When the world is pushing and shoving us toward a downward spiral, we can learn to respond, sure. That’s one route worth taking.
Another is to actively create upward spirals: actions we take that lead to more positive actions and opportunities.
Investing in your MVP sales associate creates an upward spiral. So does holding a door open for a person. So does swallowing the frog and doing the hardest task on your to-do list today first. These 6 keystone habits also create upward spirals.
The real beauty of an upward spiral is just how in control of it we are.
What if we created three upward spirals for every downward spiral we experience?
Reactions don’t get us far. They definitely don’t help strengthen relationships, either. Reactions are so quick, unthoughtful, and knee-jerkingly selfish that I’d argue that any reaction is an overreaction.
Far better: a response.
Sometimes they’re methodical and thoughtful, other times they might be as quick as a reaction, but all of the time they’re rooted in empathy.
It’s incredible the difference in action between a response and a reaction based off the same trigger.
And most incredible of all is how much a response impacts both the one responding and those involved in the response versus a reaction.
Gifts on your birthday are good, but not as good as gifts not on your birthday.
Same for any holiday, really.
There’s something about getting an unexpected gift that really sits with a person. Universally, the feeling of being seen and appreciated and connected to someone – and then to have something tangible to remember that feeling by – is in the simplest form, magical.
This isn’t to downplay the intangible gifts of listening and empathy, but it is a reminder that there’s an opportunity in every interaction to make it more valuable with an unexpected gift.
If you’re graced with a marketing budget, it might be worth investing some of it there.
It doesn’t even need cute packaging. “Here. This is for you.” goes a long way.
Stay Positive & There’s Enough Bad Unexpected. Let’s Do What We Can To Make More Of The Good Unexpected