We wrote this book to offer you ways of seeing and experiencing more good in the workplace. Working on the principle that what you look for you will find, we believe that you can create a better experience for yourself at work by expanding your ability to look for good. As simple as it sounds, this is not necessarily an easy thing to accomplish. For many of us, it is in the workplace that we lose sight of goodness. What brings this about?
One factor is time pressure. When we move quickly, it is more difficult to be aware of how our thoughts, words, and actions affect us and those around us. We are then more likely to both initiate and fall prey to negativity.
A second factor concerns the high stakes involved in doing a good job at work. Salary increases, promotions, and even securing our current positions, are linked to the perception that we are doing a good job. This may cause us to feel frustrated and threatened when others seem to thwart our attempts at performing well.
The more we fear making a mistake, or performing poorly, or being taken advantage of, or losing our job, the more we can lose track of our own value and the value of those around us. Once fear takes hold, feelings of shame, acts of blame, and a culture of suspicion and isolation sets in. The more fearful we are, the more we tend to see things and people to be afraid of in the workplace.
This book was written to help you navigate through and out of the waters of stress and fear. Our compass has one direction: Look for the good around you. Look for good, and you will find it.
The principle that you find what you are looking for holds true on many levels. It is at work in the realm of quantum physics, where scientists have discovered that subatomic particles take on a specific form and location only when they are observed. The principle of finding what you are looking for is also responsible for the “placebo effect,” long documented by medical professionals. And it shows up in the realm of human psychology, where our expectations shape our experience.
Our concept here is simple: Since what you look for you will find, look for good. But how do you put this simple concept into practice, especially in the demanding world of the workplace?
That is what this book is designed to do. Fifty-two short lessons—one per week—will give you ideas and exercises that strengthen your ability to see good in yourself, in others, and in your world.
The more good you are able to see, the more good you will experience. It is our hope that this book will help you lead a life of ever-expanding good, for yourself and others.
Joyce Duffala, Ed.D.
Edward Viljoen, R.Sc.F., D.D.
