Friday, May 2, 2014

'Happiness goes viral'

"Happiness goes viral," I heard someone say a couple days ago. It really can ... and does. How many times have you been sent a link to a YouTube video of a small child or an animal doing something funny and cute? You laugh. You feel good. You send it on to others. It goes viral. People respond to the positive energy.

Have you entered a room and just felt the happy, positive energy in it? It's very possible that it was started by one person who said "Hi," smiled at someone else or told a funny story that spread around the room. Conversely, I've entered rooms where the anger and negative emotions are palpable. Something was said or done that infected everyone in the room.

I recall sometimes walking into the office in a former workplace, feeling happy and in good spirits. But when I smiled and said, "Good morning," all I got in response were either blank stares or my colleagues concentrating on their computer keyboards and screens. No smiles. No greetings. A chill would go through me, and I could feel myself losing my happy feeling. Once I became aware of what was happening, of course, I could make a choice to not let the behavior of others change what I felt.

So, yes, happiness can go viral. So can anger or crabbiness. Which are you passing on today? And what can you do to hang on to your positive feelings when those around you are stuck under black clouds?




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