Using Your Dark Side to Succeed and Achieve (Podcast Episode 12)

Admit it. You are hiding a BIG part of you. It’s that part you don’t want anyone else to see. The part of you that gets angry, frustrated, sad, selfish – even mean sometimes. That’s your “dark side.” We hide that side of ourselves because we believe it turns people off and gets in the way of cooperation. Yet it may be, when used properly, the perfect fuel to achieve more for yourself than you ever imagined. In fact, being kind and polite has been proven to be counterproductive to performance and achievement. How can that be? Here is a simple example that makes the point: Every year people die because they don’t call 911. They don’t want to bother the fire department, they want to be considerate of their time – “My emergency is not that big of a deal.” And then they drop dead. If instead they demanded someone call 911 and to hell with bothering the fire department – “That’s their job, damn it!” They may have gotten the care they needed in time and might still be alive. It has been documented (by my podcast guest) that organizations where people are overly polite and have too much camaraderie (everyone is a pal) don’t perform as well as those who are less considered about everybody getting along. My guest, Todd Kashdan, Professor of Psychology at George Mason University has studied this and the results of his work are in his new book The Upside of Your Dark Side He has some pretty compelling evidence and insight into this. I think you will find our conversation fascinating and may make you rethink the positive aspects of your dark side. By using your dark side to succeed, you will be joining an impressive list of accomplished people who realize that those “dark” emotions, thoughts and feelings can be put to very productive use – without hurting anyone else. After you listen I would love to get your thoughts. Please leave your comments in the comment box below. Here is my affiliate link to Todd’s book: photo credit: Luminis Kanto via photopin cc The post Using Your Dark Side to Succeed and Achieve (Podcast Episode 12) appeared first on Mike Carruthers' Success Mint.