Blog — Third Thought — For professionals who go beyond the obvious

Love at the Office

15th of February ~

I hope my HR readers aren’t worried by today’s topic. I’m not exploring the opportunities for office romance (never a good idea yet still we falter). No, I’m talking about love for our fellow men and women in general. Let’s call it positive intention.

Many years ago as a young Catholic I used to go to early morning mass at a Carmelite Convent. The Carmelites are a cloistered order. They do not interact with the public. Their focus is contemplative prayer. That’s right–all they do is pray.

And I remember thinking, at age 16, “What a waste! Surely they could do more.”

Well, I am older and more widely-read now and I believe in the power of prayer. I believe that holding positive intention for someone helps them. And there is fascinating research that suggests this is so. Come with me now into the world of quantum physics.

You’ve probably heard, “What you focus on becomes your reality.” It is the genius behind Appreciative Inquiry. Thoughts matter. Furthermore, thoughts ARE matter. They are waves (or particles–I forget). They are energy. So, can we imagine that the energy is real and perceived in ways we don’t yet understand? Can we imagine that positive thoughts help and negative thoughts hurt? I can imagine that. It’s still in the realm of ‘New Science’ and the science is catching up to the work of the Carmelite nuns. For some fascinating research I recommend the Intention Experiment where you can become a part of the unusual research.

So what about that ‘love at the office’, Maggie? Here’s my advice:
1) Hold your colleagues in positive regard. It cannot hurt and I believe they will know it on an unrecognized level. As one of my professors once told me, “I always find something to like about each student.” Find the thing to appreciate, send them positive energy and you both benefit.
2) Hold your arch-enemies in positive regard. The more you focus on the negative relationship, the more you may tether yourself to that unhealthy dynamic. “Release them to their higher good“, forgive them, do whatever you need to do to free yourself from the struggle.

Call it whatever you like but strive to have love in every action. I guarantee you will work more smoothly with your colleagues and you will be happier for it.

Nuns photo credit

Principles of Creativity

11th of February ~

Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way gave millions permission to honor their creativity. Here is a lovely video featuring her Ten Principles of Creativity.

Very nice for when you need a reminder to make room for your creative side.

Must I do Social Media?

7th of February ~

I just returned from an excellent conference–my first in two years. And I am exhausted. The theme of the conference was “Monetize Your Message” and I saw several speakers who are making millions, yes, MILLIONS repackaging their content in multiple formats. Good idea.

There was also talk about how to use social media. It won’t ‘monetize’ but it DOES help you build your brand. Right. Good idea.

So, now I have a whole new business to create. Kidding. I’m digesting it all and will do a few reasonable things that feel congruent with the way I do business. I’m not sure I’ll get to be a millionaire but I am OK with that.

Meanwhile, I found this handy chart to help me figure out Social Media:

Thanks to Douglas Wray for the chuckle.

29 Ways to Stay Creative

2nd of February ~

I agree with everything in this video. Nicely done Mr. Not Famous!

Happiness Feeds Innovation

31st of January ~

Can we say that The Myth of the Tortured Genius has outlived its day? Wikipedia has an article about Tortured Artists and their stories are well known. “It’s completely a myth,” says Tom Wilbeck, Associate Dean of Student Affairs at The Art Institute of Houston. “Clinically speaking, there’s really no evidence that most accomplished artists are mentally unstable or have come from an unstable background.”

I suppose the Myth of the Happy Genius just isn’t as fascinating.

                                  Photo by mrfitz

Teresa Amabile and her colleagues have good news for all you reasonably content, untortured creative people. Happiness does more for innovation than does melancholy and ennui.

In a 2005 Administrative Quarterly article they describe research performed by tracking electronic diary entries of employees for 5 months. Here’s how they defined Creativity: the production of novel, useful ideas or problem solutions. Amabile describes that “positive feelings–joy, love-are positively related to creativity, and negative emotions-anger, fear, sadness–are negatively related to day-to-day creativity”. Even better, good moods can increase the flow of creativity for up to three days.

Is anyone surprised?

These and more findings are in Amabile’s latest book The Progress Principle which I’ve admired earlier.

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