There Is Always A Typo

Less than 30 minutes after my February newsletter went out, several readers emailed to inform me there was a typo.  There is always a typo.  It is the story of my life.  

One reader, Victoria Jacobs (whose blog you should read!) noted that “having compiled many newsletters over the years. At one work location, no matter how many of us proofed the newsletter, someone would find an error. So I turned it into a game, acted like the error was there on purpose, and gave recognition with an “Eagle Eye” Award to the person who found it.”  

I love that.  Instead of focusing on the problem, Victoria looked for a way to make it a strength.

Appreciative Inquiry is a model that discourages looking for problems to solve and encourages focusing on what you do well and building on that.  For much of my life, I looked for black clouds to every silver lining, and then, I don’t know why, I started looking at things differently—noting silver linings where before I only saw black clouds.  

Maybe I didn’t really become more successful—I had had a pretty good run for a long time—but it sure felt like it.  Oh, I can still be a negative Nelly, but mostly I find that focusing on strengths is much less exhausting than always hauling around garbage.