People who choose (and it is a choice) to live a life of being Up or Getting Up (But Never Down) bring value into the lives of those around them. Think about this from your own perspective: Who do you seek out when you are feeling down or sad? Is it the negative people in your life? I doubt it! We seek out those with a positive outlook on life. Why? Because it is those people that have the ability to help us “get up” when life has knocked has down. UP people are the ones that we know can (and will) reach down and help lift us Up. We don’t, however, seek out people with a negative outlook on life, because people who are “down” don’t have the ability to lift us Up.
Interestingly, when we have good news to share, we still seek out UP people! Why? Because we know that UP people will share in our joy and happiness. They are the ones that get excited when things go well for others and celebrate in our successes. Negative people try to diminish the successes of other people. They try to minimize your joy and excitement. People with a down attitude try their best to keep others down with them. No matter how good your news is, negative people will always try to diminish your joy.
YOU: “I just won the lottery!!!”
Negative Person: “Wow, think of the taxes you'll have to pay now.”
So, we tend to seek out UP people regardless of the news we have to share, because UP people make the bad seem not so bad, and they make the good seem great!
It is important, on many levels, for me to maintain a positive outlook on life. As much as I want and need to have UP people in my life, I want to be an UP person for others in my life. I have different “roles” in my life, each of which has a different set of opportunities to make a difference in the lives of others. Here are some examples:
As a Parent: Having a positive impact on the lives of my children is of critical importance to me. I need to maintain a positive outlook so that my children, particularly as they get older, WANT to seek out my guidance.
As a Spouse: My relationship with my wife is the most important earthly relationship I have and keeping that relationship positive is crucial. Sharing in her triumphs and successes contributes to a happy relationship. Still, we all have days and we get knocked down. When Sheryl has a bad day, I want to KNOW that I am her first choice in people she turns to for getting back Up.
As a Leader: Any manager in an organization has a certain level of ability to command others to do certain tasks. As a leader, though, I want to influence my team to achieve more, not just command them to do the minimum. My ability to influence my team is directly proportional to the positive, respectful relationship I maintain with them.
As a Co-worker: For many people, we spend more of our awake time with our co-workers than we do with our own family! Research has proven that teams that operate in a positive environment are significantly more productive, which can contribute to greater success for everyone on the team.
As a Friend: Studies have shown that we tend to attract people who are most like we are. As a result, down people tend to attract down people, UP people tend to attract UP people. Since my circle of friends contribute to the richness of my life, keeping a positive outlook attracts great friends. Equally, I want to contribute to the richness of their life, too, and I need to stay Up in order to accomplish that.
One of the greatest rewards of living of life of being Up or Getting Up (But Never Down) is the positive impact that we can have on other people. We can only reap that reward when we make the choice to keep our attitude positive. Stay positive and make a difference!
Wishing you an Up week!
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