Ditch the Drama – How to Live Happy in a Messy World {Video}
- Thomas Willis
- Mar 9, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 1
What You'll Learn:
How workplace drama consumes productive time and energy
The connection between lack of purpose and increased workplace drama
Practical questions for team discussions about workplace "snakes"
Personal reflection techniques to identify your own drama triggers
Strategies for reframing situations to avoid ego-driven reactions
In this video, drama researcher Cy Wakeman contends that the average person wastes 2 ½ hours per day immersed in non-productive “drama.”
2 ½ hours per day. Yikes. That should be a wakeup call for all of us.
In our experience, gossip and drama prevail when people are not focused on a higher purpose. Your job as a leader is to ensure that everyone on your team is clearly focused on the purpose of the organization and that they see it as a meaningful, higher purpose for themselves. Only then can we “flip the toggle” from our ego to our higher purpose.
We suggest watching the video & then asking these questions:
At a team level:
What are the ”snakes” in our workplace/department?
How, as coaches, might we help each other and distinguish “realities” from “stories”?
How might we help one another “flip the toggle” and live our highest self, rather than our ego or low self?
At a personal level:
What are my “snakes”... the things I get dramatic about?
Who will I use as a coach when I feel angry, fearful, or frustrated?
What can I do to “flip the toggle” and remind myself to be my highest self, rather than my ego?
Excerpt from TEDx Talk:
"How often, when we encounter a problem, have we caught our ‘ego’ coming in hard and fast driving our reactions and actions? It becomes exhausting because we continually place ourselves as the center of the action creating 'drama' as victims of micromanaging boss, demanding colleagues, and more. In this thought-provoking and pragmatic talk, Cy Wakeman challenges us all to ‘ditch the drama’, take our ‘ego’ out of the picture and reframe what is ‘actually’ happening. When we do that, we refocus our energy and talent. Not only do we find more creative solutions to our world and the challenges we face, but in doing so live happier and more productive lives."
See the full keynote speech with wonderful examples here
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