Research into positive aging delivers findings that run counter to the traditional view of aging. Existing views tend to be negative and like to point out that the life span developmental curve is not wonderful for older people. Positive aging research and practice puts attention on the value of being optimistic, enjoying the potentials of older age and growing capacities over time.
In Season 3: Appreciative Leading I’ll be talking to guests who’ll share their experiences of leading from an appreciative mindset. I am excited to speak with business leaders and entrepreneurs, and with professionals from the legal, medical, IT and financial worlds; marketers, artists, journalists, teachers, and spiritual leaders. And, I there is an invitation for you be a patron or sponsor of my show.
Connecting the collective is the work of hearts and minds. This literacy focuses us on living into the “we.” Connecting and belonging are the life-blood of human organizing and relationships. Starting conversations that are real and inclusive lifts up our appreciative voice.
We need one another to make sense of all that is going on around us. Finding our personal and collective wholeness contributes to our sense of belonging. In coming together, our combined intelligence, and intent for wholeness and belonging enables new wisdom and solutions to surface. In relationship with others, when we are welcomed, we taste the fullness of life.
The Literacy to strengthen our Appreciative Voice in this episode is Welcoming Wholeness – the inclusive Voice.
Paying attention to and magnifying the positive in people, communities, and networks help us flourish. Among the benefits of knowing our strengths include finding more flow and meaning in work, feeling more energized than drained, and seeing our relationships improve by coming from a place of greater ease.
This literacy opens us up to our own frames (perspectives) on the world. As we widen our frames, we begin to understand and appreciate the frames of others. Having this literacy to frame and reframe enables us to shift perspective and opens us to possibilities and solutions we may never have even considered if we stayed comfortable with our blinkers on within our existing frames, which may be keeping us very small.
Imagine what's possible when vast numbers of inter-disciplinary groups are engaging in dialogue regarding learning and leadership. Many inspiring stories of learning leaders in this issue of the International Journal of Appreciative Inquiry will engage, inspire and invite you to reflect on yourself and others as learners and leaders.
Positive Questions Work Change is a subject and an experience that brings up so many issues for all of us. Who hasn’t been through change? I focus on how asking questions is the first invitation to change. We say the first question starts the change. It triggers emotions, feeling, thoughts, memories, beliefs and even actions. […]
Positive psychology and neuroscience teach us about the mind-body connection, reinforcing the value of appreciative journaling. The very act of putting a pen to paper to prompt yourself to write about something that you can access that had a positive impact on you has an extraordinary effect. Appreciative journaling leads to increased self-awareness, at any age, building the appreciative muscle and strengthening positive emotions of resilience, mindfulness, gratitude, changing habits and lives.
Molly McGuigan's special talents and background enable her to be the project lead for a truly significant global undertaking on the topic of positive education 2018 that will extend way into the future. The World Positive Education Accelerator (WPEA) is a four-day conference including a three-day Appreciative Inquiry Summit. It's a massive collaboration of global players who've been actively bringing positive education into school systems all over the world. There are many, success stories to be shared and many, many more to co-create.
You are about to discover a way of celebrating your strengths, your relationships and the best in your world; and, to bring even more possibilities and positivity into your life.
