Raise your level of Positive Genius.
Practice 5 skills as shown by Shawn Achor in Before Happiness.
Skill 2 – Mental Cartography: Mapping your success route
“Success without meaning is hollow and not worth the effort.” When you create a life of more meaning, it leads to happiness. When you are happier it leads to success. Meaning → Happiness → Success.
Strategy 1: Highlight your true meaning markers.
As early as 18 months of age we start mapping meaning markers. The toddler knows to search for the brightly colored toy, loaded with meaning for him. He creates his own mental map to reach for it. He rummages through the pile, uses a step stool, or his full lung capacity to get the desired outcome.
As adults we create our own landmarks and sign posts of what is important to reach our goal. Positive meaning markers drive up productivity, motivation and engagement at work. Without meaning, stress levels rise ominously. “Meaning is created by the individual not the job.”
Build a diversified meaning portfolio of your reality map in all areas of your life. Clustering markers in one area and leaving other areas ignored creates imbalance and unease. Identify what has been overlooked (hidden meaning markers: spending quality time with family) and what has been given undue focus (smokescreens: staying logged on at work past quitting time). These map hijackers slant our reality, get us off track and make us unhappy. Distinguish between genuine vs decoy meaning markers.
Strategy 2: Reorient your mental map.
If your map is full of meaning but you are still unable to leverage your three intelligences (IQ, EQ, SI), then you are not facing in the right direction. You need to stop, get your bearings, and then decide which direction to head. Every mental map has a focal point, guiding where your resources are directed. Reorient your compass if need be.
Our brain is unable to locate orientation without a fixed reference point. We think of North as ‘up’ and South as ‘down’. Stay open to the concept that since the earth is round and constantly revolving in its orbit and rotating on its axis, there is no ‘up’ or ‘down’. Check out the Dymaxion Map. New realities emerge when we see the world flattened out and yet every view is valid and real.
We want to create flexible reference points. The more adaptive we are, the more paths to success we are sure to recognize. Keep your orientation flexible. Take time each month to make sure your career path is leading to where you want to be and that you have not veered off course. Adjust accordingly and update your map.
In addition, include others in your reality. Give more social support at work. “It is in giving that we receive”. Angle your map towards positives where opportunities await and chart your paths.
Strategy 3: Map success routes before escape routes.
Planning for success increases the likelihood of you being able to reach your destination. It is like mapping the fastest and shortest route to a destination; or the most scenic and meandering route to a vacation spot. It is what you value most, as long as you identify your route and know how to get there. Avoid spending undue energy on how to deal with failures and finding your escape routes.
3 Tips:
1. Write down your meaning markers.
Simple act of writing them down rewires your brain to notice positivity, and become more adaptive, agile, and flexible.
2. Fold your mental map.
Shift your focal point to reorient and include others in your reality. Your world expands and the same goal posts appear closer and easily accessible.
3. Chart success routes on your treasure map.
Happy Mapping!