09 Jul What’s innovation’s secret weapon?

What’s innovation’s secret weapon?

Have you ever wanted to inspire more innovative thinking in your team?  Do you ever find yourself needing an infusion of new ideas?  Would you love to uncover some new solutions to some of your old problems?

Here’s a secret weapon to fuel your innovation.

It’s not a high tech gadget.

[In fact, you can have access to it for free.]

It doesn’t take a PhD in chemical engineering to understand it.

[You can learn this concept by watching a 6 year old.]

You don’t need to be in an R&D lab to experiment with it.

[You can start with a 59 cent notebook from Wallgreens.]

Q:

What’s innovation’s secret weapon?

A:

Gratitude.

Are you surprised?

Many people are.  But hear me out.  I’ll even offer some science to back this up.

Recently, American Psychologist Journal published a study showing that subjects who wrote down  3 to 5 things they were grateful for on a daily basis were happier and less depressed than their counterparts in the control group.

BUT… they ALSO saw a significant increase in serotonin and dopamine.  [Those are the body’s natural anti-depressants!]

Now… you might be asking, “What does that have to do with innovation?”  Good question.

Well… in addition to making you feel better… serotonin and dopamine are also the brain’s super food!

Serotonin and dopamine kick start the learning centers in the brain, so you can not only think bigger but remember longer!

It’s like jet fuel for your brain’s innovation engine!

3 to 5 things you’re grateful for…

Such a simple activity… but it can produce some pretty  incredible results.

I mentioned this study recently during one of my “Is Your Hair on Fire?” Sessions with a larger association.

During one of the breaks a participant came up to me with a very determined look on her face.  As she came closer she started poking me in the chest saying…

“You tell everyone to do this!  My manager had us do this last year when we were going through a lot of changes and it really helped us!  It helped us to stay focused and I know that it also helped us to be more creative!”

After asking her to stop poking me (I bruise like a peach!)… I thanked her for the story!

This was just one more example in which someone had shared how this simple little exercise was a game changer!

How about you?

>What if you gave it a try?

See what it does for your creativity.  See what it does for attitude.

Plus… try it with your team… and see what kind of results it produces.

>At the very least… you might see some team members who are happier and that’s never a bad thing.  But you might just spark people’s innovative thinking!

Let’s start right now.

Q: What’s something you’re grateful right now?

Leave a comment and let us know.

We’d love to hear from you!

Plus, you can test out this theory and get some serotonin and dopamine to that brain of yours… pronto!

Mitch

PS – If you would like to find out more about the “Is Your Hair on Fire?” program, simply click here.  In it I offer a simple but powerful three-step process for breaking out of worry and stress so you and your team can perform at new levels and have more fun as you do!