It’s been said people die in their 20’s, they just wait until their 80’s to be buried. People give up, walk around a bit like actors in a version of the movie “Night of the Living Dead;” mental Zombies going through the motions. And if you’ve ever thought of putting a mirror under someone’s nose to see if they really were breathing, then you know what I’m talking about.
People often feel despair, frustration, and even hopelessness. It’s become so prevalent that probably three out of four calls I get concerning speaking, training or consulting come from managers who are concerned about the mental health of employees; the lack of motivation and initiative and the need for resilience.
So what do we do? How do we kick-start 2010 by offering hope and teaching people to be resourceful, resilient, adaptable and hopeful? Quite a challenge, wouldn’t you say? And something I’d like to address in all my blogs between now and the New Year.
I began thinking about resilience, and after going to Webster’s Dictionary I read this definition: “an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.”
Perhaps some people have been conditioned to believe that everything is hopeless and they will usually offer examples of why worst-case scenarios always prevail. Of course we are all products of our upbringing and teaching and culture, but if we’re going to change prevailing cultures and be the change everyone needs to follow, then we have to start thinking differently. It begins with making a choice to do something, to be willing to be open.
And that something could be as simple as making a decision to find a reason to be hopeful, or someone to praise, or doing something that feels good or is rewarding or joyous. Dr. Norman Vincent Peale once spoke of being in a dreadful slump, sitting in his office wallowing in self pity. His secretary knocked on the door and told him it was time for his speech on positive thinking. The last thing he felt was positive, but he said he got up and just went out and acted “as if.” Later he started to feel the way he had only been acting before, but it was a choice, a decision to move out of where he felt stuck toward something that modeled what he ultimately wanted.
I’ll be back next week looking at examples of when and how we can cultivate hope and strengthen our resilience. It’s always about getting better information, a new perspective/model and reminding ourselves of what we already know, we first create in our minds what we ultimately create in our professional and personal lives. Let’s start looking at where and how we can change our focus and teach others the value of investing in hope. I don’t think there’s a better time to start than right now. What do you think?
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