I keep hearing that happiness is a state of mind.
If that's the case, then on appearances, it must seem like I'm as far from that state of mind as possible.
For example, I remember in business school, we had a big pow wow on the state of the program and where we saw issues. I remember that my only contribution was a slew of curse words that were unintelligible to anyone in the room.
Lesson learned #1 - Check your negativity before trying to articulate a point. If you don't, the negativity will take over the message and turn people off.
Most recently, I was in another room where we were talking about a go forward strategy at a particular client. Being 12 years removed from business school, you would have figured that I would have internalized lesson learned #1 and done my best John Maxwell version of what I saw as the reality of the situation.
Lesson learned #2 - Even if you have the most articulate way of stating a point, any hint of negativity will turn people off and they'll just wait for you to finish -- or interrupt you.
So here is what I've concluded. In forums where I'm allowed to vent and talk about the issues and barriers, no one will listen to me because it completely sounds like I'm whining. Perception is reality, right?
I'm better served if a conversation is more about a how to solve something and less time is spent on everything that's wrong. That way the negativity is minimized. So that brings me to Lesson Learned #3 - Keep your mouth shut when it comes to venting and b*tching about a situation. It can drain the energy out of everyone around you and you can lose a lot of relationships like that.
My next developmental opportunity is learning how to deliver bad messages in a positive light.
If that's the case, then on appearances, it must seem like I'm as far from that state of mind as possible.
For example, I remember in business school, we had a big pow wow on the state of the program and where we saw issues. I remember that my only contribution was a slew of curse words that were unintelligible to anyone in the room.
Lesson learned #1 - Check your negativity before trying to articulate a point. If you don't, the negativity will take over the message and turn people off.
Most recently, I was in another room where we were talking about a go forward strategy at a particular client. Being 12 years removed from business school, you would have figured that I would have internalized lesson learned #1 and done my best John Maxwell version of what I saw as the reality of the situation.
Lesson learned #2 - Even if you have the most articulate way of stating a point, any hint of negativity will turn people off and they'll just wait for you to finish -- or interrupt you.
So here is what I've concluded. In forums where I'm allowed to vent and talk about the issues and barriers, no one will listen to me because it completely sounds like I'm whining. Perception is reality, right?
I'm better served if a conversation is more about a how to solve something and less time is spent on everything that's wrong. That way the negativity is minimized. So that brings me to Lesson Learned #3 - Keep your mouth shut when it comes to venting and b*tching about a situation. It can drain the energy out of everyone around you and you can lose a lot of relationships like that.
My next developmental opportunity is learning how to deliver bad messages in a positive light.
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