Staying Ready, Thinking Upstream and Toxic Positivity

Good Morning! My goal is provide value every Monday morning. As many of you know, the spring is my busy season. With that in mind, I’d like to share with you some quick hitters around things I’m reading, watching, or listening to. When things slow down, I’ll get back to the longer formed articles.
While busy, I still love hearing from you. So, please don’t hesitate to reach out!
Here we go!

Stay Ready
I recently watched an MLB Network interview with former big leaguer, Charlie Hayes. Hayes spent 14 years in the show. Long time baseball fans will remember him catching the final out of the 1996 World Series.

“I wasn’t starting and I kinda took it the wrong way. It hit me that guys on the team had accomplished way more than I had in this game, and they had bought in to what Mr. Torre was saying. From that day forward I took baseball very differently. I cherished every day. I worked hard. It made my job easier when I cheered for everybody else because it made me forget my shortcomings. I teach that to the kids. Everybody knows me for catching the foul ball, but I didn’t start the game (he replaced Wade Boggs in the 7th inning). You have to stay prepared and you’ll be ready when that situation comes.”

After hearing Charlie’s interview I was reminded how an unchecked ego can be damaging. Even great people (Hayes seems like an awesome person) get selfish at times. When we lean into serving others, happiness and positive experiences typically follow.
My biggest takeaway, and the one I hope you embrace as well, is to stay ready. We never know when our number will be called.

Think Upstream
I’m finishing up, Upstream-The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen, by Dan Heath. My big takeaways:

• While hard to quantify, problem prevention is better than problem fixing. So, how can we detect problems before they occur?
• “There’s no doubt that our noble efforts to make the world better can very easily make the world worse.”

Please consider how “noble effort” can be harmful in parenting, teaching, and leading.
When trying to improve a situation, it’s a must to consider the unintentional consequences.

Toxic Positivity
A follow that I love on Twitter is Susan David. She introduced me to a phrase, “toxic positivity.” Here’s one of her tweets that has me thinking:

“False positivity should never be used at the expense of reality. Leaders need to face others- and the situation- with candor, compassion, and courage.”

As leaders, we must be careful saying, “you need to be thankful” or “stay positive.” Sometimes we need to recognize times are tough and acknowledge other’s frustrations.

That’s not being negative.

That’s being real.

To learn more about Susan watch her Ted Talk: The Gift and Power of Emotional Courage or listen to her conversation with Brene Brown: Dangers of Toxic Positivity.

See you next Monday!