Twitter got me thinking this weekend, as I read yet another diatribe from someone rather famous. It’s obvious he really wishes the world were a better place, because he spends pretty much all his time on Twitter rambling on about how bad things are.
I found myself refraining from sending him a note that said, “If you want the world to be more positive, perhaps you might start with YOU?”
Which led to my starting this list. It’s just the beginning. I know I’ll be thinking more about it. But I sure would love you to add your thoughts to the bottom.
1) If you want others to be positive and optimistic, be positive and optimistic yourself. Complaining that the world is not the way you want it just adds to the negative you are hoping to avoid! So if you want the world to be more positive, more optimistic, be that.
2) Whatever other values you want to see in others, be those yourself. List what values you wish others held. Model what those values look like in action.
3) When you are not walking that talk, be conscious of it. Don’t beat yourself up (do you want a world where people beat themselves up?) Be compassionate, kind to yourself. Then remind yourself of what you DO want to model. Model it first to you, then to others.
4) If your positive world view is aimed at ending something bad (poverty, homelessness, hunger), reframe that world view to something truly positive, rather than simply the lack of something negative. What will it look like once there is no more poverty, war, mistrust? What will that make possible? Aim your life and your work at that positive goal. It changes things. Really.
5) If your positive world view is not just ending, but preventing something bad, see #3 (diabetes, AIDS, homelessness).
6) If you want a world where we are all working together, collectively empowered – work with others, and empower them. If you are working on a project that will make your organization stronger than others, defeat the competition, make you personally stand out – in other words, keep you separate – ask how that effort can be made stronger by empowering others to be just as strong as you (if not stronger!). Really. A world where we are all working together starts with you. Starts with me. Starts with us. In everything we do.
Like I said, it’s a start. Where do you think it might go from here?