You can have your cake and eat it too!
Don't settle for any less than you deserve
by Dr. Timothy Sharp
Michelangelo was once quoted as saying that the greatest risk to man is not that he aims too high and misses, but that he aims too low and hits.
Think about it...in simple terms what I think he's saying is that too many of us settle for "okayness". And I couldn't agree more.
Having worked with thousands of individuals and hundreds of organisations I see this on an almost daily basis. So many people seem to think that happiness at work and productivity or performance are mutually exclusive - so they can only have one or the other. If we want our people to have fun, they reason, we'll have to sacrifice results.
But this couldn't be further from the truth. My experience clearly suggests, and this is supported by the research, that happy workplaces are more productive; happy (and funny) managers have better retention rates and get more out of their teams; fun and play are energising.
Which brings me to mentioning, just briefly, one of the more interesting theories to emerge from the positive psychology research which is Barbara Fredrickson's "Broaden and Build" theory of positive emotions. If you go to our downloads section you'll find a full article on this but in short, this theory proposes that positive emotions allow people to broaden their repertoire of coping resources and build on previous positive experiences; basically, we perform better when we feel good!
So the tip for this PEP-up is to explore what you can do in your team or oranisation to create and support more positive emotions. In fact, you'd be remiss if you didn't because you can have your cake and eat it too.
Looking for true career fulfilment and happiness with a well balanced approach to work and play? Our business coaches operate their own coaching practice under The Happiness Institute business services franchise banner. They are solution focused people who value relationships, who provide outstanding customer service, who love creating change and helping people and organsiations to flourish.
08.09.2008
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