8 Secrets to Eliminating Negativity
One bad experience outweighs one good. A gallon of bad weighs more than a gallon of good.
Setbacks shout; success whispers.
You overemphasize what went wrong and minimize what went right. Down is easier than up.
Small setbacks increase frustration
more than small successes enhance satisfaction.
One negative defeats one positive. It’s worse! One negative defeats two positives. It takes three positives to off-set one negative. It takes 2.9013 gallons of positive to sweeten one gallon of negative.*
One gallon of positive won’t sweeten one gallon of negative.
Now you know why negative environments are easy.
Boats with holes:
There’s a hole in your boat. Bad experiences gush in; good experiences jump ship.
Cling to the good. Eliminate the bad
before it sinks you.
Thank more. Cheer more. Pat on the back more, much more.
Plugging holes:
When boats are sinking you can bail like hell or plug the damn hole! Preventing one bad creates more buoyancy than appreciating one good because bad outweighs good.
Do more good by eliminating one bad.
- Eliminate negative employees.
- Remove obstacles. Organizations create hoops, sign offs, and regulations that make work harder. Ask, “What’s slowing you down?” When you find out, remove it or smooth the way.
- Stop belittling. Work that isn’t valued isn’t meaningful.
- End frustrations. Explore frustrations with employees, don’t ignore them, end them.
Throw out bad – good comes back.
Still more:
- Focus on progress constantly. You’re falling behind if you don’t. Better wins.
- Transform setbacks into progress by making them learning events.
- Respect. Welcome ideas, for example. Don’t dismiss suggestions, explore them. Off handed rejection belittles.
- Agree on outcomes then let go. Freedom energizes; control drains.
The pursuit of excellence is fueled by positive environments.
Positive environments aren’t accidents, leaders build them.
Eliminate bad.
Shout the good.
Whisper correction.
* Research on the bad outweighs good.
How can leaders counteract the pull of negative gravity?
Excellent and timely advice Dan.
By tolerating the bad you allow employees to live in a toxic, nonproductive and demeaning environment. When they do not feel valued by praising some of the good, and only belittled by focusing on the bad, they will withdraw- verbally, emotionally and ultimately physically. If they can’t quit, they will start dialing in the bare minimum performance.
People must feel like they matter and bring some value.
Thank you Martina.
Love the word…Toxic!
Have a great Sunday.
Well said. Awesome comments!! Tammi
Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, Latch on to the affirmative,
But don’t mess with mister inbetween!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sam Cooke
For me I have the chance to reset my Vision meter all day long. What I CHOOSE to put in my thinker shapes how I perceive what I see outside of myself. Works that way for you too whether you know it, agree with it or want to take the responsibility for it.
One problem is are basic personalities are set at an early age. That for a lot of people is a set back from the get go because of the thought system they are taught.
Right off the bat they are taught there is something wrong with them.
So we got that to overcome. This wrong teaching gets ingrained and people in their subconscious fall back on that wrong information when something negative happens.
They see themselves as somehow wrong, then something wrong happens and it reinforces that negative programming.
There is good news, the info is incorrect!!!!!
James Allen wrote this great book called “As A Man Thinketh so is he”.
Basically, it says whatever we tell ourselves long enough, we believe! This works generically, positive or negative.
Then Earl Nightingale wrote, “The Strangest Secret in the World”, which in his opinion is “We become what we think about all day long”. No explanation needed there, right?
Then the Helmsteter dude, “What to say when you talk to yourself”.
Nap Hill “Think and Grow Rich”. See says, “THINK, not act, not blame others people for what you see is icky.
Bottom line if I want to eliminate the negative, accentuate the positive it ALL starts with me. Get my own house in order and it is AMAZING to see how differently I perceive the world.
The God Memorandum in “The Greatest Miracle in the World”, possibly helped me more than anything. How many people are willing to read something 20 minutes a night for 100 consecutive nights? Are you?
Can’t really answer that for anyone else. I will say it is a LOT tougher than it sounds and that old wrong programming doesn’t go lightly skipping along into the goodnight!
When I did it the change was gradual as the new correct information was programmed in my subconscious.
Anyway, it is just like my opinion man……….The Dude.
Not saying it will work for you, just saying it worked and is working for me.
Have a great one Dan. GO HEELS!!!!!!!!!
Scott
Great perspective on life!
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Our biggest challenge in education isn’t content, but attitude. Our most successful teachers are often our most successful sport coaches because of their “expertise”. The same can be said for teachers of subjects that students love. Our ability to find something positive in these student/Athletes can transform their lives. But as you state, it is so easy to jump on the Negative bus and lead kids to fulfilling the belief that they are worthless. The power of words from an authority figure is stronger than anything Exxon or Chevron could ever patent-yet teachers are underpaid, criticized, and devalued.
Very well said!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Perspective is vewy vewy important!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bottom line are all gonna drop all the pretense and just get about loving and taking care of one another OR
Continue with more of the same which DOES not look pretty pretty good!
Wrong people get their hands on some nukes, ooopppsss!
Can’t we all just get along? We are all the same, egg and mens contribution(trying to say that delicately), they join up, incubate, birth, breath, life, dirt nap!
We spend all our dang time trying to separate ourselves from one another based on stupid OPINIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Drop the dang pretense and just love people as best you can, treat them as you want them to treat you, just share the goodness that was planted in ya…………LET IT OUT!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL
Whew getting a little carried away! I just LOVE people so much with all their warts and stupidity and OPINIONS that SEPARATE. Then the good ones, Dan is a good man if none of ya’ll noticed. Kind, willing, understanding The Dude gets it!
Anyway, love what you said, sparked something up in me causing me to peck out some stuff!!!!!!!!
Thanks, I think! Wonder how many reading yesterdays blog but you and me?? LOL
Take care my fellow anonymous friend! May the wind be at your back as you trugde the road to happy destiny OR if the wrong dudes get nukes, a short exit!!!!!!!!
SP OUT!
Doing more positives in a day, in a moment , focusing on positives is a great tip. thanks
Dan,
This is one of your greatest posts ever. that says quite a bit coming from a fan of all your posts.
We all know this, but need reminders on how glaring this success vs. failure issue is. What we recognize we can beat.
You make it clear. The odds are stacked against us. We need multiples of success to quiet the impact of a single perceived failure.
And then you list ways to do it.
Your message jolted me like a taser this morning.
Thanks, I needed that.
Dauna
I love this! “Eliminate bad. Shout the good. Whisper correction.”
Who wouldn’t love working here?
Breeds a respectful, supportive, loving culture!
It really is harder to “catch someone being good!”
We tend to ignore these things and go on…….
I don’t like any of this.
(grin)
.
That was such a great response. Got me a huge belly laugh Thanks Doc Scott
“Behold the turtle. He only makes progress when he sticks his neck out.” (James Bryant Conant)
So, it is key to keep the turtles walking forward. Don’t snap at them!
Yes! I totally agree with you Dan. Have a great Sunday 🙂
So insightful negative environments are easy good environments are hard work. Negative nags success whispers. I love it !! Dan you are awesome. Thanks
I have a quote in my office posted on the wall from Jon Gordon that states something to the effect that must be more positive than all the negativity combined. I try to do this each and every day.
Thanks for the reminder. wisewords and inspiration.
Thanks for the reminder sir, I do encounter negativity every day from my family, and friends, and if I m not careful it carries onto how you start to speak, act and perceive life.
Dan I believe there is nothing that kills the ambitions of others more than criticisms from Supervisors. “NEVER CRITICISE ANYONE”.Always give your people an incentive to work. Be anxious to praise, but slow to find fault. I have yet to find a person great or small, influential or not, who did not do better and put forth greater effort under a spirit of of approval than they ever would under a spirit of criticism.If you want to stir up resentment that will last a lifetime and endure until death, simply induldge in little ‘Stinging Criticism’. (No matter how certain you are it is justified.) A Leader shows thier greatnes by the way they treat those who can do ‘nothing’ for them. Any fool can criticise, complain, and condemn, and most do. “God himself does not judge man until his death, why should I”?
Great comments! Being anxious to praise is a great idea, not just to individuals, but also to their direct supervisors. It can be as simple as a quick word or an email to the individual and copying their supervisors. Keeping the supervisor notified is a meaningful gesture and helps management realize the potential of good employees.
Focusing on positivity fosters an environment where employees feel that they belong, and are a part of the organization.
“Freedom energizes; control drains.” I think your post can be generally summed up by this statement. Unfortunately, many leaders either don’t understand this…or don’t care. Leadership which empowers is leadership which multiplies itself.
“Shout the good; whisper correction.” you say. I say, “Praise in public; punish in private.”
But actively looking for accomplishment is quite challenging. One of the times I do this very consciously is when we need to performance manage an employee. I try to emphasize how this issue is a small part of overall performance, and although we need to attend to the failing performance, we acknowledge everything that is good, too, which give us confidence for the future.
Great Post. One of the best I have read. Thanks for the reminder. The lesson to me is that good can defeat bad but takes focus and hard work. Do nothing and bad wins–Do something and nothing wins–work focused and good wins.
This was a wonderful post to read. Inculcated in tons of positivity.
Likes on the goodness of life and a thought give to back off the negative.
Really good.
Words to live by…. “Eliminate bad. Shout the good. Whisper correction.”
I connect with your insights, observations and solutions. You are very helpful. You keep me focused on the change that needs to take place within.
Thank You!