rather good
I am Karen Adams of Rather Good Ltd, and I am a recovering cynic. I worked in
the construction industry for 20 years before discovering how valuable a
positive mindset could be. Most people in the construction industry are pretty
cynical, and it’s often used as a way of bonding with other people in the
workplace. On every job I’ve worked on, the people on the team were what made
anything happen (or, on very rare occasions, scuppered it completely). I
stumbled upon positive reframing when I was reading about marketing. I tried it
out, making an effort to appreciate my life. Once I started practising, I
realised it was possible to reframe rubbish situations as opportunities to learn
and keep growing and achieving even when things went wrong. I also discovered
that when you feel more resourceful, it can have a knock-on effect when you talk
to other people. When I told my husband about it, he didn’t immediately go out
and make deliberate changes. Even so, he showed signs of developing a more
resourceful mindset, and when he began to apply these ideas more intentionally
over time, he found his job far less stressful. Discovering I could help others
feel more capable and see the potential in any situation – and that, in some
ways, it was something I had been doing for years – was a revelation! I realised
I could be much more helpful if I changed direction and worked with others to
find their positivity and resourcefulness. So that’s what I did.