The Grinch or Elf Culture?
Nov 24, 2024
Last week, I listened to a couple of my favorite podcasts driving to do an onsite with a client company. Too close to start a third one, I switched over to local radio stations and scanned channels. About six stations played a holiday song.
That’s right, before Thanksgiving.
Then last weekend, I sat down to watch some streaming shows with my wife. Our favorite app malfunctioned so we slipped over to Netflix. Guess what predominated the preview screen? Yep, holiday movies. We watched something with Christmas Island in the title. It was cute. And I’m a good husband…
Then it hit me: “Dude, it’s almost the holidays. Do you realize how much you have yet to do this year?”
My stomach rolled over three times quickly.
Overwhelm feels like nausea.
Can you relate?
Sure, it’s “the most wonderful time of the year”…and yet we are susceptible to missing the wonder of it all due to the overwhelm that accompanies the holidays.
So what can you do to avoid creating a Grinch culture and work more like Elf?
Check out these 3 Focus Strategies to avoid holiday overwhelm:
Focus on Positive Strengths
First, focus on positive strengths.
The Grinch shoves us toward a sense of lack during the holidays that starts on Madison Avenue and winds up on your front porch. This scarcity mentality afflicts you at work as well, shifting your focus to the negative.
Choose to focus on positive strengths like Elf. Make a list of what’s going well with your work culture right now, something like a Candy Cane Forest. Note the strengths of the year so far and include financials, significant product developments, additional team members, customer problems solved and transformed relationships.
Then begin each workday by reading and sharing your list. This single strategy pivots your mindset from negative—what our culture doesn’t have—to positive—what we’re doing well. Since you see what you’re looking for, you add to your list daily as you discover more positive strengths.
Focus on Positive Situations
Next, focus on positive situations.
Overwhelm produces anxiety which shuts down your strategic ability to focus on positive situations. You see the Mt. Everest of others’ gifts that you’ll never have. Instead of the first step that leads to the second step which gets you to incredible decorations all over, you shut down because you can’t do it all at once.
Do One Thing (DOT) today. Create a culture that works off a list of those action items that you can do. Think of them as positive situations from which you leverage the kind of forward motion your work culture needs to reach your goals.
Focus on this list and prioritize it. Pick one activity and Do One Thing (DOT) to check it off. Build on the positive momentum you gain from this activity and move forward some more.
As you achieve more, your focus on these positive situations sharpens like a laser. You discover more positive situations and your attitude shifts from overwhelm—“what I can’t do”—to achievement—“what I can do.” You’re pouring maple syrup on everything!
Focus on Positive Signals
Finally, focus on positive signals.
Your feeling of overwhelm emerges during the holidays more as a reaction to the realization that the year is about to end than anything else. Your mind goes to what isn’t done, how little time there is left to do it, and the impending sense that it’ll be undone as the new year begins.
Instead, remember you have a heart that’s warm. Honestly evaluate what you’ve already accomplished toward next year’s goals. Then strategically act on the positive situations you can now, using your positive strengths accrued through the year. Determine what barriers prevented further growth.
Then assess the positive signals emerging as this year nears completion. These signals are your springboard to positive growth for next year. What are the positive strengths? What are the positive situations? How do these project more positive signals in the new year?
Focus on these positive signals.
Cure your holiday overwhelm. Turn away from The Grinch culture. Transform to Elf culture as you:
- focus on positive strengths
- focus on positive situations
- focus on positive signals.
Work Positive so you truly enjoy this most wonderful time of the year!
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