Thoughts: What makes me smile?

Last week, I was on a walking tour with a group of visiting high school students when one of them asked me “Why are you always smiling?” At that moment, many thoughts quickly crossed my mind, but the immediate and strategic answer was to say I was gaining a lot from the interactions with the group. I was still in the mode of emphasizing positivity as a competitive advantage when it came to design thinking.

Ah, positivity. That factor that has been embedded in the YCISL for a long time with wisdom-ful quotes from Shawn Achor and Alison Ledgerwood. The element that I say drives our ideation to success. The persuasive embrace that we can put in place for little cost, but likely with a lot of effort.

But today, I am feeling a little sad. The title of this wiki entry was going to be “I am sad” at first, but with a little pushing and pulling mindfully, I came up with “What makes me smile?” Fortunately, the present state of sadness is not unfamiliar, and so I know I have managed through it before…several times. I guess that resonates with my YCISL by-line of “Life Lessons in EQ.”

For YCISL maybe 7 years ago, I added a slide to my slide deck about “No-Cost Sources of Positivity.” Everything on that slide usually does make me smile. But I think if I added a slide that had the heading “What makes me smile?”…what would be on that slide?

1. My Family. The most organic aspect of life & living. Recalling good memories. Being together. Doing things together.
2. Flowering. Signs of new, growth, & hope.
3. A Good Beverage. Especially a beverage that meets or exceeds my expectations and needs.
4. Ice Cream. Often anything sweet. Perhaps indulgent too. And the sensory aspects of color, cooling, taste, etc.
5. Inventing. Experiencing the intrinsic motivation of mastery, control & purpose. Solving problems through reasoning, creativity & resourcefulness.

Well, that’s the first draft. We’ll see what I get into my slide deck. What makes you smile?