Articles covering Motivation
Do You Feel Lucky, Punk er…Punkette…?
I am lucky, or so my mate tells me.
‘You always win raffles’ she says.
Clearly I don’t or I’d have a house chock full of orphan cuddly toys and last year’s chocolates! But I do buy tickets at charity events and my friend was with me when I won a few times in a row. In her head I am lucky so she doesn’t notice the myriad times I don’t win a thing!
You Can Be Lucky Too!
Luck is a state of mind. Decide to be lucky and amazingly you will be!
Let me share an example with you. I had a pretty hard week last week for lots of reasons I won’t mention; most outwith my control. At the end of the week I was lucky enough (!) to get a trip down to Cornwall to visit friends which was a blessed relief and lovely (I even paddled in the sea!)
On the way home my darling husband’s car exhaust decided to make a bid for freedom and dropped off! How unlucky! I’d had a tiring week and just after a relaxing week end I get this and have to wait hours for recovery….sigh.
Well, no actually. Instead, I thought how lucky that we had such good friends who said come to us at a moment’s notice. How lucky that they live in such a brilliant part of the country. How lucky that we had the hottest October week end in years.
And most of all…
How lucky that we had stopped for a drink and a snack just before the exhaust disgraced itself and I had just been to the loo!There were no bushes for miles….
How lucky are you?
Have a look at Can You Make Yourself Lucky for a less tongue in cheek account!
PS Have you noticed what a strange word ‘lucky’ is. Try saying it out loud a few times! Quietly, or you’ll sound like Kylie Minogue! No bad thing actually!
Photo Credit: Dave Simmonds
When Did You Last Put a Toe in the Water?
No, I don’t mean a trip to your local swimming pool, or quick paddle on the beach!
I mean, when did you last try something new? When did you last challenge yourself and get your feet wet?
Are you playing too safe?
When did you last do something that really made the hairs on your neck stand up? When did you last take a risk, push yourself a bit further than you really feel comfortable with?
It’s only by pushing ourselves from time to time that we develop and grow and learn. Next time an opportunity comes up if you feel yourself instinctively saying “no”, experiment and say YES!
You might find you quite like getting your feet wet again!
Appreciative Inquiry and Change!
As humans we are spectacularly good at looking on the gloomy side. If I’m running a change workshop or one of my personal development courses and ask for examples of what’s not working I am usually inundated. But ask a different question, what is going well? or what do you do well? and the responses can dry up.
Moaning is Habit
Sometimes we just get into the habit of moaning. Low grade, not terribly serious, moaning. In fact, it can become a part of the culture of a workplace, particularly one undergoing change (and let’s face it, most workplaces have been experiencing change over the last few years). Moaning helps us bond with our fellow workers. In fact, we might even feel a bit guilty about being chirpy and moan even when we feel alright with the world. Does that sound familiar?
It’s insidious and it drags you down. Over time it will sap your motivation and you run the danger of becoming a drain (see ‘Drains and Radiators’). It’s not helpful to you at all.
Appreciative Inquiry
Which is why when working with groups at some point I’ll introduce the principles of Appreciative Inquiry, or, as I like to call it, the Pollyanna moment!
In brief, appreciative inquiry means shifting the focus off what isn’t working onto what is! Don’t waste your energy on looking at what you don’t like, what doesn’t work for you, but focus on the positive. Using the principles of appreciative inquiry throughout a change process can really bring out the best in people, tap into creativity and positivity.
You can start the process by simply thinking, ‘what works well in my life’? When work is good what is going well? Challenge your assumptions and the assumptions of your work place or working group. The assumptions are beliefs (unwritten rules) that have grown up over time which become the framework or context for all other decisions. You’re probably not even aware of them on a conscious level.
An example is flexible working. A few years back an assumption in many places was that everyone had to work the same hours and be available to each other at the same time; the assumption was that business couldn’t be done any other way. (Some places still hold this assumption or belief). But once companies rid themselves of this assumption they can begin to look creatively and positively at how work could be and introduce creative working practices which enhance the end result.
Challenging Assumptions Means Change
Once you begin to question in this way more will follow. Other long held assumptions will get questioned. Some will embrace this others will feel threatened and insecure and resist.
Here are 8 assumptions of Appreciative Inquiry:
- In every group or society, organisation something works
- What we focus on becomes our reality
- Reality is created in the moment, there can be multiple realities
- The act of asking questions in organisations or groups influences the group in some way
- People have more confidence and comfort in changing their future (unknown) when they can carry with them bits of their past (known things)
- When carrying forward it should be what’s best of the past
- It is important to value differences
- The language we use helps create our reality
In brief, if you view life as a problem to be solved you won’t be comfortable with Appreciative Inquiry. Appreciative Inquiry takes the view that life is a mystery to be embraced. Problem solving means you spend energy on identifying what is wrong and then trying to put it right. Missing the opportunity to look at all that is going really well can mean introducing a solution to fix the wrong bit, which impacts on all the good bits… I hear this regularly when working with organisations and change:
‘It used to work perfectly until…’
‘I could help customers much more until we had this new rule...’
I’m sure you can come up with examples from your own experience – the baby out with the bathwater syndrome!
Appreciative Inquiry Questions to help you cope with organisational change:
- Think back over your career in the organisation. Try to pin point a real highpoint for you, when you felt really engaged and effective at what you do. How did you feel? What circumstances made that possible?
- Think about what you value most about yourself, what value you bring into the organisation. Don’t be modest.
- If you could have 3 do-able, concrete wishes for your company or organisation what would they be?
- What do you want to take with you into the future?
Photo Credit: Cylonka
How to Have BRILLIANT Ideas!
Creative thinking
I was indulging in a little Twitter banter this morning (@JaneCWoods, since you ask). Someone put a light hearted tweet out about not wanting to put the heat on as she was mean with her money. Jumper or switch on?
Accustomed as I am to seeking the positives in everything (!) I replied that she wasn’t mean but being an eco warrior! In slippers…
Be Positive
There then followed about 20 minutes of a daft exchange of ideas. Another follower chipped in and we decided ironing was definitely a no no, creases were the symbol of eco warriors, and we could make a fortune and have an alternative source of energy by bottling hot flush! Thousands of middle aged women plugging into the national grid and saving the world! I think we’re onto something….
Can you see it?
Well, maybe not, but there is a serious point here. When faced with a dilemma, a problem we can’t see a solution to, the ‘sitting down and working it out systematically‘ approach can work, but if you really want to tap into your creative unconscious go mad!
A burst of silliness can work wonders in helping you seek solutions. It’s hard to have silly thoughts on your own so go grab a mate and have some serious fun! Tap into that inner child and if anyone looks askance tell them you’re busy being a creative problem solver! Good luck!
And if you’d like another tip on creativity, take a look at Boost Your Creativity in 3 Minutes.
P.S. If you’re looking for a burst of inspiration and would like to join some like minded women for a day, take a peek at RenewYou. I have just 3 places left!
Photo Credit: Lejla
The Secret of a Great Life!
How to change your life? It’s a question I’m often asked when coaching and here is an analogy I often use. If you’re feeling a bit stuck with life I hope it helps.
Do you ever get in your car, drive, and arrive at your destination (usually somewhere you go regularly like work) and not remember much about how you got there?
You’ve arrived and it’s taken you the same amount of time that it usually does but you were unaware of the journey. It passed in a haze. Maybe you were thinking about the day ahead, or the day just gone. Maybe you were fantasising about a dream life post huge lottery win!
We all do it and it can be a bit scary. What have we missed on the way?
Change Your Life
The reason we drive to work and have no memory of it is that our brains have developed that pathway; it’s a groove we easily slide into. So much so that if our holiday route begins with our work route we may find ourselves halfway to work before we realise. We’ve gone into auto pilot. We need that facility or we’d go mad (imagine having to remind yourself how to do every single thing you know. You’d go bonkers!) but if we live too much in the groove we miss out on so much of the possibilities of our lives.
The good news is it doesn’t have to be like that. Whatever age you are it’s never too late to start to live consciously, to make the most of your life. It’s only too late if you never start!
Change and Grow
So how to change your life? Well, for one thing you could investigate new routes to work and vary it now and again. You’ll notice so much more and quite possibly drive better too! And open up a new pathway in your brain!
And you can investigate new routes in your life too. The more you give yourself new challenges, stray from automatic pilot, the more life opens up its possibilities to you and the more rich your experience of life can be. Sometimes that means having a destination or a goal, sometimes that means maybe taking a risk and following your instincts. The point is that whatever you are doing you are fully experiencing your life and not cruising through your precious life on auto pilot.
So, what could you change today to make your life great?
P.S Ten Tips for a Brain Work Out will help kick start your thinking!
Photo Credit- Niels Jansen
Why Do You Work?
Why do you work? Often the first response to that is “for the money” but when you dig a little deeper money is rarely the primary motivator, although of course it is a significant factor. Take a few moments to think of 5 reasons why you work.
When money is the main reason for working, it’s often as a means to an end. As in, I’ll do this job I don’t like because it pays well, and stay until I’m in a position to do what I really want. But financial rewards are important and we women are notorious for under valuing ourselves in this area and not always asking for enough. (Latest survey says a 98 year wait for UK women to get equal pay with men – good grief)
Reasons for Working
I sometimes work with groups approaching retirement; one of the questions I ask them is what does work give them? First, with the prospect of a living on a pension looming large in their minds, they always say money. But then some more interesting facts emerge. They enjoy the status of being employed, particularly if in a senior position and they like the companionship. They like the satisfaction of a job well done, of feeling that they count.
Surveys
This is borne out by research into what makes people content at work. People like the opportunity to do what they do well every day, to use their skills; they also like that work to be recognised to be their line managers. In addition they are happy in workplaces where someone takes an interest in their development, and where training and staff development is valued and supported.
If you find yourself in a role where you’re not getting any of things, you may wish to consider moving jobs. If that’s not possible, consider how you might build some of these things into your life by other means. When work isn’t working for you, then you need to take responsibility for managing your own career, because no one cares about it as much as you do. If you haven’t got a good employer, or good line manager, you just have to grab the career reins yourself!
Photo Credit: Valdas Zajanckauskas
