doug smith training

Are you a positive thinker or a negative thinker? Or, maybe you're something in-between, a kind of situational-thinker. Given the choice between negative and positive, I've found that positive thinking does a better job of keeping me on track and helping me feel better. Positive thinking is great. Positive thinking is uplifting and filled with hope. But, positive thinking is not enough. Positive thinking only works if you put in the work. That's why I work so hard, how about you? -- doug smith  

Sometimes it's too much to muster up a big effort. Maybe that's when a little effort gets us going. Even the smallest positive effort has a positive impact. Let's start with that. -- doug smith  

Moods are contagious. Leaders touch so many people -- in person and virtually -- that our moods spread far and wide. What kind of mood do you want to increase? What if we worked more at sharing happiness? Tell people the news that uplifts them about how their performance makes customers happy. Share recognition for that big project that you just finished. Smile as we greet our team members and our customers and our peers.  Sharing happiness increases it. Isn't that a great idea? -- doug smith

Have you ever worked for a cranky leader? Someone who can't be happy no matter what? Grumble, grumble, grumble! It's easy to fall into a habit of frowning, scowling, and growling. Easy, but silly -- because it does not good, I've tried being cranky and it just makes things worse. Stay positive, be positive, create positive change. Your mood is SO contagious, why not spread a positive mood? -- doug smith  

"I don't like change..." "What is it about change that you don't like?" "All the disruption! All the chaos! I just get used to something and someone changes it." "What's your plan?" "Excuser me?" "What do you plan to do about it? "What CAN I do about it? Change just keeps coming at us relentlessly. I hate it!" "What if things are actually getting better?" "Impossible!" "Think about it. What if you could have frozen time fifty years ago? Would you really rather work in a coal mine? Would you really rather deal with unchecked disease and infection? Sure, things are challenging now, but if you go back into any period of time in recorded history, things were much worse." "So what should I do about that?" "Maybe stop complaining. Maybe stay positive. Maybe, as as responsible high performance leader work to create positive change." "Hmmm." What do you think...

Goals make a profound, positive impact on people and their work. Goals help us focus our efforts and rally our support. We need goals. As important as goals are to your overall big picture, they are truly only part of the picture. You still need work. You still need support. You still need the knowledge it takes to make decisions quickly.  Goals aren't enough to make you happy, but they sure do make it easier. What's your top goal today? -- doug smith

Some people think that your mind can change anything and that you can completely determine the outcome of something based on how you think about it. I'm not sure that I'd go that far. How about you? That kind of thinking does not have to be absolute to be powerful, though. I can't think hard enough to make the earth revolve around the moon but that doesn't mean that my thoughts are powerless. If you can change your mind you can change anything. You'll see it differently, experience it differently, and in effect change it. Does that sound contradictory?  "I'll have to think about that..." "Yeah, me, too..." - doug smith  

What do you do when you feel doubt? It could be doubt in your abilities, or doubt about your capacity, or even doubt about your mission. We all have doubts sometimes. Those nagging feelings are there to protect us from danger. That's useful. But sometimes those nagging feelings just hold us back.  To achieve your goals you must create enough positive energy to overcome the naturally forming negative notions. There's nothing magic about positive energy. It won't ever be enough all by itself. But, we go farther faster when we power up with the positives no matter how many doubts wander our way.  Create enough positive energy, back it up with work, and your results are bound to improve. Improving performance is everybody's job, isn't it? -- doug smith

What do you think about you? Are you fabulous, fantastic, fun? Do you like who you see in the mirror?  Are you serving people in ways that enrich yourself as well? It's easy to harbor negative thoughts. It's tempting to judge ourselves harshly. The key is to always do our best, even when (especially when) that is hard. Push and drive and learn and build and go to bed tired.; Whatever you think of, it's yours to keep, so why not manage what you think of? It's not that positive thoughts will do everything for you, but they'll do far more for you than negative ones about yourself. You rock. You roll. You get stuff done. Do you mind what your mind says about you? Do you mind what your mind says about you that isn't true? You know how to fix that, don't you? -- doug smith

Are you an over-thinker or an under-thinker?   I'm an over-thinker. I'll analyze something all day before deciding sometimes. I enjoy revising things in search of perfection, thinking that there must always be a bit better way to do it. Sometimes there is, but often I end up spinning my wheels. But under-thinking is also dangerous. Impulsive decisions can lead to disaster. "Trusting the universe" can get you lost in the void.  Whether we're thinking too much, or too little, it pays to think about how we are thinking. Are we thinking optimistically? Pessimistically? Positively? Negatively? Critically? I think there is a shortage of critical thinking about what people are thinking, and it's leading them astray. Unexamined conclusions leave the door open to mistakes. We do need to think about our thinking.  If you don't think about your thinking your thinking might fool you. Think about that. -- doug smith