Bestselling author John Gordon offers a new paradigm in understanding how and why mental toughness, mental health, mental well-being, and positivity are achieved.
He starts with the why. “When you feel positive, you feel more powerful,” Gordon said on the podcast. It makes perfect intuitive sense.
But then it becomes a matter of method, and this is where the paradigm begins to change. In his latest book, The only truth: Lift your mind, unleash your power, heal your soul.suggests that positivity is best understood as a social rather than an individual trait.
“That's why positive thinking works. That's why positivity is so important,” he argued on the podcast. “It's about understanding that everything comes down to unity or separation. So when we feel united and connected, it's a powerful feeling. A united and connected team A strong team. A divided and disjointed team is a weak team. It all comes down to unity and separation in our lives and relationships in our organizations.”
Connection has become even more important and much more difficult as employees are spread out and no longer enjoy the chemistry that comes with proximity. “We are no longer in the same office every day, which was considered very important in building culture and camaraderie,” he asserted.
In his podcast, Gordon says the onus is on leaders to find new ways to better connect their teams, and he shares some interesting techniques on how to do that:
• How to find common ground with everyone by introducing these 5 easy-to-talk about topics.
• Leverage the flexibility provided by technology to strengthen connections between team members.
• Which words to use and which words should not be used when thinking or talking to oneself.
• The power of gratitude can transform almost any negative situation into a positive one.
Gordon emphasizes that all of this has to be intentional. Take the time to ask your teammates for honest answers to questions like “How are you doing?” and “What's going well?” What's not so good? “How can I be a better leader?” Leaders can create stronger connections than they could actually achieve, even if they were all in the same office and didn't communicate in this intentional way. I can.
