Week 7 – Discovering My Negativity

Just when you think you know someone, you learn something new about them that surprises you. The person I thought I knew was…me!

I thought I knew who I was and how I thought. When I was younger, I was the eternal optimist. On the job, I felt like I could do anything and get it done within the time that the boss wanted it. Over time, I found myself becoming unable to do that on a consistent basis….but I worked through it. I begin asking more questions, clarifying the request and figuring out what the obstacles to meeting the request might be. My performance got better and my life got better.

I found that as I progressed down the path of questioning and clarifying, I had become (in my mind) an EXPERT at clarification, expectation setting, planning and prioritizing. I became a leader in my field because I was able to effectively challenge requests and meet executive expectations for both myself and my corporate team.

Then Week 7 of the MKMMA program arrived and I was challenged to think only positive thoughts for an entire week. I was educated on the principle that someone can only focus on one thought at a time, and that when a negative thought enters our mind we must identify it and replace that thought with more positive thinking. Each time we do not replace the thought within 20 seconds, we needed to start counting our week from Day 1 again. NO SWEAT, I’ll CRUSH this exercise!

You know what…I’M GETTING CRUSHED. Until I focused on this concept, I had no idea how negative I had become. My confidence in clarification and expectation setting had morphed in cockiness. I came to realize that any thought or suggestion that didn’t come from me was wrong. I had put up a wall against others’ thinking and had gone down the wrong path….and way far down that path.

I still haven’t made it through an entire week yet, but I’m getting closer. Almost half way through a week at this point, and getting better at catching and replacing my negative thoughts.

Who is that “Guy in the Glass”? Still not totally sure, but getting to know him better on a daily basis.

Keep growing and improving everyone…what a wonderful ride!

Jerry B