Life Lesson

Some reactions are straight up visceral.

You here about a change in the work place and your reaction is to be pissed off. No doubt, negative reactions don’t get us far.

But what about positive ones?

If a colleague shares a problem of theirs with you, your reaction is likely to figure out a way to solve it for them. You want to help and you want to help right away. That’s a positive reaction.

But it can still generate a negative result. The problem they shared might not be the real problem they are facing. The problem they shared might be them thinking out loud on their own path of solving it. They may have shared the problem so that another person they trust will encourage them to solve it–not solve it for them.

In all situations, a quick reaction to help isn’t actually helping.

It’s far better to respond than to react.

The space between reacting and responding is the space of listening.

The more you listen the better you can respond.

The better you respond, the more positive impact you can make.

Stay Positive & Reactions, Even Ones With Positive Intentions, Can Be More Harmful Than Helpful

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The leaders do the bouncing.

They bounce after hitting rock bottom.

They bounce ideas off others they admire.

They bounce from one new experience to another, learning from every endeavor.

They bounce to the top of our inboxes.

Stay Positive & They Keep Bouncing

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It pays to be uncomfortable. Outside your zone. Playing in another territory. Learning from others smarter than you. Leaping.

But on one condition.

It’s only worth it if you’re also passionate.

Passionate about the subject, the learning, the community. Passionate about growing, altering status quo, and using curiosity to fuel that passion more.

Discomfort without passion is merely a means to a very very short end.

Stay Positive & Choose To Be Uncomfortable, But When You Will Also Be Passionate

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Taking extra mashed potatoes when they still need to make their way around the table isn’t quite the right thing to do.

Walking the gift basket out to a customer’s car because their hands are full with other items is something extra and special you can do.

Using extra time than you actually need to finish a project is more hurtful for you and the organization in the long run.

Listening extra hard to what the guest is saying about their situation can only help you decide what to do about it.

Sometimes more is better, but it does require us to discern if it truly is before going all extra about it.

Stay Positive & Extra When It Matters

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Gifts are a sign of generosity, but a gift with a bow and ribbon is a sign that you care deeper – not about your status, but about the experience another will have.

There’s something different about opening a wrapped box than opening a wrapped box with a bow and ribbon.

There’s something different about pouring 8 ounces of wine into a stemware tulip glass than a mini paper dixie cup.

There’s something different about trying to sell a Ford that’s got rain marks on it than one that’s shiny from all angles.

Packaging matters. By the design, by the wrapping, by the words we use alongside the gift.

One might say everything surrounding the gift matters as much as the gift itself.

Stay Positive & How We Act On That Knowledge Makes All The Difference

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We can be resistant to adversity. Frustrated when something doesn’t go according to plan. Pushed back when we have to accommodate the unexpected.

Or we can look at each of those moments as part of the journey. Maybe not expected, but certainly real.

Once we own the moments (especially the ones we had no control of), the quicker we can continue moving forward.

Anything but is simply slowing ourselves down.

Stay Positive & Own It And Onward

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Putting ourselves in other’s shoes isn’t quite right. There’s still too much of us involved.

Often when we think of what we would do in another’s position, we’re not being empathetic, we’re being guided by status – we’d obviously make the right decision, wouldn’t we? Not to mention we can blow up the idea of “easier said than done” because we’d have the chance to just do it for them.

It’s misguided, really.

Perhaps it’s better to ask what would they do in our position. That forces us to empathize and understand where another is coming from. It allows for a connection of trust and listening.

People are far more likely to listen to the voice in their head than they are ours. The closer we can match it and entwine notes of encouragement, the more likely we’ll make a positive influence.

What would they do in our shoes?

Stay Positive & Follow Their Voice

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