If we open almost any self-help book, we’ll find a writer talking about the power of “positive thinking.” But in the real world, “positive thinking” rarely carries the same importance as words like “work ethic” or “persistence” or, for that matter, “decision-making” and “skills.” Don’t get us wrong, no one prefers feeling negative over positive, and we certainly don’t like being around negative people. It’s just that “positive thinking” is viewed as a soft, fluffy term and is easily dismissed as “nice to have, but not necessary for optimal productivity.” Yet, leadership research is making it more and more difficult to dismiss positive thinking.
Play along with us for a moment. Let’s say that we’re walking through the park, and a bear steps onto the path ahead of us. When this happens, our brains record a negative emotion—fear. Researchers have long known that in moments like this our mind is programmed to narrow its focus by shutting down the outside world and limiting the options we see. This is a valuable instinct if we’re trying to save life and limb because nothing else really matters in that moment.
The challenge comes in other moments when our actual physical safety isn’t at risk. For example, when we’re in a verbal conflict with a colleague or when our to-do list gets longer and longer. In those moments, our brain’s natural wiring will lock in on the anger, frustration, fear, and stress. And, just like it did with the bear, those negative emotions will prevent our minds from seeing any options other than our “fight or flight” survival instincts (neither of which are the healthiest ways to address our colleague or our to-do list). Researchers refer to this as an “amygdala hijacking” and it keeps us from seeing the other options and choices that surround us.
Here’s the thing: positive emotions have been shown to do the opposite. They open our sense of possibilities and broaden our minds, which allows us to think creatively and critically. Positive thinking provides more than a temporary decrease in stress and the addition of a few smiles, it impacts overall performance. Given the abundance of negative emotions in our world right now and the need for leaders to raise their performance because of global challenges, we should seek to enhance our positive emotions by doing things that sparks feelings of joy, contentment, and passion. Here are two methods we use:
- Meditation and Prayer. Research has shown that people who meditate and/or pray display more positive emotions than those who do not. It’s also been shown that meditation increases mindfulness, purpose, and social support, while decreasing signs of illness. Applications like Headspace, Calm, and Balance provide guided meditations that can help reduce stress, improve sleep quality, and increase focus.
- Play. Having fun is no less important than our Wednesday meeting, and yet, many of us rarely give it time and space to live on our calendars. At Ethos, one of the things our founder and CEO expects is that we work hard, but that we play frequently. “Set goals, don’t obsess over them,” James says. Research indicates that joy, laughter, and play refresh the mind. We need to give ourselves permission to embrace the getaways and schedule time for fun and adventure. It may be one of the most helpful things we can do to improve our leadership.
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