill battle to climb their way into the playoffs, I believe the last 2 games have shown some light in the right direction.

So how does one or a team for that matter, bounce back from adversity? Some self reflection is a good start. However, it’s important not to get stuck in that rearview mirror. If you fail to look forward and your eyes are staring behind for too long, you’re bound to crash. With some examination of what could have been done differently and some determination to make the minor adjustments moving forward, you’re on your way.

We have all made the mistake of dwelling on the past. Once we accept that we can’t change it but we can learn from it, the better off we are. It’s not reasonable to believe that we are going to do everything right the first time. It’s how we learn from our adversities and not dwell on them, where we can truly grow.

In the Leafs case, keeping a defenseman in front of their own net, blocking the passing lane through the crease and cleaning up the occasional rebound totally changed their outcome of the 2 games after an embarrassing loss. Think of a time where you’ve made minor adjustments and pushed through a time of pressure or hardship. When you’re done, give yourself a pat on the back!

Scott Wain

What Drives You?

After reading a comment on the Law of Attraction post earlier in the week about finding your true passion, I’ve had some time to think. It may not be easy to find what it is that truly drives you. So, if you’re working for a company that doesn’t give you fulfillment, how do you make a shift to something that does? First, you can look at what experiences you posses, what value you could bring to another company or an entire different industry for that matter.

One way of going about it is, you can begin to talk with friends and family with different backgrounds. Ask them questions about what they like and dislike in their respective careers. How did they get to where they are today? Did they need any type of qualifications or specific education to work in their field? Is there room for advancement?

Another great way of finding a job that you’re passionate about is to ask yourself, what do I love? If you love to inspire people in any way you can, like I do, learn what types of things you would need to do to become a motivational speaker. Or maybe start writing so you may have an opportunity to write a book some day.

Maybe you love to play video games! So, you could start looking into what types of jobs there are out there to be involved in making video games. Do you know anyone who is connected to the field at all? Most people find jobs because of someone they know. Does anyone you know have any connections in the industry? These are good places to look and find out if you’re qualified and what you may need to do, to become qualified.

If it’s something you love and are passionate about, maybe you could provide some great inspiration to the industry. We have the ability to achieve anything we focus our energy on. It may not happen overnight. But with due diligence and a dream, it’s closer than you may think!

Scott Wain

Are You an Effective Communicator?

What kind of things can we do to communicate more effectively? How can you apply this to your home life or work life? Whether it’s picking out the right furniture with your wife, or just closing the big deal with that tough client, there are some things you can do to help you along the way.

One practice to work on is very simple. You won’t have to read a long book or take a training course to get this underway. You can practice as soon as you’re done reading this post. The simple act of paraphrasing will take you to another level as a communicator. Paraphrasing will help you in a couple of ways.

First and foremost, it shows that you are actually listening to the individual whom you’re speaking with. Secondly, you allow yourself to check and see if what you heard was specifically what you interpreted. Eliminate the guess work. Having worked as a sales manager in the automotive industry, I constantly noticed times where our sales staff would not have all the information I would ask of them in order to coach them in a situation. There was countless times where I would hear things like, “I figured they would like this because…” or “I assumed they would be fine with this since…” Instances like this are classic examples of where communication is unclear and could be more effective.

Try it out. Next time you are having a discussion, look for places where you naturally allow yourself to “fill in the blanks” without clarifying a request or comment. When you paraphrase to confirm your understanding, you’ll begin to notice a few changes. You may land that big client or even pick out the 3 piece leather furniture set with the big screen TV that your wife wasn’t too keen on.

Scott Wain