Parei para pensar no que me faz uma Emprendedora. Não de negócios e projetos, mas também uma empreendedora de vida. O que faz de mim um ser que constrói, que produz, que acontece.

Parei porque a ação acontece e não dá tréguas de pensar no que está a acontecer. Antes o "Aconteceu" surge, fácil, a posteriori. Mas eu não quero viver a posteriori. Eu quero viver o momento, saborear o processo, consciente, presente e com intenção de perceber o que (me) acontece.

Por isso parei. E percebo no parar a chave do bom acontecer. O parar. As tardes em leitura de pés ao alto no sofá. Os intervalos de trabalho a ler banda desenhada. Os passeios de bicicleta ao regressar a casa. Os cafés tomados enquanto pinto com aguarelas que borratam. As conversas intermináveis sobre metafísicas ou futilidades. Os passeios ao fim da tarde a ver a praia dos pescadores. As viagens de comboio ou autocarro sem fazer nada, a ver, a ver... Ouvir uma playlist de música favorita a usar só a audição, imóvel ou a balançar os pés, devagar. Os postais e cartas escritos a amigos de longe, fazendo-os perto, pensando-os, contando-lhes os processos de fora ou de dentro.

E a solidão. A capacidade para estar. Em mim. Presente. Intensa com intenção.
A solidão que valida o que veio de fora e que integra, se integra com o que já estava dentro.

Assim construo. Assim arranjo força, energia, para continuar a  construir. Para continuar a trabalhar, a solo, num projeto que me exige presente, intensa, com intenção.
Empreender é saber parar, é saber estar no silêncio de dentro quando o trabalho é tão para fora. 

E num trabalho como este, de comunicar e expressar, de apresentar e debater, de contactar e reformular, de ler e sistematizar, o momento de escuta torna-se imprescindível, evidente e necessário. A escuta dos silêncios que descansam, que sistematizam e que preparam para nova ação.

Empreender não é processo fácil. Mas é processo doce, ritmado, entregue e intenso, que enche de momentos os tempos que lhe entregamos.
E nesses momentos de ação, esteja a sintonia do silêncio presente, para equilibrar e sustentar as asas que insistem em querer voar.

May 20th, cloudy Sunday afternoon. 12 beautiful women, from 20 to 70 years old, meet in a beauty salon in Porto, Portugal. The intention? Mixing the knowledge from Positive Psychology with the light taste of little pieces of chocolate.

A wonderful way that Catarina and Teresa, the owners of the beauty salon had to "give their clients a special gift". Not vouchers for free brushing or an half an hour massage, but a practical 3,5 hours workshop about optimism in life! Something that could give these 12 cheerful women a boost to their daily life, a space to think about themselves and an opportunity to hear more about the happy side of life.
No hurries, no strict agenda. All the time available to sit in the improvised training room (among hairdryers, brushes and massage oils and magazines), and hear about the "intelligent optimism", creativity, gratitude, perspective and savoring...Little pieces of chocolate!
Sharing life stories, finding and focusing on their strengths and debating points of view, with music, laughs and all the attention from who doesn't get tired and keep s a smile despite all. Brave women in action.

A great opportunity for THINKING-BIG to take the basic knowledge from books and articles about Positive Psychology to the most practical environment , inspiring and getting inspired by the truth of life.

"Life is not simple", they say, "but it's worth taking it with a Sunday great laugh!"

4 days. 4 hours each session. 10 open middle-management professionals. 4 mornings of training. From 30th of April till the 3rd of May, mornings were different, at MRW, in the training room full of light. "Positive Leadership" was being developed, discussed, put in practice.

MRW is a Spanish company, truly people oriented and with a proactive HR (called "People") department.
That's why, when they called asking for a training course on "Middle-management communication", it was easy to get their attention to the new research of Positive Psychology in Organizations.
So, instead of the typical course focusing only on assertiveness, non verbal communication, goal-oriented processes, we used two sessions to talk about something else.
Absorbing the knowledge from the studies presented by Kim Cameron, Sarah Lewis and Alex Linley, on Positive Psychology and organizations, the basics from Positive Psychology, presented by Seligman and Don Clifton among others, we built two interactive sessions focused on "How to be an authentic and positive leader".
We talked about Flow, Csikszentmihalyi's concept, about Mindfulness, about "intelligent optimism", from Carmelo Vázquez and about the role of Positive Emotions on organizations. Many cases of companies already using positive practices were analysed.
We also used the strengths approach, applied to management work and a very practical analyze of positive reinforcement to the team, based on talents.

At the end, not only participants reported many specific applications to their work life, but also to their personal life. Personal values, life perspective and, of course, the importance of thinking big, were highlighted by this really interesting group.

Step by step organizations  change their perspective into a more and more people oriented mindset, helping people enjoy more their work, their relations and being....Authentically more productive.
Hurray to MRW, who opens their doors to social innovation through training processes like this! 

_
After all this years providing trainings for managers it's still interesting to realize how challenging it is to understand their feedback and their motivation level during the first session. Most of the times, when things are going really smooth or obviously positive and interactive, all energy levels in the room just rise and we can feel the positive ambiance too. But in some cases, specially on "Monday cases", or in groups just starting to interact, some doubts just come.
"Am I doing the best I can to motivate them into this theme?"; "Am I presenting the right and useful contents according to their needs?", "Are those the best examples I could find for this particular group?"...
Sometimes only the continuation of the sessions gives me the answer. But other times, little things happen and reassure the chosen path. A small conversation, a little detail, or simply a short e-mail, like this one, received after a "first Monday session" in a company in Barcelona:

"P.D. Pese a mi cara de cansado, de lunes, de incrédulo, de haber perdido el Barça, etc. el curso me pareció interesantísimo, y lamento no poder asistir el miércoles."
(PS- Despite my tired face, my Monday-expression, my "I can't believe it that Barça has lost" look, etc, the course seemed really, really interesting and I am sorry not to be able to attend next Wednesday.")

These are the things that makes us keep going. Small details that keep humour up and all the strength to keep trying the best in each and every course!

Today, at MRW's monthy forum, Edite Amorim as a guest speaker shared experiences, projects and ideas, inspired and inspiring THINKING-BIG for over 50 MRW employees. Great energy among the room!

Frankl, V. (1946). Man's search for meaning. Beacon Press



Frankl's theory—known as logotherapy (from the Greek word logos, "meaning")—holds that our primary drive in life is not pleasure, as Freud maintained, but the discovery and pursuit of what we personally find meaningful. In this book he talks about his experiences as a concentration camp inmate and describes his psychotherapeutic method of finding a reason to live.