Shift Happens

I was driving (more like crawling) to work this morning, stuck in rush hour traffic and cursing the rude Miami drivers and road construction. Suddenly, a bumper sticker caught my eye: “Choose Optimism – It Feels Better. ” In an instant, my attitude shifted from grumpy to grateful as I began making a mental gratitude list. So when I turned on my computer and read Jeff Hurt’s Midcourse Corrections blog post, it made a whole lot of sense.

Jeff was one of the speakers who participated in the Experient e4 2010  “Dare To Be Different” Conference in Orlando. In his blog article, “10 Ways to Change the Way You See Everything”, he shares his notes from the closing general session, where speaker Hank Wasiak introduced the concept of ABT – Asset Based Thinking.

What Is ABT?

According to the ABT website,  “professionals from all walks of life can surpass their current levels of leadership, performance, teamwork, and results by shifting, ever so slightly, the way they see everything through Asset-Based Thinking (ABT).” ABT takes the spin of “positive thinking” to a whole new level.

From Jeff’s blog:

Emphasize the positive. With practice, shift your attitude from

• Too hard….to…so challenging
• I don’t want to…to…I want to
• You’ve got to be kidding…to…wow, that’s a great way to think about it
• That’s so strange…to…that is very unusual
• I wish they would stop that…to…I suggest that you try this
• I don’t like that…to…I like this better

Read Jeff’s article and learn 10 Ways to See Change Through the ABT Lens. Just click on Helping improve your annual meetings, conferences & education.

The flip side of ABT is DBT – Deficit-Based Thinking – or looking at life through the lens of negative thoughts. ABT or DBT? It’s your choice – opportunities vs. problems, strengths vs. weaknesses, what can be done instead of what can’t.

For more information on the ABT Mission and to learn why The Human Capital Institute called Asset-Based Thinking “the most powerful business term of the Knowledge Era”, go to assetbasedthinking.com. Oh, and the title of the book is “Change the Way You See Everything” by Dr. Kathryn Cramer.

Want more reasons to choose optimism and feel good?

Had enough of doom and gloom news reports? Check out The Good News Network (all the good news that is fit to print), and sign up to receive the top 10 good news stories each week.

And, to find out why happiness is good for business, check out Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh. Be on the lookout for the decked-out Delivering Happiness Bus as Tony and his team embark on a 20+ city bus tour with one mission in mind: To Inspire and Be Inspired. They just might be making a happiness stop in your neck of the woods

So as you go through your day, practice shifting to ABT. Maybe Abraham Lincoln said it best: “Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

How about you? Have you ever been in a situation that looked like disaster but turned out to be a gift? How do you change your mind from Debit-Based to Asset-Based Thinking? Would love to hear your stories!

Filed under: Fun & Happy Stuff, Meeting & Incentive News, Miscellaneous