Tag: negativity

When you are mean to others you ultimately drink your own poison.

Meanness is a poison. And not in a Bret Michaels, CiCi Deville, and Rikki Rockett kind of way.

When you are mean to another person it is like serving poison in an Alice Cooper kind of way. Drop by drop, action by action the meanness cup fills with the toxic and lethal liquid.

But in a karmic plot twist, the person who spits the venom is the one who drinks the cup.

Because when you are mean to another human, you are the one who is poisoned. (Insert Nelson from The Simpsons’ signature ‘Ha-ha!’)

Your mean words and actions create ill will and hate towards you. (Wasn’t Ill Will a Garbage Patch Kid?)

So you end up ingesting your own venom. The more venom you serve up the more you drink. And you will end up drinking every drop you spew, spray, and spit.

However…

When you spread kindness the giver and the receiver both benefit. The receiver is energized and empowered. They are lifted and loved. They are supported and strengthened. In turn, and in kindness, the receiver shares thanks, goodwill, positive feelings and kindness with the giver.

When kindness is shared, everyone drinks. Because positive energy, support, and strength overflow the cup.

Key Takeaway

When you serve up meanness and hate, you are the one who is poisoned by it. But when you are supportive and kind both the giver and the receiver drink.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.

Don’t give other people permission to negatively affect you.

Do other people make you mad? Do they get under your skin and ruin your day? Do the humans in your orbit include Debbie Downers, Angry Angies and Negative Nancys? Then it’s time for a change. Because those ladies can knock the joy out of your pinata blindfolded.

Remember, other people can only bring you down if you give them permission. Don’t give control over your own happiness to someone else. As soon as you allow others to ruin your day you have given them the keys to everything important to you.

No one else is important enough for you to let them control your happiness. Not a boss, client, family member, or friend. Not a cutie or a hottie. You must maintain the keys. Be quick to bounce from someone else’s bad behavior. If you have people who regularly attack your happiness, channel your inner Lorena Bobbitt, and cut them out of your life.*

Key Takeaway

Don’t go down with someone else’s ship. You are in charge of your own vessel. Cut the lines to others who try to sink your spirit. You always have other options.

+If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

*Don’t actually ever cut anyone. That makes you the bad guy.

If you dig messages of empowerment and self-improvement, check out my new book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say?

Warning: Someone will take your positive message negatively.

I am a naturally positive person. I like to share my positivity with the world. If you opened up my battery compartment you would probably find a Double-A battery that has a + sign on both ends. (And we’ll ignore for the moment that the laws of chemistry and electricity would dictate that such a battery would produce no juice.)

I believe we are all capable of more. So I share ideas about self-improvement regularly. I share what is working for me in my career and my personal life. I pass along positive quotes I find motivating and inspiring. I encourage people to adopt a growth mindset and discover new ways to learn and expand their abilities.

I see the silver lining, the half-full glass, the bright side, and the upside in every situation. So I try to share that perspective with the world the way people shared Coke’s on hilltops in the 1970s.

However, a funny thing often happens when I share positive messages about growth and improvement. Someone doesn’t like it. Someone finds a reason that what you say is wrong, shallow, superficial or self-absorbed.

But don’t stop sharing positive encouragement because people didn’t like it. Some people are wired to dislike, disprove, or disrespect. They have minus signs at both ends of their batteries. That is not about you. It’s about them. Don’t let them change your tune or stop singing just because they live in garbage cans on Sesame Street.

Key Takeaway

No matter how positive your message is, there will always be people who react negatively. Let them. Ignore them. The overwhelming majority of humans appreciate positive messages. Share for them. Calibrate for them. The small majority are venting. Because they were about to blow before you came along. Be good. Share good. Do good. You’ll help make the world a gooder place.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.