You Matter: Three Ways to Make it a Better World

You Matter!
Remind yourself every day – You Matter!

We are all part of an ecosystem – several, actually. Our families, communities, schools and workplaces are all environments of which we are a part. We affect, and are affected by, everything else that is a part of each ecosystem.

I love the definition of ecosystem from Wikipedia; especially the description of how all living organisms are “linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows”.

I constantly remind myself to be mindful of the “nutrition” and “energy” I am adding to the lives of the people I meet and interact with every day. Am I adding something positive? Do I contribute something that helps and supports people? Social contagion is real. We catch each other’s emotions just like we catch colds and flu viruses from each other.

A recent article got me thinking about this again. Erica Pearson of the New York Daily News describes a University of Pennsylvania study that found negative tweets by younger people are associated with higher rates of stress and heart disease in the larger community. Tweets about hating and being bored and unmotivated were linked with higher heart disease in the community. Tweets about friendship and about what’s good in the world were linked with lower rates of the disease. The study found that it was not the “tweeters” who experienced the increase in heart disease, but that those young people were representative of the larger community in which they reside. In other words, communities that are less well (more disease) are those that seem to be associated with more negative and unmotivated young people (at least according to their tweet content).??When people in your community are angry you are likely to feel that simply through psychological contagion,? said lead researcher Johannes Eichstaedt, a University of Pennsylvania graduate student.

So, what are people ‘catching’ from you? If you are hanging on to anger and negativity, it is not just affecting you, but it is affecting everyone around you. The entire ecosystem is changed by you and the nutrition and energy (or lack thereof) that you contribute.

Maybe a better question is, what do you want people to catch from you? Start by thinking about the kind of world you want. I cannot say I have ever met a person who said they want to live in a world that is negative, angry, sad and unmotivated. My guess is all of us – or most of us – would say we want to be part of world that is positive, peaceful, happy and energized.

Here are three ways you can contribute healthy nutrition and energy to the ecosystems of which you are a part every day:

1) Ask yourself, and answer, ‘What’s good today?’ Then ask one other person.

2) Compliment/appreciate one person in your life. Wait long enough to see them smile and light up when you do. Remind yourself of that memory as you drift off to sleep.

3) Spend 1 minute in total silence. Close your eyes, focus on your breath, and turn down the volume on your internal dialogue. Just be.

Do you make a difference? You bet, you do. What you think about, feel and do will either add to or detract from the health of your ecosystem. What will you choose?

Deri Latimer is an expert in positive possibilities for people! A TEDx Speaker and Author, Deri?s message reinforces that positive habits are the pathway to a happier and healthier life ? at work, at home and at any age!?www.derilatimer.com

 

 

 

 

 

How’s Your ‘Thumbnail’?

TEDx for BLOGI just finished shooting a quick video message for a client. If you have ever had this experience, you know that once you are finished and ready to post the video on YouTube, you are offered a selection of ‘thumbnails’ from which to choose. A thumbnail? is internet slang for a small freeze frame (picture) from your video.

I am always amazed how the thumbnail options from which I have to choose are almost inevitably ones that are less than flattering. My mouth is wide open, my eyes are closed, or I have an expression on my face that would frighten small children!

Then I started thinking about this a bit more deeply. The only reason those thumbnail options are offered to me is BECAUSE THAT IS EXACTLY HOW I LOOK WHEN I AM SPEAKING!

I’ve always been animated – especially when I am speaking on a topic that excites me. Some might argue that this animation is an asset in my profession as a speaker. ?But what about in my life in general? How’s my thumbnail in everyday life, I wonder.

I caught my reflection in a window the other day. I had a ‘concerned’ look on my face. I had, indeed, been thinking of something important in my life – something serious – and it was literally ‘written all over my face’. I wonder what people who saw that expression thought of me. Might they be drawing conclusions about my friendliness and my approachability?

How about you? How’s your thumbnail, right now? Is it a picture of approachability? Is it a message of openness? Is it one that inspires confidence from your manager? Is it a thumbnail that engages trust? Is it a face that the people you care about hope to see?

I remember hearing Maya Angelou?being interviewed a few years ago. My children were ‘tweens‘ at the time. She said something that really resonated with me. ‘Do your eyes light up when your child walks into the room?’ I had to take a real, hard look at myself as a parent when I heard that. I think – often – I was so focused on what needed to be done, that I forgot to pause and just appreciate them walking in the door (so that my eyes could light up with gratitude before I started barking orders about what needed to be done).

I also thought about whether or not my eyes light up when I see my husband, when I get together with my girlfriends, and when I meet with a client. I hope they do.

I am certainly not suggesting that you have to walk around all day every day with a huge smile plastered on your face, just so people don’t think you are cranky. I am suggesting, however, that you increase your awareness of what’s written all over your face. What would your face communicate if it were suddenly freeze-framed?

Let us know what you think by leaving a comment here. Even better, send a photo to deri@derilatimer.com, post it on Facebook or Linkedin (tag me at Deri Latimer – and connect with me, if we are not already connected), or post it on Twitter with #mythumbnail and tag me @derilatimer.

A TEDx speaker and organizational consultant in all things people, Deri Latimer provides inspiration and information to create happy and healthy workplaces for increased positivity, productivity and prosperity!