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Do you remember the applause meter that used to show up in game shows? Imagine if you had a meter like that to measure the positive energy in your firm. How often would the energy meter be buzzing off its hinges at full tilt toward positivity?
Positive energy is palpable. Literally, you can feel it. Not only can you feel it, but your clients and prospects feel it too. And positive energy is attractive, appealing, encouraging and uplifting. It makes you more referable and inspires people to want to work with you. Positive energy keeps productivity and morale up.
What can you do differently as the fourth quarter of 2020 draws near to boost the positive energy level in your firm and reduce the negative emotional impact that COVID-19 has had on the hearts and souls of you and your people?
I’ll let you in on a few secrets from our office that keep us focused on positivity throughout the year. You might like to adopt one or all of these ideas for yourself.
Gratitude journals
Each of us in the office keeps a gratitude journal throughout the year. It sits on our desks and when we are inspired to capture something in writing, we enter it into our journals. The entries could be something as simple as looking out our window and being grateful for our vision to see the beautiful landscape or the referral we received for a new prospect. You get the picture. Learning to slow down for a second and express gratitude helps everyone have a more positive attitude. No matter what is going on around you, gratitude helps to keep things in perspective. There is always something that deserves your gratitude.
Vision boards
We create a unified vision board for each year. We carve out time in our busy schedules to be creative, expressive and thoughtful on what is most important for us in the upcoming year. Then we hang this vision board where we will see it every day and make a point to visit the board once a week at the end of our staff meeting. This keeps us focused on what matters most to us. It grounds us when things get crazy. It brings a smile to our faces every time we look at it and inspires us to keep pushing forward.
Theme songs
Yes, we have an office theme song. A theme song doesn’t need to be restricted to your office. If you have people working from home, you can encourage each person to have their own theme song. Staff will be curious to know what songs people have chosen so encourage the team to share their songs and how they’ve chosen to use it.
Our song is a very positive, uplifting song that we play at least once a week. It too makes us smile, sing and even dance a little. It’s a song that encompasses our goals and vision. We end every staff meeting with the theme song and look forward to playing it. Our song instantly puts us in a great mood. Positive energy at its best! And if you’re wondering, this year our theme song is This Girl Is On Fire, by Alicia Keys.
Meditation
Meditation comes in many forms because it’s as diverse as the human population. I use an app called Let’s Meditate and listen to meditation each night as I fall asleep. It helps me to quiet my active, racing brain and allows me to fall asleep quickly and soundly. Good sleep plays a definite role in your positivity. I’m sure you can relate to feeling edgy after a poor nights’ sleep.
There are also times when I start my day in my office with a 5-10-minute power meditation. I use it to influence my mindset for the day. Using meditation daily will definitely support your own personal positivity. Encouraging your team members to use a form of meditation will help them as well. We all have experienced more chaos and uncertainty in our lives than we ever anticipated in 2020. Whatever you can do to help you and your people to relax, sleep better and take good care of themselves will pay off large on your positivity meter.
Breathe fresh air
There’s nothing like a breath of fresh air to stimulate your brain and put a smile on your face. Each day, we make time to get outside for a short walk to breathe and regenerate. Working in an office environment day in and day out can be stifling for some people and put a damper on someone’s mood.
Get outdoors at least during lunch or for a mid-day quick break. Take some deep breaths of fresh air in through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Let the sun warm your face. Encourage team members working from home to do the same. Leverage nature to put a spring back into your step for the remainder of the day.
To put your firm in a better mood, do something different. Be creative. Engage everyone in your office. Perhaps everyone could create their own vision board to inspire them when they have a tough day. Maybe everyone should keep a gratitude journal on their desk. Even give your kids the life-long gift of a gratitude journal.
If there’s one thing you do want to pass around during COVID times, it’s more positivity. Positive energy is powerful and will make a noticeable difference in your firm when you embrace it.
Michelle R. Donovan is a referral coach, speaker and co-owner of Productivity Uncorked LLC, a coaching firm that specializes in helping female financial advisors increase their referrals and get more done in their day. Michelle has written a Wall Street Journal Best Selling book, The 29% Solution (published in seven languages) and an Amazon Best Selling book, A Woman’s Way: Empowering Female Financial Advisors to Authentically Lead and Flourish in a Man’s World. To schedule a free 30-minute call with Michelle, reach out to her at [email protected] or connect with her on LinkedIn.
Read more articles by Michelle R. Donovan
Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
