Are You Suffering From P.M.A.?

Do you leap out of bed at 6am and yell out "FANTASTIC, it's Monday morning!"?

More often we roll out of bed wondering where our weekend went and already beginning the countdown down to Friday!


Hurrah, it's Monday..........!

But just take a minute to consider the implications of this kind of attitude.
What is your mood like at this  time in a morning? What about after your drive in to work? As you sit at your desk and open up your emails? If I came to you now with a difficult problem I needed help with, what would be your response? (I can imagine some of your answers already!). I'm sure you'd probably rather I went away and came back when you were feeling a bit happier in yourself.

'Howay Steve get a grip - do you want me to skip into work singing about the joys of Spring?'

No, although wouldn't it be great if life was so wonderful it made us feel like that!

Why should we worry about what mood we are in? So long as we do the job we're paid to do and get results that's enough isn't it?

Let's take a look at what it is that creates our results - it's the way we act and behave. Our behaviours drive our results. We've learnt over a number of years that behaving in a certain way gets us a certain result. So what drives our behaviours? You guessed, our attitude.

"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference" - Winston Churchill

We've all had miserable days when we couldn't be bothered - nothing seems to go right and everything seems to take more effort and energy.
But I'm sure you've had days when you've awoken in a great mood and ended up having one of the best days where you got everything done effortlessly, problems just seemed easy to solve and you even had time to help others with their issues.

There are too many people currently extolling the virtues of a positive approach to life for us to ignore it. It's not about being "fluffy" or "cuddly", it's not about ignoring bad things (see later) but it is about influencing your results.
 

Have a positive influence on your results!

It was Henry Ford who said "If you think you can or you think you can't you are right"

How true is this statement!

Some people are beaten before they even try as a result of their negative thinking. They believe they will fail, they act and behave as if they are going to fail and hey presto the result is failure. Now I'm not suggesting that just by having a positive mindset before you start anything that you will automatically succeed at everything you attempt - if only. However I'll wager you will get more positive results and even when you fail you will take away learnings that ensure you improve for the next time.

"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort." -Anon

I did say that taking a more positive outlook on things wasn't just about ignoring anything bad - it s about putting things into perspective. Whenever something bad happens take a look at the bigger picture and ask yourself where this fits in the grand scheme of your life. Even being made redundant or having your car stolen isn't the end of the world; it could be the start of an exciting chapter of your life or an opportunity to rethink your motoring strategy! It's how you view the world that makes it what it is for you.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained

I assure you if you think about your attitude and adopt a more positive approach you will notice:

• Problems get solved more easily
• You are more creative (no need for the red wine to get the creative juices flowing!)
• You have more time for others
• Your stress levels decrease (and couldn't we all do with that!)
• You develop and grow and learn from things that don't go right

So go on and give it a go. Just try the 'glass is half full' approach for a couple of weeks and notice the results you get, how you feel and how others respond to you.

And let me know how you get on..........

Have a Fantastic day

Steve D

Cheese & Onion Crisps!

Have you ever had a day when everything has been going really well? You’re in the zone, nothing phases you, you can’t seem to do any wrong - you're on top of the world! 

It probably doesn’t happen as often as you’d like but think about the last time you had a day like that:

• How did you feel?
• How easy was it to get results?
• How did people experience you, did you have time for them?
• When faced with a problem how did you respond? 

Were your responses something like: 

• Fantastic, full of energy, happy, full of enthusiasm
• Relatively simple, things just worked
• Approachable, helpful, interested in them. Made time for people.
• Saw it as a challenge, dealt with it

Okay but we all know that more often than not our days are the opposite of that; we feel fed-up, irritated, stressed; Trying to get anything done is a chore; People find you short, you have no time for them and every little thing seems like a problem just waiting to trip you up!

Now ask yourself which one would you rather feel! 

So why isn’t our week filled with wall to wall days “in the zone”?

I love cheese & onion crisps (random I grant you but bear with me I’m going somewhere with this!). However, I rarely have them as I’m into healthy eating. Every now and then though, I fancy a packet and thus keep a small supply in the kitchen for when the urge takes me. So I come down stairs with a yearning for my blue bag of crisps and low and behold when I get to the cupboard all I find is prawn cocktail or ready salted – neither of which I like or want! So the guilty culprit, my stepson, has eaten my supply leaving the other flavours until last.

Scenario 1: I begin the rant, lots of swearing and threats concerning stepson and sharp objects. Commit to keeping my stash hidden or locked away.




 

Scenario 2: I view this as a sign from a greater being that crisps are bad and I should stick to my healthy eating. One more small step to achieving that Adonis-like body!

What’s the difference between the above two options? 

Well one option leaves me feeling bad and one leaves me feeling good – simples! So what?
Well we’ve already established that if I’m feeling good I get better results, easier and am able to tackle problems more positively. If I’m not feeling good then there is the potential for my day to spiral downwards. So surely it makes sense to look on the bright side, to choose a more positive attitude towards the situation.

The fantastic thing about this is that we have control over our Attitude, we have the Choice over how we respond to things which means that ultimately the type of day we have is within OUR control.

You can Choose to bring a moody Attitude to work and have a depressing day.
You can Choose to bring a grouchy Attitude to work and irritate your work colleagues.
You can Choose to bring a happy, cheerful, playful Attitude to work and have a GREAT day.

Ultimately it is your Choice.

There is a great book that I'm sure many of you have read but if not give it a try. It's called FISH and is a short, easy read with some simple yet powerful messages on making your working environment a happier, healthier place to work. after all we spend so much of our time at work, wouldn't it be nice if we enjoyed ourselves more!

Finally a great littel clip to help you set yourself up for the day ahead:

Don't worry be happy

Did you know Saturday 11th February is World Happy Day?
If you are in Newcastle then you can watch the film "Happy" which is been screened at the Life Centre:  Happy North East

So how happy are you?
When you're in a happier mood your quality of thinking is better which means you're more likely to make better decisions, have positive interactions with people and deal with challenges in a calm and sensible manner. So you can use your mood as a great indicator for the quality of your thoughts, if you ain't happy then be careful about making any important decisions.

But I'm not happy every moment of every day. That's what we call life, just when everything is going great it throws a fresh challenge at you to see how you cope.

When you feel your spirits falling then take time out and put things into perspective. You have your health, family, friends, a job, the sun is shining, you've a holiday coming up etc etc. So where in the grand scheme of things does this issue really fit. By putting it into perspective you acknowledge it but only give it the level of attention it deserves rather than making it the focal point of your whole life.

Have you ever noticed how happy people tend to get the breaks or seem to be lucky. No matter what happens to them they seem able to cope. I'm not saying walking round with a permanent smile is the answer but keeping things in perspective and being grateful for things will help keep you happy and ensure your stress levels remain low. After all we live in a stressful world and stress is having a significant impact on peoples health, make sure it's not you.

Here's some food for thought. Below is the top 5 list of regrets made by people who know they are dying:

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself
2. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard
3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings
4. I wish I’d stayed in touch with my friends
5. I wish I’d let myself be happier

Finally a little something to start the process and make you smile...........