Two stories I want to share with you:
Story 1
McGinty, a farmer, needed to plough his field to plant his crop, but his own plough had broken. “I know, I’ll ask my neighbour, farmer Murphy, to borrow his plough. He’s a good man; I’m sure he’ll have done his ploughing by now and he’ll be glad to lend me his machine.”
So McGinty began to walk the three or four fields to Murphy’s farm. After a field of walking, McGinty says to himself, “I hope that Murphy has finished all his own ploughing or he’ll not be able to lend me his machine…”
Then after a few more minutes of worrying and walking, McGinty says to himself, “And what if Murphy’s plough is old and on it’s last legs – he’ll never be wanting to lend it to me will he?”
And after another field, McGinty says, “Murphy was never all that helpful, I reckon maybe he won’t be too keen to lend me his plough even if it’s in perfect working order and he’s finished all his own ploughing weeks ago….”
As McGinty arrives at Murphy’s farm, McGinty is thinking, “That old Murphy can be a mean old ‘divil’. I reckon even if he’s got all his ploughing done, and his own machine is sitting there doing nothing, he’ll not lend it to me just so he can watch me go to ruin…”
McGinty walks up Murphy’s front path, knocks on the door, and Murphy answers.
“Well good morning Mr McGinty, what can I do for you?” says Murphy.
And McGinty says, with eyes bulging, “You can take your bloody plough, and you can shove it!”
And story 2:
A mother was preparing a meal for her young son. She emptied a tin of beans into a saucepan ready to put them on the stove to cook. Just then the phone rang – she was expecting a call and wanted to take it. Mindful that she’d be leaving her little boy unsupervised for a minute or two, and wanting to prevent him doing anything daft while she was out of the room, she firmly told him, “Stay here while I answer the phone. I’ll be back soon; don’t misbehave, and whatever you do, don’t go putting those beans up your nose…….”
Did that sound familiar? We can all be guilty of the above type of thinking and it can be problematic.
One pessimist I know justifies their approach by saying that ‘If you expect the worst then at least you will never be disappointed’. A rather depressing attitude to life I feel. Do you see ‘the glass as half full or as half empty’?
Research has shown that positive expectations can and do deliver positive results. Particularly so, with our expectations of others. People do try to live up (or down) to your expectations.
The Gallup Organization conducted research involving 80,000 managers across different industries. Their research showed how great managers attract, hire, focus, and keep their most talented employees. The top three ideas were the following:
1. The best managers reject conventional wisdom.
2. The best managers treat every employee as an individual.
3. The best managers never try to fix weaknesses; instead they focus on strengths and talent.
As managers, leaders and parents we should show our faith and belief in those we deal with. Focus and build on peoples potential.
For ourselves as individuals we can build our positive thinking and imagination skills. Many top sports people use the power of mental imagery to aid preparation. Padraig Harrington mentally practices his putting prior to competing, he says, ‘In my mind I never miss’. Why shouldn’t we use the same technique? Whether preparing for a presentation, a meeting or an interview; rather than thinking ‘Oh no I couldn’t do that!’ or ‘I’ll probably make a mess of it,’ we should look forward to the experience as an opportunity, a challenge, a learning / enjoyable experience.
As an experiment you might like to try some positive mental imagery. Think of something you would like to change or a goal you want to achieve, deliver a great presentation, for example. Find a quiet place and time. Sit down, close your eyes and imagine success in this. Paint a very full and clear mental picture of that success. How it looks, feels, impacts you and others. Hear the audience applaud. See the rapt expressions of interest. Enjoy the feeling of recognition for a job well done. ‘Dress rehearse it’, if you will. The more practical, detailed and realistic your dress rehearsal – the better. Regularly and meaningfully imagine this dream as a reality. Why not try it, you might find it works. Actually I am sure that it will.
It was Henry Ford who said: ‘If you think you can do a thing or that you cannot do a thing, in either case you are right.’