Keeping it Positive

It's about time to start putting things together for my trip to Northern MO. I still need to manage an hour or so on the bike before I go and I'd like to stop by the afternoon activities at Hopedale before getting on the road.

I've had fun the last few days as I have been more intentional about being nice to people. Generally speaking, I'm usually friendly and smile at strangers that I pass or say "Good morning" or some other greeting. I've been trying to go the extra mile by taking their shopping cart back for them or engaging them in a brief conversation, pay them a compliment or just trying to be nicer than I usually am.

It's definitely easier with people that I know than with strangers, but I am discovering that I really don't have a great circle of people that I interact with regularly. I see the same people at work (only a few), the same people at church (generally weekly and again, relatively few), the same few people at the irregular stops during the week (gas, coffee, store, etc.) and we interact politely but not significantly.

I want to have a greater impact than the passing moment of "Have a nice day." I want to offer an act of kindness or encouragement. I think that most of our encounters with people are really non-encounters or neutral encounters. They neither add nor take away from our days. We have all had encounters with negative people (or maybe been the negative person in an encounter) and those have a way of bringing you down just a bit. I wonder what it would be like if more of us made the effort to be a positive person that adds a little life to the people we encounter.

As a part of my "Be a Positive Influence" effort, I'm going to dial back the social media a bit. For the most part, it can be pretty draining with far too much negativity. I've been working on that anyways as I see that we are becoming less social when it comes to the people we actually meet with and more about social networking with people that we never really see. As for those times that I do use Facebook, Google+, Twitter or LinkedIn, I'm going to try to keep it positive.

I'm inviting you to join me in my "Be a Positive Influence" campaign. The goal is to go an entire day without a negative comment and replace those moments with something positive. It can be a kind act or a kind word. It can be deciding not to share a divisive post and sharing something inspiring or uplifting. If you're in and want your family and friends to join with us (maybe your favorite negative person), share this post with them and encourage them to join the effort.

Have a great weekend.
...and Be a Positive Influence!

John <><