Not only do you owe it to yourself to develop and maintain a positive attitude, but you also owe it to those around you. A negative attitude not only limits YOUR chances of success, but it also negatively affects everyone you come into contact with.
Bestselling author, speaker, and performance coach Jon Gordon explains…
Research from the HeartMath Institute (heartmath.org) shows that when you have a feeling in your 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 to your team 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. Your team is just as likely to catch your bad mood as the swine flu, and on the flip side, they will catch your good mood as well.
And this principle applies to everyone, not just the leader. Each member of your team is contagious and every day you all are either sharing positive or negative energy with each other.
Great cultures are built with positive contagious energy so it’s essential that you and your team share it.
When you walk into the locker room, the office, or onto the field, you have a decision to make: Are you going to be a germ to your team or a big dose of vitamin C? Will you infuse your team with positive energy or be an energy vampire and suck the life out of them?
– Jon Gordon, from his book (with Mike Smith) You Win in the Locker Room First
Attitude is contagious. It spreads to everyone around you. Your attitude can either lift people up or bring them down. Like Jon Gordon says in the above passage, the choice is yours.
You need to accept responsibility for your attitude. Recognize that holding onto bitterness and negativity not only brings you down, but it also rubs off on your team, your coworkers, your customers, your friends, and your family.
There’s a reason why the best salespeople are high-energy, positive people. There’s a reason why the best coaches, athletes, and entrepreneurs exude passion for what they do. There’s a reason why the best parents are those who stay upbeat and optimistic around their children.
It’s actually selfish of you to hold on to a negative attitude because it hurts those who have to be around you.
Choose to maintain a positive, can-do, hopeful, and enthusiastic attitude. You owe it to the people in your life.
