WHAT APPEARS TO BE
Do you encounter a negative attitude or two during your work day? Most of us have the ability to dodge a “distasteful” remark or behavior. But what happens when there is nothing but mud around you?
Do you contribute to the grime you encounter during the day – or do you make your day shine?
WHAT MIGHT BE
A scowl, a poisonous tongue, eye rolling, words muttered in a whisper – the list of toxic behaviors is long. And some have formed habits with them.
“They must pay” is the thinking of some. When someone does us wrong, some people move to deliver a consequence. “They must know that what they did is wrong”, goes the thought process, so bad is corrected by bad… and the bad perpetuates.
WHAT CAN BE
There is an alternative.
A friend, Allyson, shares, “At my daughter’s school they have ‘Opposite Day’. If someone treats you badly, you do the opposite: you treat them well. It sounds corny,” says Allyson, who then smiles and finishes, “but it works.”
Most humans, when receiving a “low road” message from another, respond by taking the low road in return. Stress and disappointing results are the norm for such people.
There is something remarkable about the human spirit – and it’s important to note: when we receive a “high road” message from someone it almost always invokes a high road response. This is when lives and results change.
Could today be an “Opposite Day”? Could today be the point when you show the world that you can be headed toward the low road with someone – and take the high road instead?
What is the difference between what “might be” and what “can be”? You decide.
