Find Solutions, Not Problems

I was never really a believer in the idea that “positive thinking can lead to positive results,” until I met Lauren Walsh. Lauren’s motto has always been “Find Solutions, Not Problems.” This summer I had the opportunity to plan a big charity event for one of our clients. Everything seemed to be falling into place, until it wasn’t. It is crazy how things can be 100% set and ready to go and then a two minute phone call can turn things upside down. I spent a larger part of summer planning for an event that I immediately thought I was going to have to cancel. From there I quickly began to go down the rabbit hole, assuming that everything else was going to fall apart. I assumed our sponsor was going to pull out and the school where the event was supposed to be held would want nothing to do with us anymore. Frustrated was an understatement. I couldn’t believe all of my hard work was going to go out the window.

Before I contacted any of the people involved I called Lauren. The first thing she said to me was “Remove the negativity out of your voice, and turn this into something positive. You can fix this!” I was so upset, but she was right. I knew I could fix this I just needed to stop, breath and think positive.

I got on the phone with our sponsor, and without even hesitating they were on board. I made a conscious effort to avoid any sort of negative connotation in the conversation. I kept it positive and made it very clear that although there was an issue, I had already figured out a solution. It is crazy what a positive attitude can do in the workplace. Not to mention, you should never discount strong relationships. Not only had I spent all of my time planning an event, but I built up strong relationships with every single person involved along the way.

I still can’t believe that I was able to turn such a mess into an amazing problem solving experience. Life is just so much better when you choose to find solutions, not problems.

-Danielle Beelow, Summer 2018 Intern