Free You Majored in What? by Katharine Brooks

of?
• What are my strengths?
• Where do I need to improve?
    On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rank your use of the strategic mindset?

    If you were going to tell an employer about your strength in strategic thinking, what example(s) would you use?
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    MINDSET 5: THE POSITIVE MINDSET
    You began learning about the positive mindset when you read about the right-mind approach at the beginning of this chapter. Most people misunderstand the positive mindset because it seems at odds with analytic or critical thinking. Isn’t the point of analysis to find the problems? Why would one focus on the positive aspects of a situation? Positive thinking is not happy talk or blind optimism in the face of reality. Instead, it is a consistent focus on strengths in any situation: what went right, rather than what is wrong. Positive thinkers are using analytic thinking, but they are analyzing the strengths, the learning, and the desired outcomes instead of the problems.
    In the last ten years, a new field of positive psychology has evolved to examine what works in peoples’ lives, and the research conducted so far overwhelmingly demonstrates the significance and value of a positive (optimistic) mindset. Dr. Martin Seligman is one of the foremost researchers in the field, and he identifies four personal traits that contribute to a positive mindset: well-being, optimism, happiness, and self-determination.
    Positive thinking creates a positive future. His studies have found that in virtually all professions (with one notable exception), positive thinking or optimism is a major component of success. For example, optimistic sales representatives experience more sales; optimistic teachers are happier and experience more success in the classroom. What’s the one exception? Lawyers. Unfortunately, the field of law doesn’t reward optimism: it is the nature of lawyers to seek out problems and constantly consider worst-case scenarios. Dr. Seligman has found that this characteristic wreaks havoc on the personal lives of lawyers, and in true optimistic style, he offers remedies for the situation.
    Why Would an Employer Care About Your Positive Mindset?
• As mentioned earlier, research increasingly supports the importance of the positive mindset for success in the workplace. A positive mindset cuts stress, boosts morale, and improves productivity.
• The most successful leaders have positive mindsets, and a positive mindset helps you motivate yourself and others. Motivating workers is an ongoing challenge in many workplaces, and positive psychology research offers valuable advice and solutions.
• Optimistic workers are more resilient, less likely to quit or give up, and more likely to achieve goals and focus on their strengths.
• Individuals with positive mindsets are more likely to take responsibility for themselves and work independently.
    How You Can Develop or Use the Positive Mindset:
• Consider a time when you experienced a setback. How did you handle it? What would a person with a positive mindset have done? When you’re faced with a setback, ask yourself: “How would the ‘perfect’ me at my all-time best handle this situation?”
• What strengths did you discover in your Wandering Map? How can you use or build on them today?
• Think about times when you’ve been “in the flow”—when time just flew by because you were so caught up in your experience. What were you doing? Can you increase the time you spend in the flow now?
• In his book Authentic Happiness, Dr. Seligman writes that “the key is not finding the right job; it is finding a job you can make right.” He recommends “recrafting” your job by changing the duties to fit your strengths. Think about the