I love a gherkin!

That came out of the blue.....

This blog is about being Upbeat, but more of that in a bit.

I’ve got to be honest straight away, this heading only has a tenuous connection to the blog that follows below. But, if you can bear with me, actually indulge me, I will explain the heading above.

Late at night driving home on our way back from visiting a friend, I was babbling away incessantly about some nonsense which had no relevance to anything and was of no interest at all to my wife. She was my captured audience though, who occasionally nodded and said "yes" or "no" at intervals to keep me happy.

It never dawned on me that this was a one-man conversation and she had zoned out until I took a breath and she finally spoke out of the blue and completely blindsided me with the words " I love a gherkin!" For some reason, neither of us could say a word as we were crying with laughter for far too long.

The simplicity and beauty of that statement grabbed us both and had us guffawing loudly in the confines of the car. Who'd have thought that a gherkin could make us both feel so upbeat.

Let’s move the tempo and get stuck into aspects relating to being Upbeat.

Upbeat has a personal swagger that seems in line with its title, and some of the associated synonyms, for example, Zippy, Jolly, Perky and Sunny— what a band they would make! 

Upbeat is a mindset that projects itself well, it emits energy and ebullience that stands out without being an attention seeker.

Up is a great start to a word as it reminds me of one of my favourite movies, 'UP'. The film ebbs and flows with a reality beyond its status; it’s only a movie after all. The genius of the creators and the film crew grabbed our attention and punched our emotions so that we felt genuinely sad when an animated ‘person’ passed away. They later picked us back up to get weepy again but this time in a happy way, due to the upbeat finish.

Getting back to 'real people' who are upbeat; they tend to have a disposition that enables them to be sociable, positive, cheerful, friendly and optimistic. They are usually engaging company with a desire to enjoy themselves and can transform the vibe of social situations by creating an upbeat mood, which is then typically replicated by those around them. Being upbeat can rub off on others, especially if the lead person, unconsciously, demonstrates the attributes of being upbeat.

If you are interested in becoming more upbeat, role-modelling those who display it would be a good starting point, such as:

-authentic, engaging

-rapport, empathy

-warmth, smile, eye contact

-their tone, volume, pace

-gestures, nodding, posture

-language patterns

Additionally to the above a few areas you may want to think about and look into the depth of meaning within the words and how they relate to being upbeat.

• Optimistic

• Vibrant

• Smile

• Thrive

• Pleasant 

• Intrigued

• Enthusiasm

• Inspiring
  

Becoming more upbeat may generate opportunities, new relationships and other possibilities.

Hope you enjoy the blog and the anagram!

Perception | Potential | Performance