Choose a Different Seat

Whether you rooted for the 49ers or the Chiefs on Sunday (or adamantly avoided the Super Bowl), whether you are staunchly Democrat or staunchly Republican (or want to stay out of politics altogether), there’s no shortage of “us vs. them” scenarios in the world these days. Whether playful or deadly serious, you needn’t look past your email inbox, your Facebook feed, or the news to find something or someone to fight against, or a judgement you can make about someone else – often without even realizing you’re doing it. But that doesn’t have to be true in your workplace too…

Think about a recurring meeting you have. Do you meet in the same location each time? Do you find yourself sitting in the same place in the room? Do the other people in the group tend to sit in the same places too?

Many of us have habits and routines that we repeat without any conscious decision. One less thing to think about in a world of too many things to think about. But it’s hard to get a new perspective from the same position.

This week’s tip:

Choose a different seat. Consciously switch up your routines this week. Find a new place to sit in meetings. If you meet one-on-one with someone, meet somewhere other than your usual location. If you work remotely, find a new place to work for a morning. Consciously placing yourself in a different location or position breaks the pre-established brain patterns and enables you to see challenges from a different perspective.

Try this out this week, and let us know how it goes in our Facebook group! We’d love to hear from you. As always, you can subscribe to our feed here, or sign up for our weekly newsletter to get these articles directly in your inbox.