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I’m challenging you—and myself—to begin each workday asking what you can do to make a positive difference where you work.
There are any number of ways you can do this: in the way you work, in the quality of your work effort, and of course, in your interactions with the people you work with and for. Let’s think of some practical ways you could make a difference, no matter where you work. You can make a difference by adding something positive or eliminating something negative.
The first and most important way you make a difference is by your very demeanor. Do you show up at work in negative mode, complaining too often, criticizing too much? That’s a negative that can be eliminated. So, first, you can show up each day in positive mode, with a smile on your face, greeting people in a friendly way, and keeping your words out of negative territory.
And that applies, even if you’re working from home. You still have to show up, right? And the mood you are in shows up in your emails or on Zoom or Microsoft Teams – or however you connect with co-workers. Attitudes generally surface and complaining and griping attitudes come through rather clearly.
I think many times we are more negative than we realize. So, here’s a suggestion: Determine for just one day that you will not say anything negative all day long. Set that as your goal—to get through one entire day without being negative. Pray about it at the beginning of your day and ask God to help you remember not to say anything negative all day. If you do that, you may be surprised to see how many times you begin a negative comment, and you have to stop in the middle of your sentence.
Then go the extra mile and determine what you can do to put something positive in your day at work. More smiles, encouraging emails, respectful responses, sincere compliments—there are so many ways to make a positive difference. You just have to remember to do it.