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A Different Issue to ‘Go Green’ On and Just as SignificantBy Ed Delph April 30, 2018 Think about it - we have a tendency to adopt the attitudes of the people closest to us. That’s why there is a verse in the Ancient Scriptures that says, “Your faith will help me, and my faith will help you.” Romans 1:12 NCV. Doubters get what they expect and so do believers. Negative people get what they expect and so do positive people. It’s sowing and reaping. Often our attitude or outlook, either positive or negative, will touch people before our message does. Management consultant Fred Smith points out that there are two kinds of people in any organization: polluters and purifiers. The polluters are like smokestacks, belching out dirty smoke all the time. They hate clear skies. They want their sky to be everyone else’s sky. No matter how good it gets they find a way to make it gloomy. When people around them breathe their toxins, they feel sicker and sicker. On the other hand, purifiers make everything around them better. It doesn’t matter what kind of rotten atmosphere they encounter. They take in the toxic words of polluters just like everyone else does, but they filter them before passing them on. What goes in gloomy and negative comes out fresh and clear. There are real examples of polluters changing direction and becoming purifiers in the real world. Polluters can 'Go Green' from their gloom and doom…unleashing them to zoom upward and onward. Read on. Jon Gordon says: "My wife’s friend wouldn’t stop complaining about her job…the company, the economy and her lack of sales. I finally stopped her and said, 'It’s simple. You have a choice. You can accept your company’s new policies, come into work with a positive attitude and be your best every day, or you can find a new job. But whatever you do, stop complaining because it’s not doing any good. Change your job or change your attitude.' "The conversation was over, and so was our friendship, I thought. Rachel wouldn’t speak to me for a few months. Then I saw her at a party and she told me she decided to take my advice. She stayed on her job, stopped complaining and started selling more. Three months after changing her attitude her sales were up thirty percent, a year later her sales were up seventy percent. The other day, three years after our initial conversation, I caught up with Rachel again and asked her how she was doing. She told me during the last two years her sales continued to grow. She’s been promoted twice and is now in her dream job. It’s the job she always wanted and she’s more excited and passionate than ever." Consider these questions. Is complaining and polluting negativism to others sabotaging you and those around you? When you spend time with people, do they walk away feeling better or worse? Do you clear the air by giving them encouragements and fresh perspective, or do they feel downcast and discouraged? Observe how people respond to you and you will know which group you belong to. Why not go green with your outlook and attitude too? Polluting the atmosphere with attitudes isn’t working. I repeat, it’s not working. Perhaps there’s just as much toxic pollution from attitudes and outlooks as there is from exhaust emissions, maybe even more. This applies to marriage, business, relationships, churches, most everything in life. It’s OK to want change and some changes need to happen soon. But don’t become wounded, bitter, or cynical about what you want to be changed. Don’t let the tail wag the dog. Don’t let the pollution on the outside of you get inside of you. Manage the issue or the issue will manage you. Remember the three laws of sowing and reaping. You reap what you sow. You reap more than you sow. You reap later than you sow. If you sow pollution, you reap pollution, in increasing amounts, for an extended period. The contrary is true also. And the contrary has a much better outcome. I think this article is for me today…and hopefully you too!
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Ed Delph is a leader in church-community connections. Visit Ed Delph's website at www.nationstrategy.com
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