Hey everyone and happy Tuesday!
Today I want to bring up an idea that everyone should be aware of. Drew Dudley explains it best in his TED Talk he titles, “Leading with Lollipops.” The video is below, check it out. It’s a short video that tells an entertaining and funny story with an incredible message.
Drew explains a “Lollipop Moment” as someone who has a life changing event happen to them because of a certain person, or they are the catalyst of someone else’s life changing event. He goes on to explain that this is a beautiful thing, but when he asks the audience how many of them have told that specific person that the thing that they did changed their life, almost no one raised their hand.
In the first portion of this blog, I want to stress how important it is to show appreciation and gratitude towards the people (or things) that bring you happiness, joy, success, etc. Think of how great it feels when someone else compliments you, pretty nice, right? Or how does it feel when you give a birthday present to someone and it is perfect, they absolutely love it. Amazing, right?! So why not feel and spread that joy to everyone else, always?! Studies conclude that when people outwardly show appreciation and gratitude, they are happier, enjoy their activities more, and (linking back to my blog last week) spreads a positive Attitude Contagion and everyone betters from it. So, my first challenge to you is to show some appreciation towards someone that has changed your life for the better, today! And try it again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next, and keep on going.
The second point I want to make is the impact that our decisions can have on other people. Like in Drew’s story, he couldn’t even remember doing this specific action that completely changed this woman’s life for the better. He had no intentions of changing her life, but he did. So, my second challenge to you is to start being more aware of your actions and the potential outcomes.
A quick personal story, very similar to Drew’s but on a smaller scale. I was coaching an athlete who for the past two days had been training very well and attitude was great, something different than normal. I found out that another swimmer, who this particular athlete looks up to, commented positively about the athlete’s race over the weekend. This athlete took that nice comment to heart and rode the high of it for days; other races were better, practices were better, attitude was better. I was very proud of the athlete that had made the comment, so I showed my appreciation towards that athlete by saying, “I heard you did this, thanks for doing that.” And just like Drew, the athlete had no recollection of even saying those words.
I love hearing or experiencing stories like this, but let’s show some appreciation towards the person that made you feel good! Spread that feeling! But be aware, because these exact scenarios can happen in the opposite direction. What I mean by that is anyone can say something that is perceived as negative and can change someone for the worse, without ever having the intentions to do so. Have you ever had an experience where someone said something to you and put you in a worse mood or made you perform worse? Did you ever bring it up to that person and they said something like, “Oh I didn’t mean it like that” or “that was never my intention”? Again, this is where being aware of your actions and the possible outcomes is so important.
It is amazing the impact we can all have on each other, positive or negative. Be aware of your actions and possible outcomes, show some appreciation, build up the people that have built you up, and altogether let’s Build a Better Mindset!
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