Energy Flows Where Your Focus Goes
As the world oscillates from one crisis to the next, and from one news engendered frenzy to the next indignation, outcry and disbelief, it is easy to find one's attention drawn to the increasingly provocative headlines and disturbing pictures of humanity in distress. How much time have you spent reading negative news in the last year? I know that for me, it has been too much.
I know this because I see the effect on myself. This became particularly apparent when I noticed my intolerance of conversations that devolved into the negativity, theologies, ideologies and all the other “ologies” around Covid. It seemed almost impossible to join a conversation without it magnetically orienting itself towards Covid. I started stopping the conversation, changing it or leaving it. I somehow managed to convince myself that this was just me keeping the negativity at bay and choosing not to be in conversations with people who were intent and set upon focusing on all that was wrong with the world. This self-righteous and foolishly pious viewpoint was severely challenged when Russia attacked Ukraine. As a history lover, I could not help but see the parallels between the start of World War 2 and what was happening in the attack on Ukraine. I found that I was reading more and more news around the topic (and thanks to the delightful settings and algorithms of social media I was getting fed more and more around the topic). This fueled my conversations and headspace. I began to notice the drain on my energy, my optimism and my positivity accentuated with a growing tendency to see what was going wrong in the world at large, as well as in the world around me. I am a great believer that energy flows where your focus goes and I work hard on focusing on what can be done with what we have, where we are, right now.
Something needed to change.
I stopped reading so much news. It is not that I care any less, or that I am not interested. It is the realisation, learnt over many years, that if we continue to focus on things we cannot control we begin to feel like we are out of control. I like to focus on what I can do. Focusing on all the poverty in the world can be overwhelming and depressing. Sponsoring a child through World Vision or donating to a local charity or helping out with a community group or project may not address world poverty but it does make a difference. People like to make a positive difference.
This same principle is found in business. Where conversation is focused on the doom and gloom of the economy, transport and inflation woes and companies going into liquidation, then it follows that the culture is likely to be subdued (at best) and usually negative. Feed your team the good news, focus on what you can do and are doing. You do not have to ignore how tough things are but do be careful to focus on what actions you are taking because you know that a better approach is needed to survive these times. For example, keep your aged debtors tight, ensure your PSR are up to date, collect testimonials, make videos of successful projects, ask for referrals from happy clients, share positive feedback with the whole team. Ensure the circuit board of your culture is well wired to keep the energy flowing positively into a vibrant and energising workplace. Avoid the short circuit burnouts that negativity brings and you will be well on the way to shining brightly through this year and those to come!
