I’d tried Andy’s ‘Happy Monday’ and failed. Tuesday had been grim too. I’d struggled through to ‘working from home Wednesday’ and was finding it difficult to get down to what I needed to do. I stared down at my work and my work stared right back at me.
The doorbell rang and the knocker was knocked. Two thoughts sprung to mind. Firstly, how dare someone interrupt me NOT doing what I should be doing and, secondly, what’s the point of ringing and knocking at the same time?
Anyhow, with a deep breath and an audible sigh, I rose from my non-work and answered the knocker/ringer. Standing there was a smiley guy who wanted me to take part in a poll. I added another sigh and an eye roll. I’d been interrupted from my bad day by an interruption that was going to make it worse!
I was about to say ‘no thanks’ but this guy was good. In fact, he was the best. There was something about his enthusiasm? He talked the talk, but he let me speak. He explained the stuff and he let me ask questions.
Within 30 seconds I was smiling and nodding. Within a minute I’d let him in and the kettle was on. He left 10 minutes later, him with the information he wanted and me with a grin on my chops. I sat down at my work and cracked on with it, enjoying my most productive working from home day ever.
But how? I’d answered the door with a steely determination to use some Anglo Saxon language and yet he’d completely disarmed me. On reflection, it boils down to this… he understood my situation. He had humour and style. He had a great attitude. He listened and laughed. He agreed and empathised. The result is that I wanted to help him and I wanted to participate in his survey. More than that, this guy made me want to be him!
And it dawned on me – what impact do I have on people, even those I have limited contact with, on a day to day basis? And of course there’s nothing stopping me having the same positivity, warmth and friendliness – nothing stopping me, that is, except me!
This guy was what Andy would call a ‘2%er’, one of the rare breed that stand out as happy and positive. You can probably count them on the fingers of one hand, the folk in your life who provide you with an upward spiral of emotion?
Which brings me to some big questions and an even bigger promise.
Questions: How can I learn do that? Every day? And if I did, what would happen to my home and work life? And if, as Andy’s research suggests, it boils down to an attitudinal choice, why am I not making the effort every single day?
Promise: From now on, I will be a 2%er. I will choose to be as positive as life allows and, fingers crossed, be the creator of upward spirals in those around me.
Cliff Sinclair @CliffSinc