Get 31% more done by being happy

I enjoyed dinner and drinks last week with a long time friend, Ginger Jenks.  Ginger has been coaching executives for almost 20 years now and knows a thing or two about making things happen.  

Ginger explains her model pretty simply.  If you want to make great things happen, you personally need to know what a great thing is. In other words: What makes you happy?  What is your true purpose?  Think about it while watching this musical exploration of Purpose from the Broadway Musical Avenue Q.  Sounds easy, but it’s not. Making money is not many people’s true purpose.  Neither is having the biggest boat or even an island. Having the most friends? Maybe, but still not there.  Finding true purpose helps make the next steps easier.  

Ginger’s basic steps to finding your true purpose go something like this:

• Connect with people, more than a Facebook poke or Linkedin connection.
• Have resilience.  Just read my blog from last week to get more perspective on this.
• Show gratitude.  Thank others and help others.
• Maintain an attitude of deserving to win.

Studies show that people who are truly happy with what they are doing are 31% more effective than their peers.  Just think about that when you walk into your office.  A smile goes a long way!

Ginger shared with us her 3 to 1 positive to negative ratio.  For ever bad element of your day make sure you have 3 positives.  Now you may be thinking: how can that be possible?  But if you take the time and think about what makes you happy (the positives) you will see that its very doable, such as playing with your kids, walking the dog, meditating, watching Jimmy Fallon, donating to a charity, winning at online poker, going for a run.  The positives don't have to be Disney Worldesque, but mixing a few positive moments into what might amount to an otherwise negative day will change your mindset and move your outlook on the situation.

Ginger’s happy place is with her prize-winning dogs.

Please share some examples of little things you have programmed into a bad day.

I leave you one parting story.  A psychologist put two kids in separate rooms which each had a pile of dog poop and nothing else.  When they opened the door to each room an hour later, the first kid was crying and sick to his stomach from the smell; but the second kid - the optimistic one - was digging in the poop.  When they asked him what he was doing, he said “I’m looking for the puppy!”

Be the optimist in the situation.  It will likely increase your ability to get the results you want.

Thanks for reading.