Choice Mindsets

18 Nov Laugh and Fall. Often.

“I guarantee that two things will happen today: Brittany and Kaye will giggle uncontrollably and Nick will physically injure himself.”
– Jeff Puthoff

Some time ago our entire company took the afternoon off and played some indoor beach volleyball. Jeff made the statement above beforehand because Brittany and Kaye have a tendency to laugh until they cry for no reason at all, and Nick tends to fall down and break things a lot. We’re all sort of predictable like that.

In our office, we found that it’s important to not be afraid to laugh often, and to not be afraid to fall down. In fact, we make a fool of ourselves doing both quite frequently. Learning to laugh until we look ridiculous, especially at our mistakes, is a valuable practice to get into.

(Oh, and just for the record, yes, Brittany and Kaye laughed until they cried, but Nick did not injure himself. Tony took care of that by giving himself a concussion.)

04 Nov Thinking Big

“I swear, you guys, I’m 5’9”!”
– Mitch Thobe

Our engineer Mitch is a little on the small side when you line everyone here up at Choice One from shortest to tallest. But that doesn’t stop him from claiming he’s 5’9” tall. And while we’re pretty sure he’s not THAT tall, you have to admire his persistence and confidence.

Even if we’re wrong about our perceptions around here from time to time, believing that we’re the tallest, the smartest, the fastest, or the best at what we do gives us confidence to take chances, not to mention the mettle to prove all the doubters wrong. And even though we may fall a little “short” from time to time, the experience we gain from our failures is invaluable to our growth at whatever form our passion takes.

22 Oct Focus

“I’m not grumpy, I’m busy.”
– Brittany Clinehens

Sometimes, when we’re overwhelmed with work, personal matters, or whatever, it’s easy to focus on the task at hand or our own issues and become short or snappy with those around us. That’s not all bad–focusing on an engineer’s estimate that needs sent out ASAP rather than chatting about last night’s football game is sometimes very useful and often downright necessary.

Still, here at Choice One, we try not to let focus and determination override our efforts to be courteous and patient with our fellow humans. Not only will we be labeled grumps (or worse!), but we probably won’t make (or keep) many friends, either.

07 Oct Standing Out

“The only reason you beat me at ping-pong is because you have long, goofy arms.”
– Andy Shuman

Yeah, so Kaye is tall and rather ungraceful, and that lends itself to having long, goofy limbs, as Andy lovingly pointed out. But you know what? Having long, goofy limbs not only allows Kaye to beat her coworkers at ping-pong, but it allows her to reach things on high shelves, pile on the mushrooms that are WAY in the back at the salad bar, and pull a lot of change from behind the couch.

Since we’re all a little goofy here at Choice One, we try to avoid looking at our oddities as negatives. Something that makes us unique makes us stand out; our attitude towards our differences and how we use that distinctiveness determines whether we perceive it as “long and goofy,” or “useful and agile.”