The Breeze Around You

Have you noticed people walking in nice cool breeze seem to be chilled out.

The exact opposite happens when the surroundings are uncomfortable, like a railway station. Too much heat, too less space and not enough information.

Every organization advertises a good work environment, described in many forms…conducive, productive, relaxed, creative, growth oriented !

It’s fairly well acknowledged that a good work environment is essential for many different reasons.

By a very simple generalized equation:
Good Environment => Good Thoughts => Good Actions => Good Results

Clearly an over simplification but lets play along.

What makes your environment?

Some Rules - Policies, procedures to be followed
Physical workplace – your cube, cafeteria, coffee room, parking lot
People – co-workers, managers, peers, friends
And you!

A place, work or home, with too many and too strict rules and procedures isn’t a fun place to be. Perhaps that’s why, schools of our times (70’s and 80’s) weren’t as much fun as they are today. Kids today are so much smarter!

People around you make a huge impact on your environment. They interact with you…share opinions, experiences, misery.

In general, we view the environment as an external to us…something that we don’t have control over.

But it isn’t exactly so…

Each one of us contributes to environment around us. What is throw around us, is what we’ll see everyday.

Something, as simple as, greeting others with smile and warmth, sets the tone of your day…and future interactions with the same people.

We own our environment.

Doesn’t mean we control all of it…but we certainly own our outlook and responses to whatever the environment throws at us.

A workplace will have all kind of people, that’s what makes it interesting and real. Some of them will fall into this category called “generally frustrated”. This set of people always find a reason to be frustrated, whatever be the event. If we decide to make them a key player in our environment, hang around with them…it’s only natural that we’ll get to see some their perspective…and you’ll start finding the dark lining in the silver cloud. Unfortunately, negativity rubs on easy.

We have a choice to limit our interaction, or simply refuse to listen to the frustration.

Making your environment positive, vibrant and productive may require some effort as well. Over time it’s easy to slip into a routine which isn’t so…for example, spending weekend after weekend, buying groceries and watching TV...no real family activity, no creativity…no Re-charge of your body and mind!  Monday and rest of the week may not be very different.

So choose to make the environment you’d like to live in.

Choose to set the cool breeze around you.