I once heard the story of a farmer who lived on the
outskirts of a village. One day, as he
was working around his house, a stranger came up to him and asked what the
nearby town was like, as he was looking for a new place to live. The
farmer asked this stranger, in turn, what his previous community was like. The stranger replied that it was a negative
place whose citizens were rude, bitter, and mean. The farmer told the stranger that he would find
the nearby village to be very similar to his previous town, to which the
stranger determined to keep on going, searching for a better town. Later that day, another stranger came up to
the farmer and asked what type of community was nearby, as he was looking for a
new place to live. The farmer asked this
second visitor what his previous community had been like. This second stranger responded that his
previous community had been very supportive, friendly and caring, and that he
was hoping to find a new community to live in.
The farmer responded to this second stranger that he was in luck, that
the local village was much as he had described his former town to be like. This second stranger determined to enter the
village and become a new resident there.
This story reflects the impact that your perspective can
have on how you perceive things. I was
reminded of this story last week, as I had the opportunity to listen to Shawn
Achor speak while at the International City Manager’s Association meeting in
Seattle. Shawn is an author, speaker, and
founder of the Institute for Applied Positive Research. During his presentation in Seattle, he
focused on the impact that our perspective has on how we view and interpret the
world around us.
He noted that our brain can process about 40 bits of
information per second despite receiving 11 million pieces of information
coming in from all sources, including nerve endings. This means that we end up being selective in
which pieces of information that come our way we choose to pay attention
to. This selection process is often
unconscious; if we choose to listen to a series of negative news stories in the
morning to begin our day, that negative attitude, or perspective, will lead us
to evaluate the day’s events based on our morning attitude. As we confront those 11 million pieces of
information each second, the negative morning attitude we developed will be an
unconscious selector of the 40 bits our brain chooses to process. Achor’s point was that if we, however, make a
conscious decision to pay attention to positive items at the beginning of the
day, that choice will impact our ability to see the day’s events in a positive
light. We will unconsciously be more
inclined to process more positive pieces of information throughout the day.
Shawn Achor noted that this simple process of consciously
influencing our beginning perspective each morning, of choosing a positive lens
to view the world through, will not only influence how we perceive the events
of the day, but will have a ripple effect on everyone we come in contact with. The attitude that we display to others is
noted by them, whether consciously or not, and as we display a more positive
attitude towards those around us, we can have a positive impact on them as
well. To demonstrate the impact that
this type of change can have, Shawn talked about a hospital he worked with that
asked its employees to make a practice of smiling and saying “hello” to anyone
who came within 5 feet of them. Over a
period of time, this simple behavior change had a significantly positive impact
on patient care results, as well as employee workplace attitudes.
Shawn also spent a significant amount of time discussing the
factors that influence long term happiness and success. He talked about how 90% of long term
happiness is determined by how you process information. He also discussed how 75% of job success is
determined by the belief that your behavior matters, having a solid social
network to support you, and learning how to deal with stress in a meaningful
way.
The session left me wanting more. As a result, I bought one of his books: The
Happiness Advantage: The Seven
Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work. I want to read this for myself, and take the
time to think through how I can apply this concept in my life. In addition, I plan on using it as one of the
books that our Leadership team devotes to discussing over the coming months.
I wanted to conclude by revisiting the story of the farmer
who was questioned by two new potential residents. The farmer was wise enough to know that his
local village had its strengths and weaknesses, and that the two strangers
would likely view those strengths and weaknesses through the same perspective
they had made previous evaluations. Achor
would note that the two individuals have very different mindsets on how they
view the world around them. Shawn Achor
would also note that the two strangers, and you and I as well, have the ability
to consciously choose to use a new perspective to view our community
through. I have been challenged to
evaluate how well I am doing at having the appropriate lens as my focal point.
