Challenging Conventional Wisdom
April 13, 2010
What if we didn’t have to label the events in our life as “good” or “bad”? Would it change our perception, especially for those events we would normally view as negative?
That’s the premise behind Dr. Srikumar S. Rao’s recently-published article entitled “Why Positive Thinking Is Bad For You.” Dr. Rao suggests that the mere identification of daily happenings as negative sets in motion a stressful cycle in which we then feel the need to make the best of these experiences, what conventional wisdom calls the “if life hands you lemons, make lemonade” technique. The article is a quick read that certainly got me to thinking.
I can recall many instances that I have automatically viewed as “lemons.” Now, I’m no Debbie Downer by nature, I’m talking events that “everyone” would assume were bad: the serious illness of a loved one, the disillusionment in a previously-fulfilling job and the struggles associated with launching a business during a recession. I’m sure each of you could compile your own list. How would I lived differently through these “bad” times had I not assumed that what was occurring was bad? I don’t know but I’m sure at the very least I would have been in a more positive frame of mind and certainly much better company had I adopted Dr. Rao’s advice.
How to apply this strategy in our daily challenges in the restaurant business? The bad review on Yelp becomes an opportunity to connect in a meaningful way with your customer base. Staff struggles are now viewed as a way to strengthen the team. The battle to survive in a struggling economy becomes an opportunity to employ previously underutilized sales-driving and cost-cutting techniques.
Once we shed the yoke of accepted truths in running our businesses, we suddenly have the ability to evaluate our tactics based upon radically different criteria, not as “good” or “bad,” but as “effective,” “necessary,” “successful” or perhaps as “questionable,” “doubtful” or “expendable.” Eschewing labels frees us to see unsuccessful techniques not as failures but as tactics to revamp or replace with more productive strategies.
So, what do you think? Is Dr. Rao on to something? How would adopting his advice change your perspective at work? Let’s get the conversation going!
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