You Can Change Your Environment

Smiles are contagious.
Smile at a stranger
and she is likely to smile back
and then smile at the next person.

Thank yous are contagious also.
Say thank you to someone
and they are more likely
to thank someone else.

There are a gazillion little things
we can do
that spread rapidly,
things that can make
our working days,
the businesses we’re building
better.

I’ve done this in companies
I’ve worked at.

I will wish Grumpy George
‘Good Morning’
and give him a sunny smile
and weeks later,
he ‘magically’ becomes
a little less grumpy.
And that lifts
the mood of the entire company.

I will tell Nancy in accounting
that she’s doing a great job.
Weeks later,
my expenses are being processed
with less push back.

I will bring Bob at reception
a coffee in the morning
and weeks later,
he greets visitors
with a warmer smile,
putting them at ease,
changing their moods also.

These all may seem like
small shifts,
tiny barely noticeable changes,
but when they are combined,
they can change a business
from dreary to okay.

Over time,
you can change your environment
enough to change
your happiness level
while you’re in it.