It’s only 90 days into 2020 and life and work are so different now than they were in 2019.

And as things continue to shift and change you may find yourself asking questions such as why this crisis is happening in the world, or how much worse will it get before it gets better.

I’m sure you have so many questions and find that there are very few definitive answers.

And when you ask yourself these questions notice how down you can get and how quickly you can spiral into negative thoughts and feelings, which at the end of the day don’t serve you in any capacity.

Like me, I’m sure you’ve had such moments over the last couple of weeks.

So, what I’d like to share is what to do instead, to counter those negative moments.

I propose that you focus on getting deeply skilled at quickly shifting your thinking to questions that will serve you better. This is loosely based on some version of the commonly quoted phrase “change your thoughts, change your life” which is also the title of a book by the late Wayne Dyer.

If your mind wants to roam, I’d like you to practice consciously directing it to focus on what I call “momentum-generating” or “action-generating” questions. These types of questions have the result of getting you out of feeling stuck and into action. These questions will end up generating more positive and useful thoughts.

Here are the questions to ask to keep you motivated and focused.

• Where do I want to be when this is over?
• What do I want to be proud of?
• What will I have learnt?
• Who will I have become?
• How will I have contributed to making life and work better for those I can impact?

So, what will your answer be to the question… Where do you want to be when the crisis is over?

Go ahead, create your future now.

PS. If you’re struggling with a current situation, email me for a laser coaching session to help you push through. Send an email with the subject “Laser” to nancy@thriveatwork.com.au

Do you know your strengths?

And do you focus on boosting and leveraging your strengths at work, in your business or in your life?

Or are you like most of the population that spends inordinate amounts of money and time trying to improve their weaknesses?

I don’t blame you.

We work so hard on our weaknesses hoping to get better, or even good because we have been conditioned to do so through the schooling system. We are taught to become, and rewarded for being, well-rounded individuals!

Tom Rath, author of StrengthsFinder 2.0 and Strength Based Leadership uses years of research to assert that “If you spend your life trying to be good at everything, you will never be great at anything.”

Indeed, decades of research by The Gallup Organisation  found that “each individual has enduring distinct abilities” and that “individuals can develop most effectively by building on their strengths.”

When I first came across this concept many years ago, I realised that my success will be based on amplifying my strengths rather than struggling to fix my weaknesses.

So, when I worked in corporate, I focused on building teams around me with skills that filled the gaps I had. Leading with my strengths resulted in more moments of success and has contributed to building my overall confidence and sense of achievement.

When you focus on fixing your weaknesses, it’s usually a hard slog that takes time and can be quite demoralising. That’s because more often than not you won’t achieve mastery, you won’t enjoy the process or the work, and at the end of the day, you’ll probably just become average in that specific area.

Imagine if we could spend more time working and expanding our expertise in our areas of strengths instead. In other words, working on our talents or on what come to us with ease and joy.

We could become phenomenal!

So, how about you focus on your strengths and outsource the rest. That’s what I’m doing this year and it’s working out great.