WHEN ANSWERS FALL FROM THE THIRD FLOOR
On Monday, a book entitled 鈥淟IVING WITH JOY鈥� fell onto my very grumpy neighbor鈥檚 doorstep from our third floor apartment. Charles thought it might be mine. I must have that 鈥渟elf-help鈥� look written all over me.
How ironic that this rather worn, yet under-read book found its way out of my arms and right smack onto听Mr. Happy鈥檚 doorstep! It seemed like a sign, so I asked Charles the obvious question鈥� Did he want to read it? Without hesitation, he declared 鈥� jaw tight and eyes hawk-like, 鈥淎bsolutely, not! I鈥檓 happy just the way I am!鈥� After a pregnant pause, we both burst into laughter. After all, he was rarely the poster boy for outward joy - even in BBQ season. He chose grumpy and he wore it well. Suddenly, I felt a little awkward about being caught by Charles with a book on 鈥淛oy.鈥� I didn鈥檛 own 鈥淛oy鈥� quite so well myself. I scurried away. In the metro, as fate would have it, there was a brave woman proudly touting a bag that read:
鈥淣egative people need drama like oxygen.
Stay positive, it will take their breath away鈥�.
I hated thinking about (lack of) oxygen in an overcrowded metro. I exhaled long enough to get back to the deeper message. This bag was exhibiting signs of wisdom and hope: Positivity IS a choice and drama is often given far too much airtime. Time to get off my hamster wheel long enough to pay attention to my thoughts and where they had been leading me. How are your thoughts really working for you?, I asked myself.
I could list, with conviction, many unquestionable benefits of adopting a positive attitude in life: health, peace, longevity, satisfying relationships, creativity, learning, trust, etc. And of course I had read the first self-help 鈥渂ible鈥� by Norman Vincent Peale 鈥淭he Power of Positive Thinking鈥� back in 1835 or so, and many more recent 鈥渃lassics鈥� on the subject. I taught Stress Management after all 鈥� even to cops. In theory, this positive stuff made sense!听Yet, I felt uncomfortable carrying the Positivity Torch. Who wants to be seen by colleagues as na茂ve, gullible, Polyanna or just your basic ostrich in the sand? Not Charles鈥� and seemingly not me. How could positivity live a harmonious life alongside realism?
All truth be told, I don鈥檛 like conflict. It鈥檚 stressful. And I love to laugh. But I also really appreciate when we have enough safety in a room to name 鈥渢he elephant鈥�. There is an incredible relief that comes with respectful truth telling 鈥� and realization that there is usually more than one truth. How could positivity fit with that? Is that not negative? I was confused. So I turned to two young women听I听respect for their authenticity and their remarkable ability to 鈥済et it鈥� without听judgment or churn. They always remind me of what is essential, and I love the synergy that grows when we explore together. We set out on a positivity excavation.
How do听we want to feel when we come to work each day? What state will we听make 鈥渃ontagious鈥�? Where do听we want to spend our time? And with whom? What kind of lunch hour conversations are depleting us or setting us on fire? How can听we keep ourselves light and engaged in the workplace, while being highly responsive to our community in transition?听
Each of us renewed our commitment to bring greater positivity to our workplace. Here are some of our takeaways:
- Make time for continuous learning and sharing
- Celebrate small wins
- Identify challenges or pain points and address them with compassion
- Nurture true collaboration across silos
- Be inclusive and build on our differences 鈥� connecting around what really matters
- Expand our circle to include听more 平特五不中ians who also want to co-create a healthy, positive learning and work environment
- Build learning communities and share our stories.
Do you have a 鈥楲IGHTEN UP STORY鈥� to share with our My Healthy Workplace community? myhealthyworkplace [at] mcgill.ca (subject: Positively%20Powerful%20Story) (Click here) to submit your positively powerful story.
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