Did you know that our brain and senses have stayed the same for the past 50,000 years?
When interviewing for a job, most of us claim to be creative and to “think outside the box”, but is this actually true? Ami Hemviken, a leadership coach and one of Sweden’s most booked out lecturers in behavior, relationships and communication, spoke about increasing well-being at workplaces and engaging employees in the organization at Naava Breakfast in Stockholm.
Small change, big impact
Have you ever described yourself as creative in a job interview? Are you also good at adapting to new circumstances?
About 65 000 thoughts run through our minds daily. The truth is that 95% of these ideas have already passed through our minds yesterday. This means that being creative and having new points of view on different matters isn’t automated. If we want to develop these abilities, we have to be prepared to make little changes in our daily lives.
“People are slaves of habit, as it saves energy. A permanent change in behavior is only possible by making it a routine. This way, small changes can have a significant impact”
If it’s impossible to change one’s line of thought without any effort, our senses must be just as static. We are innately on standby to run from threat or danger when it’s near. In today’s world, this behavior can be an obstacle against behaviors more fitting to our time, such as co-operation at a workplace.
A culture of praise
Since our brain searches for flaws and errors, it can easily focus on the flaws in our colleagues and our work as well. We tend to have positive thoughts about our colleagues, but we rarely say them out loud.
“We need to create a culture of praise. Our brain searches for flaws in order to find and protect ourselves from danger. We need to use the conscious part of our brain and switch our mindset every now and then”, Ami said.
It doesn’t stop there, though. Switching your mindset and finding the positive aspects is a start, but saying the things out loud is also of great importance.
“Feedback and positive thoughts don’t have to be perfectly worded. We shouldn’t fixate on how we say things and let that stop us from actually saying them”
In the end, the majority of the 65 000 thoughts we have each day seldom differ from one person to another. When we understand this, and open up about our thoughts to each other, we can immediately impact the communication at work in a positive way.
Happy people are more productive and a small word of kindness is a step towards a workplace with better well-being and engaged employees.
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