Your leadership is contagious. A team, a department, or organization can only rise to the potential of its leader. A lot rests on your shoulders. And your encouraging, positive perspective is makes all the difference.
It just takes actively seeing your situation from a brighter, more positive angle, what I call bright side up. We have so much power over our point of view. Maintaining an effective outlook isn't really about the situation we find ourselves in, but about how we see our situation. No matter how rough a day we have or how hard a year has been, there is always a different way to look at it.
When working to maintain a healthy, positive perspective on situations, consider these 3 strategies:
1. Say, "The good news is..." and complete your sentence. There is good news if you choose to find it. Yes, your car broke down, but the good news is... you had a cell phone to call for a tow. Yes, you have a coworker that is difficult for you to appreciate, but the good news is... it helps you focus on how to respond appropriately to challenging situations. Go ahead, make your list: Sometimes you may have to dig a little to find the good news, but the good news is... anything positive is better than nothing at all!
2. Look at it from a tourist's point of view. I'll bet that locals in Giza, Egypt don't take photos of themselves in front of the pyramids every day. Why? Because they become used to them. And that's what happens to us in our own lives. We're so used to our surroundings, and often we can't see the great things about them. Look at your situation through the eyes of others:
- Your married life, to a single person, is comforting and secure;
- Your single life, to a married person, is hopeful and exciting;
- Your home -- to anyone else -- might be quaint or cool or huge or homey simply depending on what they don't have themselves.
- Give yourself an imaginary tour of your life today and see what's worth writing a postcard home about.
3. Rephrase to reframe. We are what we eat and we are what we say. Which means if you find yourself talking a lot about how "hard" or "unhappy" or "stressed out" or "awful" your day has been, well, you're probably going to notice and get a lot more things like it tomorrow, too. Instead, change the words you use to change how you feel.
- If you're having "the worst day ever," maybe you can look at it as a "challenging" one you will soon get through.
- If you're about to "kill that person" who cut you off, maybe you're getting a "good test" of your patience because of it.
- Think about all the things you "have to" do today. Then replace the words "have to" with the words "choose to" for everything on your list. They really are your choice to do them, and changing your words can be powerful.
My dad used to say that "most people are about as happy as they make up their mind to be." I love that. It says to me that the responsibility for my outlook on life lies within myself - not within my circumstances.
I hope you will raise the bar on being the leader that promotes positive thinking, and actions. Build up your leaders, and your staff.
A new resource to help you that is coming soon...
Leadership 101 - a self-paced set of short modules that helps you focus on your vision, develop excellent leadership skills, coach your new leaders, and much more!!
Sign up here to receive more information as Leadership 101 emerges.
All was quiet for a few seconds, and then she heard Josh exclaim, "Mommy, I have bless yous all over my blankie!" 
Leadership training opportunities are offered in many ways to meet your organization's specific needs and budget. 
Teresa Gilbert