Hi everybody, I’m Mike Staver and this is Mondays with Mike, a weekly video series where I answer questions from people just like you. Here’s this week’s question:
If animals could talk, which animals would be the most annoying? Just Kidding!
That’s funny man! That is funny. What is your real question?
How do I stay positive in a negative world without seeming Pollyanna or cheesy? It seems that people are angry and it’s hard for me to stay positive.
Well let’s answer your first question. If animals could talk, which one would be the most annoying?
There are two. There are two that would annoy me. What do you think those are? Penguins, and ostriches. Can you imagine if an ostrich could talk? How annoying would an ostrich be? Big old long neck, moving it all around, running fast… And a penguin! Penguins make enough noise anyway, they’d be annoying. Those are the two: ostriches and penguins. Oh my, that’s funny.
How do I stay positive in a negative world without seeming Pollyanna or cheesy?
Don’t be Pollyanna or cheesy. Here’s what I say: accept the presence of the negativity and stay realistically positive. Positivity is contagious like negativity. Bring some positivity to the world.
But don’t use cliches, don’t use cheesy statements, just be positive! So yesterday, as an example, somebody said to me “Man, this year has been one of the worst years ever.” I didn’t say “Well you didn’t die did you? You’re still alive aren’t ya?” …Because I probably would have gotten punched. Instead what I said was, well I acknowledged first, “You know what, this was a difficult year for a lot of people. And I’m just wishing for you the kind of energy, the kind of opportunity going forward that will help you stay positive going forward. If there’s anything I can do to support you in that let me know.”
So I always acknowledge and give them room for what’s going wrong, and then always offer up support. I think that’s the best and the easiest way to do it.
I’m Mike Staver, hope that was helpful. This is Mondays with Mike.
