Today, I’d like to take you on a little mind exercise. I want you to close your eyes and imagine you’re in a room filled with people. I want you to imagine yourself greeting them as if they’re unimportant and you’re looking for someone else more important to talk to. Now I want you to imagine that you are greeting them as if they’re a long lost friend and you’re really glad to see them.

What do you observe about the energy and interactions in these two scenarios? To efficiently manage well performing teams, you need to be able to manage their energy and yours. One way to manage energy is to change people’s thinking. I asked you to change your thinking from a negative thought (this person is unimportant) to a positive one (I’m so happy to see you). I would imagine the first scenario would have very little eye contact or touching. I imagine the second scenario would show faces lit up, laughter and hugging. I didn’t ask you to change your behavior but by changing your thinking, you automatically changed your behavior to something much more energized.

Try This!

As you think, you become. Throughout the day today, observe what you’re thinking and how it affects your energy. Observe what you say to those around you and see if it creates a positive or negative thought or reaction. Try to think thoughts that will contribute to positive emotions and energy and avoid thoughts that may drag you down and deplete your energy.

Share what you observe and your reactions with me!