Flourishing People » negative http://hr-adviser.co.uk/blog People Management Advice and Support: comment from Peter Kenworthy Mon, 26 Apr 2010 10:44:03 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 The power of negative thinking http://hr-adviser.co.uk/blog/index.php/2009/02/the-power-of-negative-thinking/ http://hr-adviser.co.uk/blog/index.php/2009/02/the-power-of-negative-thinking/#comments Tue, 03 Feb 2009 09:19:22 +0000 PK http://hr-adviser.co.uk/blog/?p=88 The UK is in a recession – that’s official.  We have had two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth which is the definition of an economic recession.  For months past, the British media have used headlines about the downturn, the melt-down, anything ‘down’.  I wonder how much the lack of consumer and producer confidence is a result of this negativity.  Have we created our own depression by talking about it so much, fearing it so much?

The same can be true within organisations.  Negative thinking is strong and contagious. Knocking each and every positive suggestion – we’ve done that before, it didn’t work then so why would it now? – can soon lead to a reluctance to try new things, an aversion to taking the risk of making radical proposals.

In January I took part in a workshop which merged the concepts of Appreciative Inquiry with Action Learning.  Using the structure of Action Learning in our groups, we each in turn talked about where we are in one part of our lives – Discovery.  Then we talked about our Dreams – what could be, without constraints.  Our Action Learning set, the other people in our small group, then helped us as individuals to hone down what we could do as first steps to Design and Deliver that Dream.  It was a powerful and uplifting experience, both as recipients to others’ questioning inquiry and as enquirers into the other person’s dreams.

The workshop was led by a trainer from New Zealand and he introduced the Maori proverb:

We walk into the future backwards, looking at the past

To me, that is a very liberating idea.  We can decide what of our past baggage we carry with us into the future.  And we can decide what dreams we will hold on to, deciding how to bring them a little closer with positive steps and actions.

President Barack Obama, with his book the “Audacity of Hope” and his campaign phrase “we can”, has brought a new positivity to America – at least from what our relatives in the USA tell us.  Obama does seem to be walking positively into the future, despite the obvious challenges his administration faces.  But he is also walking backwards into that future, looking at the USA’s and his own past, conscious of having to acknowledge and deal with historical wrongs.

Beware the power of negative thinking – it can be very depressing. Instead, looking at the past as you walk backwards into the future, hang on to those positive dreams and work to make them a closer reality.  Now that’s uplifting!

Positive, realistic thinking is a powerful tool to take with us on our walk into the future.

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
]]> The UK is in a recession – that’s official.  We have had two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth which is the definition of an economic recession.  For months past, the British media have used headlines about the downturn, the melt-down, anything ‘down’.  I wonder how much the lack of consumer and producer confidence is a result of this negativity.  Have we created our own depression by talking about it so much, fearing it so much?

The same can be true within organisations.  Negative thinking is strong and contagious. Knocking each and every positive suggestion – we’ve done that before, it didn’t work then so why would it now? – can soon lead to a reluctance to try new things, an aversion to taking the risk of making radical proposals.

In January I took part in a workshop which merged the concepts of Appreciative Inquiry with Action Learning.  Using the structure of Action Learning in our groups, we each in turn talked about where we are in one part of our lives – Discovery.  Then we talked about our Dreams – what could be, without constraints.  Our Action Learning set, the other people in our small group, then helped us as individuals to hone down what we could do as first steps to Design and Deliver that Dream.  It was a powerful and uplifting experience, both as recipients to others’ questioning inquiry and as enquirers into the other person’s dreams.

The workshop was led by a trainer from New Zealand and he introduced the Maori proverb:

We walk into the future backwards, looking at the past

To me, that is a very liberating idea.  We can decide what of our past baggage we carry with us into the future.  And we can decide what dreams we will hold on to, deciding how to bring them a little closer with positive steps and actions.

President Barack Obama, with his book the “Audacity of Hope” and his campaign phrase “we can”, has brought a new positivity to America – at least from what our relatives in the USA tell us.  Obama does seem to be walking positively into the future, despite the obvious challenges his administration faces.  But he is also walking backwards into that future, looking at the USA’s and his own past, conscious of having to acknowledge and deal with historical wrongs.

Beware the power of negative thinking – it can be very depressing. Instead, looking at the past as you walk backwards into the future, hang on to those positive dreams and work to make them a closer reality.  Now that’s uplifting!

Positive, realistic thinking is a powerful tool to take with us on our walk into the future.

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. ]]> http://hr-adviser.co.uk/blog/index.php/2009/02/the-power-of-negative-thinking/feed/ 0