Focus on the Positives
The Encouragement Manifesto (Part 2)
When we ran a small business, there were some principles at the heart of it. A code of behaviour. It was owner-run; just the two of us. So the way we worked, who we were, was never written down as such. It was in our hearts. We are pretty sure it was clear to our customers who we were and what was important to us. We worked hard to be consistent, to celebrate others and to stay positive. Our business was built on the successes and strengths of others; kindness and generosity were keystones; we talked about value, not price and that allowed us to find our audience. We gathered up and shared inspiring stories and we sought to be a pebble in the pond, creating ripples. If we’d written this all down at the time, we’d have called it The Encouragement Manifesto. We recently decided to capture it in words. We asked some folk we trust and who live and work in the same way, to interpret the 10 principles in their words.
Anticipation
by Harry Watson
My father was a Firefighter from the early 1930s through to the mid-60s. His many tales of those days held me spellbound as a boy. He often made mention of ‘Anticipation’, that sixth sense for impending danger, by use of which he and his colleagues escaped several catastrophes. Especially through the Blitz.
My first job as a Forensic Scientist in the early seventies was far less hazardous. It did not demand a sixth sense. Just a meticulous, analytical approach. The real world of a forensic scientist is not the drama of CSI or Silent Witness.
In the late 1970s, an opportunity arose for a new challenge.
A change in direction into ‘Computing’. It was something of an infant industry at the time. Computers then had less ‘power’ than today’s mobile phones while occupying vast amounts of square footage.
I went on to spend over 40 years delivering High-Tech solutions in Aerospace and Defence. It was in that career that my father’s words on anticipation took on more relevance. Anticipation, or gut-feel if you will, of hotspots in a plan, or risks with a solution, was key to the success I achieved. I had a natural aptitude for ‘seeing’ problems early. By doing that you might avoid them or have a mitigation plan standing by should avoidance prove impossible.
However, there was a side effect to that aptitude. Constant focus on things that might go wrong diluted my appreciation of the things that went right. Slowly but surely such a perspective was distorting my broader view.
The effect was undetectable to me but thankfully not to family and friends. Over time, they saw clouds begin to cover the sunny side of my personality.
My focus became the downside risk on everything from weather forecasts to holiday plans.
How to address the imbalance?
A change of career may seem the obvious solution. However, despite its demands, I derived much energy from what I did. I felt a shift in career might merely swap one negative side effect for another; that of feeling unfulfilled.
I needed an activity that could sit alongside the day job, but which encouraged me to look to the positive.
I began to write.
First, a daily journal. This helped to flush the more downbeat thoughts from my day and put things in a better perspective.
Then came story writing. My first effort was a short Christmas story about my then four-year-old daughter, who is forty now, fighting against sleep to catch a glimpse of Santa Claus. Over the years, the stories, especially the Christmas ones, grew in length, encompassing such topics as ghosts, romance, fantasy (including a tipsy Santa) and time travel.
They allowed for a world in which everything came right in the end. I did not intend the stories for publication but as a creative diversion and an amusement for my friends and family.
My colleagues became interested in my writing and along came a request to write the foreword of a book on Project Management. It’s still available, I believe. A bridge between my creative world and the day job.
In my latter working years, I used Social Media to post a weekly ‘Positive’ allowing me to recalibrate my working week with a focus on the good stuff. After I retired last year, I developed these posts into a weekly ‘Reflection’, very much a personal view on an issue.
Since lockdown began, I’ve ‘lightened’ these to humorous escapades of my life and travels. I enjoy that publishing these reflections on social media leads to immediate dialogue with an audience.
As I planned for retirement, I gave much thought to what I might do. My job demanded long hours within a challenging environment and much ‘anticipation’. While working, it proved difficult to find time to engage meaningfully with my local community. I knew I needed stimulus in retirement but I also wished to give something back to that community.
I became a School Reader, helping primary school children with their reading skills. It proved to be a good decision. There is much reward in seeing a young mind develop, with effort on their part and encouragement on mine.
Sharing joy with a youngster who pronounces a tricky word correctly or completes a sentence with fluidity, expression, and harmony; seeing a young face turning towards you full of pleasure at their achievement.
I also became a volunteer at my local community museum which is funded from local taxes and contributions from ‘Friends’. My first role was to meet and greet visitors. Then came ‘promotion’ to object handling which is all about demonstrating historical items to visiting groups and encouraging people to ask questions and grow their knowledge.
Their smiles and thanks are reward enough, as they discover something new about the area in which they live.
There is pleasure to be found in learning, whether you are young or old. I much look forward to my return to school and the reopening of the museum.
My father was right. The anticipation of what might lie ahead is an important aptitude. I retired the negative side of that when I retired from from my working life in industry.
Right now, my anticipation is of the new positives that life after lockdown may offer.
Harry Watson is retired but inspiringly active. Well travelled and well-read, he is an uplifting and engaged voice on our social media feeds.
