BRIGHT SPOTS FRIDAY!
What do I do when a competitor speaks unflatteringly about me? How about when someone I’ve never met comments with a snide remark on a post on our business page? What do YOU do when a friend is no longer friendly? What is the right response? I know for me, the natural inclination is to respond likewise. I want to say something negative about someone else’s business. I want to make a wise-ass remark on Facebook. I want to take an “Eff you, too” approach. What is the right answer?
My Bright Spot this week is that I am taking the time to absorb my emotional reaction before I respond. But rather than stop there, I’m going a step further and turning it into positive energy. I’m really doing this for MYSELF. But I am finding that by doing this, I am also changing the trajectory of a situation…and MAYBE impacting someone else in an effectual way.I’m a big buyer on energy. Not only the manner in which we display energy, but also the way it can manifest. Through the 1990s, the late Dr. Masaru Emoto performed a series of experiments examining the natural effects of words, prayers, music and environment on the crystalline structure of water. He noted when kind and loving words were conveyed to the water, they formed a complete crystal structure compared to energies of hate and anger. We as humans are made up mostly of water. What type of influence do you expect kindness can have on our physical health or the health of a relationship or a given situation? Remember: Toxic thoughts and actions produce toxins in your body. Tonic thoughts and actions do the opposite.
A passage from Ryan Holiday’s Daily Stoic reads, “When someone says something pointed or mean today, they expect you to respond in kind – not with KINDNESS. When that doesn’t happen, they are embarrassed. It’s a shock to their system – it makes them and you better.” He goes on to write, “Most rudeness, meanness, and cruelty are masked for deep-seated weakness. Kindness in these situations is only possible for people of great strength. You have that strength. Use it.”
So rather than bash a competitor, I focused on what WE do well at Nevermore. What OUR promise to our members looks like. What WE can control and the energy with which we can empower our community. Rather than go tit-for-tat on a social media thread, I thanked a random person for his thoughts and welcomed a conversation on what HE finds beneficial.
By taking the time to express kindness and make a connection with someone, I might empower them to do something great. Even if they don’t end up paying it forward, I can be assured I’ve at least made a friend or had a genuine conversation. From a business standpoint, for an organization like Nevermore, practicing and preaching kindness can result in an overall better culture. Bringing positivity to a conversation or a situation costs little to nothing, and can have a profound effect both within and outside our walls.
So what is the answer? Mark Twain once said, “Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” Kindness is always the answer. Kindness is LOVE in ACTION.
Some friends along with Angie and I have put a name to this type of group energy: the Positive People Posse. At Nevermore we work on improving our STRENGTH almost everyday. Let’s take Ryan Holiday’s advice and USE IT…to bring health to our community and to ourselves. To become a tonic. To GROW the Posse!
What is your Bright Spot this week?!…