Being positive will suck the life right out of you.
Negative Ned Says…
“It’s really easy to nip in the bud a positive attitude if I watch the news right after I wake up in the morning. There’s always a world crisis, a murder, bad weather, or a depressing statistic to spoil my mood. I can compound my negativity by not eating breakfast. Instead, I have a large cup of coffee and a sugary donut to fuel my road rage on the way to work. It’s the perfect recipe for a crappy day.
Want more? If I had a fight with my spouse, or my kids are climbing the walls like monkeys, I will bring with me to work a big barrel full of negative feelings, and I will spread it all around. I will also make sure each customer gets his fair share. I won’t do anything that I don’t have to do – not for anyone.”
Positive Paul Says…
“A negative attitude is more contagious than a positive one, and negativity breeds negativity. Your brain is wired for survival, so it will react to protect you from whatever’s out to hurt you. The good news is that you have full control over your attitude. You can choose whether to be in a good mood or a bad mood. Not only is a positive attitude contagious, but it will also affect your thoughts, which, in turn, will affect your behavior — ultimately affecting your results. Therefore, if you are getting negative results, you’ve got to change your attitude.
Darren Hardy, owner of Success Magazine, states in The Compound Effect that ‘you alone are responsible for what you do, don’t do, or how you respond to what’s done to you.’
If you choose to be happy, you will be happy, enabling you to make your customers happy. And guess what? Happiness is contagious as well.”
A Real World Example
When was the last time you were in a good mood and everyone you encountered was crabby? I recently visited my local bank. The lines were long and everyone looked angry — especially the bank tellers. One particular teller was speaking very nasty to her customers. The whole time I waited in line, I hoped she wouldn’t be my teller.
Sure enough, when my turn came, the evil-speaking teller looked at me and said, ‘next,’ in an unwelcoming voice. I immediately started to think negative thoughts, like, ‘Oh, no, I have to deal with her.’ But then I stopped myself and thought, ‘Hey, wait! Positive attitudes are contagious, so let’s see what I can do.’ The first thing I said to her was, ‘Wow, you’re doing such a great job handling all these people.’ She paused, then looked up at me and said, ‘I know, it’s been so busy, and my boyfriend did this, and I did that…’
I noticed her attitude started to change. A few minutes later, I commented on her nicely painted nails. By this time, she was a happy, bubbly lady — quite a change from the gnarly bank teller who had greeted me. She had performed an ‘attitude 180’ right before my eyes.
Moral to the story: When you compliment angry people — even an angry-speaking bank teller — on their nails, hair or clothing, they may begin to relax enough to tell you their life story. And even that’s better than being yelled at!
Strategies to Turn This Around
Cultivate your own positive attitude.
- Be grateful — keep a gratitude journal.
- Focus on the good things in your life.
- Eat a healthy breakfast and make momma proud.
Remember: You have full control over whether you have a good attitude or a bad one. Make sure you pick the good one!
“Positive attitude is the foundation of your life—and the determining factor of your ability to serve.”
— Jeffrey Gitomer
© 2012 by Barbara Khozam Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this message may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission of the publisher.