Five Keys to Promoting Positive Human Behaviour

There is little need to speak in support of promoting positive human behaviour. It’s axiomatic to say positive human behaviour opens the mind, body and spirit to being more expressive, enthusiastic, creative, opportunistic, lateral-thinking, aware, receptive, enquiring , motivating…the list goes on.

The issue is more one of how to promote positive human behaviour. My approach is to focus on the features that indicate, create and sustain positive human behaviour. I learned these phases not so much from scholarly research as from the practical experience of some 40 years working professionally in leisure /recreation planning.

Over those many years I have observed, supported, encouraged and helped develop positive human behaviour in men and women of all ages and from all walks of life. When could human behaviour be more positive than when a person is totally absorbed - “in the zone” some might say - in a passionate interest pursued for no other reason than the intrinsic enjoyment of creating the experience. An experience they have freely chosen, over which they have total control, that creatively expresses their natural talents and develops their unique mix of skills and life experiences. That's the true measure of a leisure/recreation/sporting experience.

From this I have gleaned the presence of five basic features of positive human behaviour. Together they form a process that is consequential and interactive and which can be triggered in any one of the five phases:

The brain is processing information at a very fast rate, enthusiastically, purposefully questioning in search of answers, creatively and expansively
There is an energy driving the process, an energy of mind, body and spirit that is felt by other people affected by the experience
The behaviour engenders high self esteem, self confidence, self belief and a strong sense of self worth
The experience expands the person’s personal growth and development, widening their horizons and causing their talents, skills and natural potential to blossom and flourish
the behaviour is infectious, positively affecting people around them.

You can test this theory with your own passionate experiences and those of people you know well.

There is one further test of its validity – in observing the features of negative human behaviour. Again, consequential, interactive and can be triggered by any one of the five phases. This time however the outcomes are negative:

The mind is sluggish, disinterested and lacking enthusiasm. Findings are vague and inconclusive
There is little or no mental energy driving the process, even sometimes draining what little energy exists
Self esteem, self confidence and self belief and the sense of self worth are down and dropping
The person feels life is stagnating and going backwards.
The effect is contagious, draining the energy of people around them.

My belief is that the key trigger is found in the energy phase. People find energy from drawing on their own unique passions, talents and experiences to create freely-chosen, enjoyable leisure/recreation experiences, of the mind, body or spirit. Such interests can be found, triggered and developed totally independently of the rest of one’s life and its obligations. The true, inner self is always present, ever-ready to grasp any opportunity to be unlocked, unleashed and allowed to blossom.

Such experiences have a ripple effect, through to everything else one does in life. The more often you create such an experience, the greater the impact on your life’s evolution. For when you lose yourself in an interest you love, you find yourself.

It's a great message for personal life and a potentially powerful message for developing a workplace culture that thrives on positive human behaviour.