Archive for Optimism
Happy New Year! Don’t get caught in old patterns of thought at the beginning of a fresh decade. This is the time that calls for creative thinking.
Creativity initiates a shift to a new approach. This is so much more than taking information, analyzing and building on it, and instead is based on creating transformational thinking. Creativity opens up possibilities and potential more fully. It can be seen as the difference between renovating a house and building one. It breaks down limitations and finds new approaches. Open minded creativity creates new perspectives, reduces limitations and provides a freedom for the future.
True creativity goes further than merely ideas. It is also putting ideas into practice. Picture creative ideas around you in never ending swirls, waiting to be grasped and secured into material being. Just as you can’t harness the wind without tools for physical capture and energy conversion, ideas will dissipate into nothingness unless a relationship is made to turn the ideas into reality. An environment or community that cultivates and cherishes the creative spirit is how true imaginative creativity and innovation come into being.
New ideas and novel solutions can be stimulated with expressive thinking, resourcefulness, and originality. Put yourself into places, situations, and with people that stimulate your imagination. Creative thinking can be used to meet many of your objectives. It might be doing or thinking about situations in a slightly different way, or from a new perspective. The ability to build something from nothing, is what distinguishes a creator from those who do not create. The brilliant feeling you get when a truly creative idea strikes, is often followed by an intense desire to make it real.
In his extensive research on the creative process and its related environment, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi summarized that ‘creativity leaves an outcome that adds to the richness and complexity of the future’. In his book, Creativity, he ventures well beyond the discussion of mere change, to recommend that readers work to find an emotional response that is stimulating and invigorating as they work to increase creativity. When you recognize your emotions, you provoke and stir creative thought by adding a dimension to your thinking. It is key to recognize feelings for interpretation in order to broaden, not narrow your thinking.
Find your passion, and build on it with ideas you can manifest into reality through the creative process. Csikszentmihalyi noted that individuals are motivated by the challenge of the unfinished, and not necessarily drawn to complete and final resolutions. The unfinished are the more interesting problems of intrigue that appeal to your senses. In addition, you would rather work on, and think about something that you resonate with, and awakening a passion inside you. Your zeal is more likely to draw solutions for you, than an area you are somewhat apathetic about.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, the renowned literary figure, utilized creativity throughout his writing endeavors. As an acclaimed American essayist and poet, noted for thinking differently and having broad insights, he wrote Self-Reliance. He stated the importance of following one’s own instincts and ideas, breaking away from conformity and utilizing one’s creativity. Emerson focused on the individual, and famously said ‘The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.’ Make a start, a fresh start and one idea will lead you onward.
David Cooperrider Inquires Appreciatively
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Are you familiar with Appreciative Inquiry? It is a term coined by David Cooperrider, Ph.D, a professor in the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. Appreciative inquiry is a revolutionary methodology for achieving sustainable, desired, strength-based change. Cooperrider emphasizes that anyone who wants to make a difference in the world has to aim higher and one way to achieve achieve this is for each of us as individuals to support the building of positive institutions. He discussed the importance of the positive human experience, which includes what is good, has hope, joy and inspiration, and applying it to whole systems.
Cooperrider challenges businesses to be agents of world benefit and teaches that applied positive change has four major components, each with important questions -
- Discovery and asking what gives life for the best of what is: Appreciating
- Dreaming and asking what might be: Envisioning Results
- Design and asking what should be: Co-constructing
- Destiny and asking how to empower: Sustaining
Learn all about this innovative approach to change at http://worldbenefit.case.edu/
Wyland has earned distinction as one of America’s most unique creative influences and a leading advocate for marine resource conservation. An accomplished painter, sculptor, photographer, writer, and scuba diver, he has traveled around the world for more than 25 years, capturing the power and the beauty of the undersea universe.
Wylands efforts have been recognized by the United Nations, the Sierra Club, the Underwater Academy of Arts and Sciences, and private and public institutions worldwide.
Wyland, hailed a “marine Michelangelo” by USA Today, is listed in the Who’s Who in American Art, Guinness World Records, and many other national and international publications. Wyland inspires people to live their passion, and create a business from doing so.
Inspirational, a great talent and utilizing his passion to lead change conserving our natural environment.
An article in the Wall Street Journal yesterday outlined an increased demand for coaches as executives work to stay on track, hone their skills, and explore possibilities during the recession.
We each especially need to demonstrate resilience, optimism, optimal communications and collaborative initiative during today’s specific and unprecedented challenges. We still need to take action on what is most important and not languish in the waiting game. The wait and see approach that so many people have taken support neither global recovery nor expand personal opportunity. This is the time to build relationships, explore creative innovation, solidify strategic planning and move forward.
On a recent trip to Europe there was significant discussion on waiting it out, and watching to see what people in the US were dong, letting Americans take the lead on recovery and using US action as a yardstick to gage timing on activity. An important interpretation of this response is that taking action on initiatives is even more critical for global recovery than has been recognized, and indicates that action can not wait.
But having someone to champion that process for individuals is equally important, having someone to act as a trusted sounding board, and provide objective feedback is critical. An executive coach supports the prioritization process and provides accountability for the implementation of plans in a systematic and manageable way, within the framework of what is possible.
Finding clarity and taking action is vital when a sense of overwhelm threatens to overshadow initiatives.
Many executives in a coaching partnership talk about how their companies and careers would be different if they had access to coaching decades ago. From personal skills and interpersonal relationship effectiveness, strategic planning and execution, and through to change management, leadership development through coaching is widely recognized as an indispensible tool for today’s time and beyond, as we shift into economic recovery.
An Amphitheater Forever
Posted by:I took a walk down to the trail behind the South Fayette High School and was in awe of how beautiful it has become. Every season it is even more scenic, with the school tower above the hollow serving as a guiding compass.
Several years ago I co-founded the South Fayette Conservation Group and together we obtained a grant to build a wetland, educational trail and outdoor classroom that will forever be a part of our school and community.
Here is the amphitheatre, a multipurpose greenspace nestled as a natural classroom in the woods.
Marty Seligman, the father of Positive Psychology
When the Bridgeville tragedy occurred last week, I felt grief, sadness and deep sorrow for individuals, families and the community. It was a senseless shooting.
Then, just a few days ago I had a fortuitous conversation with the worlds greatest optimist. Marty Seligman is best known as the father of positive psychology and is often credited with turning the discipline of psychology from the state of what is wrong to what is right.
Seligman started his career studying helplessness and was perplexed that in difficult environments not all subjects became helpless. His work transitioned from observing negatives to the study of positive psychology, which is about positive emotion, positive character and positive organizations.
I explained the scenario of the recent shooting to Dr. Seligman, and needed to know how would he explain it, his perspective and how to move forward. He was well aware of the shooting and immediately asked if paranoid schizophrenia was causal. Seligman’s perspective is that crime is based on interpretation of past experiences and intervention includes the perspective of starting with today and creating the better future you envision.
A message to the suicidal gunman might have been ‘What if you were born yesterday?’ and ‘Imagine a future that is different form your past.’ This supports breaking out of a pattern of thinking that is negative and can be detrimental. Notably, we can not easily do this alone, but often need someone to show us the way, to support in us a sense of positive expectancy, and a vision of what life could look like if it were better.
Positive psychology is much more than optimism and hopefulness, or positive expectancy. It is also intervention. It is about creating an alternate future for yourself, which when embraced by all leads to positive outcomes for your community or organization, and collectively for nations and the world.
I learned from my brief conversation with Dr. Seligman to be even more diligent and courageous in teaching possibilities and hope.
Do you have a tragedy or trauma? Do you have a sense of desolation or despair? Do you know someone who feels empty or desperate? Does there sometimes appear to be no solution?
Be supportive of yourself and others. Find support, personally or professionally. Seek out the optimists for help.
Find a positive. Now.
Seligman, Farley & Zimbardo
The club of past presidents in almost any organization, community or country represents not only significant brain power for the individuals who have achieved the role, but also the synergistic strength of their collective knowledge and experience.
Zero in on not just any organization, but the American Psychological Association (APA), founded in 1892, and now with 150,000 members, who gather annually to celebrate new data on the human mind.
When I listened to Marty Seligman, Frank Farley and Philip Zimbardo, all APA past presidents have a conversation this morning about the state of things, it felt as though the collective truths they shared was not their just their own. They represented the progressive and cumulative learning of the previous presidents of the APA. There was a sense that it was not just three of them on stage, but also William James, Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow, Albert Bandura, and over a hundred contributors who have filled this role to take psychology to where it is today.
The conversation flowed like that of old school chums, or even brothers; comfortable, trusting and willing to dialogue openly, knowing they were on call to teach the past, present and future of psychology, but humbled by the responsibility and determined to represent the best of what psychology has to offer. There is great learning to be gleaned from listening to a clever conversation.
They talked about undoing the constructions of the past, overrating of the past and childhood, and imagining a future different from the past to live optimally. They discussed creating alternate futures, and that much is determined by how one interprets the past, present orientation and future perspective.
Thankfully, psychology is no longer based on the medical model of what is wrong, but instead on what is right and building on it. They talked about strengths, time perspective, Mount Everest, and sex on Sunday, bantering until they summarized with, ‘Start your life today, create your future’. They concluded that the key is to instill hope and dispel fear because future gazing is at the heart of being human. Seek hope and have positive expectancy, they said.
Not bad for a trio of leaders who have authored thousands of peer-reviewed papers.
It was unscripted, reflective, fully supportive and so natural that one could not help but acknowledge the great wisdom of this band of brothers. They represented learned, highly credentialed researchers who’s common bond is that each have served a lifetime of studying human behavior.
One could not help but think that Seligman, Farley and Zimbardo modeled human behavior optimally. They created amongst each other a perception of the closest achievable bond among us, that of family.
What a pleasure to experience the conversation and somehow with 10,000 APA conference attendees, I felt as though I was attending a family reunion, even in the midst of academia, with the family being one of those who deeply care about humankind.
The first time I recall having a front row seat at a major event was at a production of le Miserable. The event was especially memorable because I watched in rapture as a feather dislodged from a dancers costume and wafted slowly down from the stage and landed right in my lap.
Ever since, securing a front row at any event has been a delight and an honor, coveted, and hard work, but well worth it, because it puts you right up close with the action.
I have found over the years that obtaining a seat in the front row requires lots of extra effort and even then happens only occasionally. It means arriving very early, reserving far in advance, paying more for the privilege, knowing someone special, or even by helping the planners out. I didn’t expect though, that my profound feather experience would ever be repeated, and yet it happened again just this morning.
It was uncanny, serendipitous and synchronous, when a feather dropped from Stephen Covey’s ‘Indian Talking Stick’ as he waved it to the audience, emphasizing its strength. I have read Covey’s books many times over the decades and hearing him speak live at 77 years old meant a lot to me.
There I was somehow ready for the unexpected, front and center, and managed to catch a photo of Stephen Covey and his stick. A shiver went down my spine as I recognized the beauty of the moment, it’s wonderful alignment and congruency and I knew that I was in the right place.
Covey reminded us with the warmth and wisdom of a sage of the timeless ‘Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’:
Dependence to Independence
- Habit 1: Be Proactive: Principles of Personal Choice
- Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind: Principles of Personal Vision
- Habit 3: Put First Things First: Principles of Integrity & Execution
Independence to Interdependence
- Habit 4: Think Win/Win: Principles of Mutual Benefit
- Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood: Principles of Mutual Understanding
- Habit 6: Synergize: Principles of Creative Cooperation
Continual Improvement
- Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw: Principles of Balanced Self-Renewal
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People was published 20 years ago and is still a best seller in business and leadership. Five years ago, Covey followed with The 8th Habit, which is finding your voice and inspiring others to find theirs. When we asked him how he came to develop the extra habit Covey said he sensed a lack of emotional commitment to what people represent, and felt compelled to teach personal significance and passion. Covey delivers his message with a quiet, knowing conviction, and I felt drawn to his personal passion.
You may be wondering what the ‘Indian Talking Stick’ is all about? Ask someone to hold a talking stick, and then ask them to talk until they feel that you completely understand what they are thinking and feeling. ‘I am serious, try it,’ Covey said. The talking stick is a tool for conflict resolution, empathy and improving relationships.
A marvelous message from a feather.
A fascinating discussion on the future of books and reading took place today at Book Expo America in New York City, the world’s largest book conference. The conversation, called ‘Keys to the Kingdom’ featured authors Chris Anderson, Editor of Wired, Lev Grossman, Time Magazine Book Critic, Steve Johnson, of ‘Invention of Air’ fame, and Tom Standage, Editor of the Guardian.
While discussing the future of books, Johnson noted he now has over 600,000 Twitter followers and the new paradigm for books is ‘twitter to blog to Amazon’ and one click opportunities which now account for 20% of the book industry. This was a glimpse into how people now choose to read.
There are now low barriers to entry for authors, publishers and readers alike, and all are true winners in this shift, with content as king, and accessiblilty for writing, publishing, perusal, purchase and reading, all potentially online. This means that your creativity, courage, collaboration and communication skills as a thinker and, yes, as a leader can be rewarded by the simpicity with which your message can be conveyed, and the ease with which you can stay current with the latest releases.
One author at the Book Expo America announced his book idea to a friend and a mere 62 days later it had been completed and had the attention of the New York Times. It is a wonderful time to be writing books, expressing ideas and experiencing collective output as a reader. Now is your time to write, read, write, read and write.
Calling all leaders: You have the opportunity to attend a one-of-a-kind LEADERSHIP workshop on Friday, July 10 from 1-4 pm at the Sheraton Station Square in Pittsburgh PA! Don’t miss out!
Registration is now open for a full afternoon program where you will explore your leadership capability and grow your leadership potential. Leadership belongs to everyone, leadership belongs to you.
Register now for the ‘How to Think Like a Leader Workshop’. Executive coach and licensed psychologist Rosemarie Perla and I will be leading a workshop which is designed to transform you and the power of your influence, through personal, leadership and business development opportunities. You will:
- Explore personal approaches that form a leadership foundation
- Examine the planning process from a strategic vantage point
- Experience the underlying elements of interaction and impact
- Extend your leadership capacity through influencing change
Practice this sequential progression, and learn how, as a leader, you can clarify your focus to optimize potential and the leadership spectrum for yourself and others. This provocative presentation will explore the realm of cognition, spirals of thinking and experience as a series of thoughts, and how they impact you as a leader.
Delve into the concepts of change and discovery from within a leadership context and framework, where individual and group leadership synergistically accelerates. Clarity and clear new processes will emerge for you, and those you impact. Join us!
Register here www.PittsburghProfessionalWomen.com, or more information call 412-221-3376
This workshop will be presented by:
Maria Berdusco, author, leadership strategist, facilitator,professional coach and founder of Leadership International. www.LeadershipInternational.com
Rosemarie Perla, psychologist, executive coach, strategic leader and founder of Perla Group. www.PerlaGroup.com
The workshop will be hosted by Beth Caldwell, community leader, author, mentor, and Executive Director of Pittsburgh Professional Women. www.PittsburghProfessionalWomen.com
WORKSHOP FEE: $49 includes Lunch, Presentation and Complimentary Copy of ‘How to Think Like a Leader’ by Maria Berdusco. Register online now at www.PittsburghProfessionalWomen.com. This workshop is open to all, everyone is welcome, and bring your entire team. For more information call Leadership International at 412-221-3376
Bonus:
Each attendee will receive a complimentary copy of the book, ‘How to Think Like a Leader: A Personal Guide to Change and Discovery and Why Your Thoughts Matter’ by Maria Berdusco, or the companion workbook. This book, its practical applications, and accompanying exercises will change the way you think. You will clarify your thinking to focus on essential skills and thought patterns to capture true optimal living and leading. A must read for all leaders.
The key to essential leadership today is influence, not authority. – Ken Blanchard
Peace as a Choice
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Conflict resolution is one of the greatest challenges of all time for mankind. Just the other day a friend with a deep sense of fear associated with ongoing global conflicts got me thinking about peace as a conscious decision that one can deliberately take. He, like many of us, has been feeling overwhelmed by all the negative information he is being bombarded with, and by the unresolved animosities people sometimes have for one another. One way he can cope with conflict is by promoting peace.
He has a decision to make. Does he allow himself to become a part of the problem, by expanding on the multitude of crises around him; the civil unrest, the injustices and overall distress, or can he become a part of the solution by making contributions that are positive, uplifting and express a sense of hope for others that in turn plays a role in peaceful outcomes. If interpersonal conflict is at the root of many of today’s most extreme challenges, then peace has to be a part of the solution.
One organization dedicated to ending conflict is the US Institute of Peace, at www.usip.org. Their goal is to not only prevent and resolve international conflict, but also to empower others with knowledge, skills, and resources to end conflict. They are directly engaged in peacebuilding efforts around the globe.
One of the most interesting components of the work of USIP is that in which the public, or everyone, can participate. They host complimentary online courses and training programs that teach the tools of peace that everyone can use on a daily basis.
Thinking about, talking about and engaging in peace is the responsibility of every leader, and like so many of the critical leadership initiatives, promoting peace is a choice.
Gratitude for Spring…Finally
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It’s a wonderful time of year. Green is everywhere. It’s a great time to say thank you.
All highly successful people work to find a way to feel, express and practice gratitude because success involves many contributors, team efforts, and support.
Good leaders find a way to acknowledge gratitude. It is important to quietly feel inward gratitude, but when actually expressed, you have found yet another powerful and rewarding practice.
When you go ahead and say thanks, both inwardly and outwardly, you are generally happy that you did.
A flow of gratitude expressed lowers your blood pressure, releases healthy, positive hormones, helps to regulate your heartbeat and makes you feel good.
Gratitude is a habit, and when you practice and convey it, its many benefits come to you time and again. These can surface in many different ways such as emotionally, psychologically and physically. Spring as the season of renewal is the time for gratitude.
Optimism on the First of May
Posted by:May 1, 2009 feels like a perfect day for leadership.
Practicing leadership goes beyond onetime successful initiatives to a level of practice, where through awareness and repetition of essential skills, great leadership becomes a habit, and successful outcomes become everyday occurrences.
Spring’s newness, a vibrant potency in the air, and apple blossoms just outside my window framing this morning’s sunrise convey hope and optimism of the future. This is exactly the setting that drives us forward with a sense of positive expectancy of the future, through appreciation of the abundance of the present.
You have many opportunities to lead, at your workplace with teams and colleagues, in your organization and various communities, in your home life and with your family. Leadership is influencing change, and what better time is there to contemplate positive change and how to influence it then when nature, in its continual regenerative cycle leads you through the process of renewal, growth and strengthening.
Nature’s patterns also can serve to remind you that waves of action and enthusiasm naturally flow in a rhythm, where you give pause and recharge, taking time to balance energy before a creative burst of innovation and activity.
A sense of optimism not only lures and challenges you into the action mode, but it is also the foundation for resiliency and persistence, and carries you forward when a sudden obstacle threatens to obstruct your path.
Optimism is a positive outlook for the future that assures well being and a glimpse into the fullness of promise. Sunrise and blossoms are perfect metaphors for life’s possibilities on the first day of May. Carpe Diem!
Feeling Optimistic,
Maria Berdusco
www.LeadershipInternational.com
We Love Birthdays…
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And we love celebrations! Celebrate successes as you achieve them. Celebrate summer on its way after a long, cold winter. Get outside and breathe deeply into the new day.
Albert Einstein said that there are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle, and the other is as though everything is a miracle. This is the ‘half-full or half-empty’ approach to looking at a glass of water, and at the world. This may remind you of the power of your choices, and your imperative to manage your thoughts, not having thoughts manage you. Einstein understood the influence of gratitude. He had a full appreciation of the scholars that had previously laid the groundwork and set the stage for his own discoveries and breakthroughs, when he noted:
A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving.
Gratitude can help you to have appreciation for all that you are, do, have, and perceive. Like Einstein, it may spur you to a response of action, but it can also make obstacles in your path much less difficult. By having a sense of appreciating what is working, you are less likely to be pulled down by that which isn’t. By focusing on gratefulness for how far you have come, and what you have accomplished, it becomes easier to take steps and embark on the remaining portions of your journey and tasks. This allows you to take necessary initiatives for achieving your goals. Being grateful also serves to immediately make you feel a charge of goodwill and confidence.
Another birthday, another year, and another reason celebrate life.
Take a Few Deep Breaths
Posted by:Breathe consciously.
There are so many benefits to developing an awareness of your breathing. Take a few deep breathes, simply breathe in and breathe out. Stop for a moment to collect and gather yourself as separate from the many moments and experiences of your day. You have already moved a step closer to self awareness. Beginning is that simple.
Do you feel a little calmer, more centered and have a better sense of well being? Just breathe in and breathe out. Being aware, through creating a brief interlude of consciousness, or a pause to gather yourself, is a respite in what for many people has become highly active and extremely interactive lives. The know yourself component of self awareness is more readily available to you when take time to pause your thinking and become your authentic self. This is a very different you than the stretched and multidirectional person who may be continually pulled and overextended.
Daniel Goleman, renowned for his groundbreaking research on emotional intelligence, and its application in the workplace, concluded that people with high self awareness understand their emotions, strengths, weaknesses, needs and drives. Additionally, people with strong self awareness are neither overly critical nor unrealistically hopeful, but are honest with themselves and others. Goleman also indicated that those who are self aware know their values and goals, and know where they are headed and why. They can be recognized by their confidence, and have a firm grasp of their capabilities. They are also less likely to set themselves up to fail and they play to their strengths. In leadership self awareness builds confidence, credibility and reliability. Self awareness and breathing go hand in hand. Breathe consciously.
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