Page 122 - 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself

possibly do to make this whole thing go away?” That question does not get you

into action at all.

Acting on your worries frees you up for other things. It removes fear and
uncertainty from your life and puts you back in control of creating what you
want. Just do it.

86. Run with the thinkers

The president of a major office equipment company put his problem to me
this way: “How do I get the whiners in my company to stop whining and start
coming up with solutions?”

He went on to explain that he had two kinds of people working for him, the
Whiners and the Thinkers. The Whiners were often very smart and dedicated
employees who worked long, hard hours. But when they came into the
manager’s office, it was almost always to complain.

“They’re great at finding fault with other managers and telling me what’s

wrong with our systems,” the president said, “but they are a drain on me because
they’re so negative that I end up trying to make them feel better. After that, I’m
depressed.”

The Thinkers, on the other hand, had a different way of coming into the
office with problems. “The Thinkers come to me with ideas,” he said. “They see
the same problems that the Whiners see, but they’ve already thought about
possible solutions.”

The Thinkers, in other words, have assumed ownership of the company, and
are creating the future of the company with their thinking. The Whiners have
stopped thinking. Once the problems are identified, and their reaction to them
justified, the thinking stops.

The Thinkers have taken their reaction to the company’s problems past their
emotions, and into their minds. And because they have formulated some
solutions, the nature of their meeting with the manager is creative. It’s a
brainstorming meeting. The manager enjoys these meetings because they
stimulate his mind, too. Both parties leave the meeting feeling energized
intellectually, and the manager looks forward to future meetings with the
Thinkers.