Confirmation Bias: we usually find exactly what we’re looking for, even if there’s something else obvious we should consider first.
I’m reminding of myself this phenomenon today. I had a bit of an anxious day at work transitioning from one team to another. I went in worrying about the dynamic with some co-workers I’ve had struggles with in the past, and nervous that I was going to end up offending someone. I’m jumping into a fully formed team after running largely on my own for the past few months, and it’s bound to ruffle some feathers. To top it off, today’s Working-While-Moming challenges were particularly hairy, putting me even more on edge than usual.
After taking a step back, I’m hopeful that I can counteract my anxious, problem solving nature before I start making problems for myself where none exist. Instead of getting defensive and making assumptions (probably entirely untrue) about my teammates’ opinions and motivations, I’m trying to focus on what I can control. I’m spending my energy where I do feel supported and paying attention to what I can do to support others in return.
Hopefully the mindset shift will truly improve my outlook, but all of that is only going to happen with an open mind. I won’t pretend to believe that positive thinking is going to fix things on its own, but getting a little perspective can’t hurt.
In the meantime, I’m enjoying this picture from this day a year ago, when I was first starting to practice successful reframing, and reminding myself of how much we’ve been through. There’s been a lot of triumphs in the middle of the struggle, and that’s the part I want to look for.