They say we should turn our negative thoughts into positive ones.
They suggest we should try coming up with a solution to our problem.

Consider these are strategies that may be the resistance of promoting core values.

Plenty experts tout the idea of positive thinking, goal-setting, and motivation building. As we know, this thinking holds a purpose in our daily lives. They get us to work on time, they remind us to brush our teeth, or bite our tongue when we want to say something blunt. From another perspective, they also can serve as our own worst enemy.

Think of a child trying to ride a bike. Where there is trying, there is always the flip-side of the coin and that is trying NOT to do something. We don't even know how much energy we use trying NOT to do something...what we resist persists.

If a child tries to ride a bike, what are they trying not to do? Yes, trying not to fall off. In the beginning of trying anything, we put more energy in resisting the flip-side and this is exactly what happens when we try to think positive, be the perfect employee, lose weight, find a mate, get a job, or be an outstanding parent. We are resisting and putting more energy in trying NOT to think negative, fail, be alone, be poor, or be a bad parent. I suggest that we find a new way.

If we resist the negative, we will miss out the clues to core values. Ask someone to ponder on the negative thought for a while then help them giving them a tool to translate that thought into their core value.

I invite you to build ways to welcome complaints into your workplace, but make sure you have a tool to help the employee turn it into a fruitful mission.
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Copyright 2008 Jessie Upp, M.S., R.C.
Contact: jupp@healthshareclinic.com