The Power of Being Grateful

I am once again reminded of the power that our emotions have in life. But to be perfectly honest and real about it, an emotion is just that, an emotion. It has absolutely no power until we focus on it and make that emotion a reality in our life. 

There are more than enough experiences and events in one day to drive our thinking and speaking into negative conversations....be it in our head or with people over a cup of coffee. Driving to work first thing in the morning you are bombarded with newspaper headlines on the lamp posts with one disturbing or upsetting story after the other. Not to mention the taxis and cars that undercut you or sit on the back of your car so that you can almost see the breakfast they had!

All of this and your day have not even started at work with challenges you will face there. Did I mention you got up at home with your spouse being unhappy because you left the kitchen messy or spilled some coffee on your way out? Of course your child struggled to get up and the 15 minutes of nagging started to get you frustrated and maybe an angry word slipped out which left your daughter in tears.

Emotions are simply the most powerful energy that sits behind every decision you make in life...

That is why I can share with all the conviction within me to encourage you to shift your focus when you feel down. Evoke a positive emotion that will change the course of your day. How do you do this? Focus on someone or something that you are deeply grateful for. Take just a few minutes and shut yourself off from all the 'noise' around you that distracts you...and focus on just one thing or one person that you are truly and deeply grateful for. In that process you will feel the negative energy disappear and replaced by joy. Enjoy that thought and bask in that emotion for a while....let it sink in. Then kick that negative emotion's butt by taking action....pick up the phone and call that person whom you are grateful for and share it with them. Even more powerful, share it in person if you can!

That real moment of sharing your gratefulness will have such a powerful positive impact on the rest of your day and in the life of the other person.

So take a moment....make that call...and let the power of being grateful change your life and that of someone else today.

You are worth it!

The Key to Great Performance

Keep your personal problems at home when you come to work!

We have all heard this and for some reason the corporate world still holds on to this belief. Time and money is spent on the hard issues at work when it comes to training and development. But the reality is that we keep bringing the soft issues, those personal stresses from home to work with us. Not because we are failures or not good enough, but because that is what makes us human.

First, here are signs of distress. The intensity will increase as the stress increases without effective help being provided.
• Increased absenteeism
• Reduced productivity
• Friction with employees
• Crying or yelling
• Dressing inappropriately
• Becoming accident-prone
• Coming in very early/staying very late
• Joking about everything
• Constant forgetfulness

As economic pressure increase, so does the time dealing with personal employee issues.

The sooner companies start to provide effective support on how to deal with personal issues the sooner performance will improve. Companies can't see this as a personal problem that needs to be dealt with privately...it is a company problem and one that is growing rapidly. In 2013 it was reported that personal stress impacts the performance of 49% of employees, causing them to spend on average a minimum of 2 hours per day dealing with these personal issues at work. That is 25% of their working time, costing the SA private sector about R60bn per year.

The solution?

Many companies react by tightening HR protocols and procedures. Regulating phone calls and Internet usage have become everyday practice. To be honest this has not made any positive impact on performance, instead it created the opposite. When my child has an issue I will find ways to deal with it...and that is just the reaction from a loving parent.

However, empowering your people to deal with personal issues effectively will make them more efficient at work as well. The more empowered people become in managing relationships the more effective they will become. No single training course can make this happen. Implement regular talks on relevant topics at work for people to attend. Just short 45min practical sessions which people can process and take home or back to their desk.

At BE REAL Company we provide regular (bi-weekly or monthly) Be Real Sessions which give people the insights and practical tools to influence behavior in their corporate and personal environment. These are at a fraction of the cost to what normal training sessions would be allowing for consistency in these sessions.

Contact us today on 0823706915 or johan@bereal.co.za

You are worth it!