“In every day, there are 1,440 minutes. That means we have 1,440 daily opportunities to make a positive impact.” (Les Brown)
In his book WINNING EVERY DAY, the former Notre Dame football coach, Lou Holtz, tells the story of the Trappist monk who was allowed to say only two words every three years.
After the first three years, he met with Brother Superior and said, “Bad bed!”
Three years later, he came back to say, “Bad food!”
After three more years of silence, the monk said, “No TV!”
Another three years passed. This time, when the monk met with Brother Superior, he handed him his robes and sandals and announced, “I quit!”
Brother Superior said, “Well don’t expect me to try to dissuade you. You’ve done nothing but complain since you got here!”
It was pretty obvious that the monk didn’t add value to his fellow monks or to the atmosphere.
We all probably know at least one person in our lives that tend to be like the trappist monk in the story. Always complaining or grumbling about something. It seems that they are not happy unless they are unhappy.
It would be easy for us to fall into the same trap and complain alongside this person but what does that solve? How does that make things better?
Maybe you are like that Trappist monk. Maybe you are struggling with being positive.
In the book, “You win in the locker room first”, author Jon Gordon shares with us research from the HeartMath Institute that shows when people have a feeling in their heart, it goes to every cell in the body, then outward – and other people up to 10 feet away can sense feelings transmitted by your heart. This means that each day you are broadcasting how you feel. You are either broadcasting positive energy or negative energy, apathy or passion, indifference or purpose.
Research from Harvard University also supports that idea that the emotions you feel are contagious and affect the people around you. The people around you are just as likely to catch your bad mood as the flu, and on the flip side, they will catch your good mood as well. And this principle applies to everyone, not just leaders. Each member at your office, organization or team is contagious and every day you all are either sharing positive or negative energy with each other.
Championship cultures are built with positive contagious energy so it’s essential that you share it. When you walk into the office, board room or the locker room, you have a decision to make: Are you going to be a germ to those people you interact with or a big dose of vitamin C? Will you infuse other people with positive energy or be an energy vampire and suck the life out of them?
If you are surrounded by negativity, then you can make the decision to smile a little more and while using kind words. Instead of being fixated on problems, you can focus on solutions. You have the power to make your surroundings a little more positive today.
In Ephesians 4:29, the Apostle Paul says,
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
How are you adding value to those around you today? Are you fixated on problems or focused on solutions. By smiling a little more or using kind words, you have the power to make your surrounding a little more positive today.