I don’t know if on occasion you try to push yourself beyond what would be you normal behavior or within your usual nature.  I do, even though it is not always with great success.  I am sometimes inspired to out do my personal best because I believe in the unalienable correctness of a behavior or the timely display of an attitude.

It has been said that one of the most desirable attitudes of an employee, leader, or manager is the ability to view problems as opportunities and setbacks as temporary inconveniences.  With this type of positive attitude you actually welcome change as friendly (which is very hard for many of us to do) and are not upset by surprises, even negative surprises. 

How we approach challenges and problems is a crucial aspect of our decision-making process, whether at the office or in our personal lives.  More and more, employers try to evaluate this key behavioral competency as it applies to many different types of jobs, by the tests that are given candidates, the questions asked in an oral interview, and observing the demonstration of decision-making skill during and employee’s probationary period (and possibly continuing throughout the employee’s entire career). 

You will have to evaluate your own workplace for applicability in situation, but in organizations and environments in which criticism, pessimism, cynicism, and motivation by fear prevail (due to libel laws, please do not include your current employer’s name in response to this blog entry), an attitude develops that leads to avoiding failure at all costs.  The trouble with failure avoidance is that it’s simultaneously avoidance of success, since success depends on taking risks. 

At Riverside County we firmly believe that innovation and creativity are impossible when employees are afraid they will be penalized for efforts that don’t turn out as everyone might have liked.  There is a cost in taking risks and you naturally try to establish that the benefits out weigh the possible costs, but we have also found there is a huge cost in doing nothing. 

Even the most optimistic thinkers agree that all lasting success in life is laced with problems and misfortunes which require creativity and innovation.  Winners are said to turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones. 

Oops… I started to sound a little preachy… I had better go on to my favorite story, which I promise has something to do with the above ramblings…  As it was told to me, Ernest Hemingway in the 1920’s was working hard to perfect his writing craft, and he lost his suitcase containing all of his manuscripts.  They include many stories that he had spent arduous months perfecting and which he had hoped to publish. 

Hemingway was very distraught and couldn’t imagine having to do this work all over again.  When Hemingway told his catastrophic tale of the lost suitcase to poet Ezra Pound, he in stark contrast thought it was a stroke of luck.  Pound assured Hemingway that when he re-wrote the stories, he would forget the weak parts, and only the best material would reappear. 

Although I don’t necessarily have Ezra Pounds ability to take disappointment and cast it in a light of opportunity.  I do often bring this story forward in my memory when some personal disaster strikes, and use it as inspiration to take a look at the “bright” side.  Besides, Hemingway did re-write his stories – and the rest as they say, is history (and so I might add is this blog entry). 

Happy Turkey Day everyone, and remember Triptaphan is your friend.