In my first blog posting I made a reference to the concept of ‘Choosing Your Attitude’, and promised that I would cover that topic a little later on… so read on!
Some years ago I was introduced to the brilliant concept of Fish!, a philosophical approach to life that emerged from a film about Seattle’s world-famous Pike Place Fish Market. If you want an introduction to the spirit of the Fish Market, click here – now that’s what I call the catch of the day!
The film documents the daily lives of fishmongers, going through their slippery fishmongery motions in smelly, cold and wet conditions, starting at good grief o’clock in the morning and with little chance of earning anywhere near Sir Fred’s weekly pension over the course of their entire working year. These Pike Place fishmongers operate 12-hour shifts in these gruelling conditions selling and packing fish – so how come they are so motivated? Well, during some downright humbling and enlightening interviews in the film, they individually share the Fish! Philosophy they have developed, which keeps them focused and productive whilst having huge amounts of fun every day.
Fish! Philosophy is:
Be There - for your co-workers and customers
Play – have fun at work e.g. throw a fish!
Make Their Day - do something special and go the extra mile, so that it really stands out in your customer’s mind, and
Choose Your Attitude - address your mental state when you turn up to work.
As a psychologist I am particularly interested in the last one, as I firmly believe that we can all work on and choose our mood, our outlook and our attitude to life each and every day. Now before you retort by asserting that no-one can be responsible for the impact of outside influences like losing a job or the car breaking down, I must stress that I really do disagree with that. While external stressors and events may be a trigger to our feelings, we can choose to respond to the majority of external events with neutral or positive feelings and attitudes. It is truly within our personal control.
Choosing Your Attitude is more than putting a false smile on your face… or indeed a twisted grimace! It’s about being self-aware, about having social awareness (being aware of the impact of your attitude on those around you), and it’s about managing your self and social management (managing the interactions and relationships you have on a daily basis). And for those Daniel Goleman fans out there, there lie the four domains of Emotional Intelligence which I believe are particularly pertinent here.
Personal change always begins with self-awareness, and once you are aware of your unhelpful mood or attitude you can choose to do something about it. This is about taking personal responsibility for your life, a quality which sadly is becoming all too scarce in today’s society.
Sarah’s Positive Tips
#4 Choose Your Attitude
As Bear says in the FISH! film, “You gotta choose where you’re gonna be as soon as you get out of bed. I consciously make that choice every day.”
