Do you want to create better results? Be clear about what you want, make a plan, and be conscious of the words you choose in your daily life. It matters more than you think.
We at Considium want you to make good choices for yourself. That's where good goals and how you express them through language are important. Our call to you is to become aware of the language and realities you create with the words you use. And then we think you should share your goals with colleagues, partners and friends. It increases power, it gives meaning, mastery and, not least, solid progress.
Dare to say your goals out loud
When we at Considium conduct performance assurance meetings, we clarify what we are going to achieve in writing, so to speak, out loud to the rest of the team. The team then provides feedback on the initiatives, offers advice and input, and expresses how they can contribute to progress. We know from experience that this helps to strengthen good relationships, self-esteem, and trust in the team.
Interesting research from Harvard University and the University of Alabama sheds more light on the effect of this. If you say something out loud, the effect of what you say is amplified tenfold. If you say something negative, the power increases further by between four and sevenfold . How we express ourselves affects us greatly, far more than we may realize. And you should express what you want, not what you don't want!
We succeed more together
Other interesting research from the US shows that we find working with goals more exciting and inspiring when we know our colleagues' goals and how they succeed in achieving them. Perhaps it is no wonder that we at Considium believe in presenting good goals in writing, sharing them in plenary and discussing our own progress with colleagues.
If we look at this together with the research from neuropsychologist Donald Hebb, launched back in 1953, we understand the connection even better: " Neurons that fire together, wire together " .
Hebb explained that neurons in the brain that fire at the same time build stronger neural pathways. When this happens, thought patterns or neural pathways are formed. So it turns out to be more than populist positive psychology. It gives us a good state, a feeling and a sense of something we want to achieve – which in turn makes us proud. And it is learned through repetition. Our obvious experience is that it works for the vast majority of people.
Language creates reality
If we regularly express positively formulated goals for the team, and at the same time receive constructive feedback, this increases the power of goal-setting work at least ten times more than if you keep the goal as a well-kept secret. Strong neural pathways are built that stimulate us. It provides motivation, direction and energy in everyday life!
In other words – language creates reality. Let us therefore also mention the other side of the research results from Harvard and Alabama. If you complain loudly about your boss, or a difficult colleague, it has between 40 and 70 times greater effect on your mood than if you had said nothing. Your boss will certainly not feel better from your whining, but you will become angrier and more dissatisfied the more you complain. Also, be careful not to constantly repeat that you are tired or exhausted. It is self-reinforcing and destructive, both for yourself and those around you.
If you're tired, rest. If you need to recharge your batteries, do just that. Allow yourself a recovery day or three, or take a power nap in the middle of the workday rather than wallowing in dissatisfaction and gossiping about others.
Good luck!
