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I am of the belief that in any circumstance or relationship, POSITIVE invests and NEGATIVE withdraws.
Before I go any further, it must be said that there are such things as healthy negatives:
Constructive criticism, humble correction and break-ups that are legitimately “for the best” are just some of the healthy (and necessary) negatives that we encounter in life.
BUT no matter how you spin it, negativity drains emotional resources.
Positivity makes an emotional deposit, an investment.
In my mind, the kind of indiscriminate complaining that is so pervasive in most workplaces and across social networks is nothing but wild spending.
We have to continue making positive investments to keep a positive balance in our relationships clients, colleagues, employers and fans or those relationships could go bankrupt.
What would happen if we all decided to cut our negativity budgets?
What if we made bold, decisive, positive emotional investments in all of these areas?
Keep It Classy, Not Trashy…
The career of a professional creative is a difficult and obscure path.
Thus, we need our creative engines to be firing on all four cylinders.
Two cylinders for the craft, two for the attitude.
Many creatives are spending time in online forums like Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, Podcasts, deviantArt etc… to fill their own emotional tanks with the undiluted inspiration they can’t find elsewhere. Each of us has the opportunity to reward anyone who decides to direct their precious attention toward us.
Sure, we can vent to our spouses, partners, trusted colleagues, friends or parents in private, but public forums are not the place for us to gripe and whine.
I’m not prescribing blind and foolish optimism, nor am I saying we shouldn’t be publicly authentic. I’m just saying that there’s a big difference between honesty and exhaustive complaining.
People are finding your most recent tweets, posts, episodes etc… all day, every day. They will come back again and again if you provide (or just help them find) what they were looking for in the first place.
Repeat visitors can become devoted fans, clients, recruiters, collaborators and friends.
How Do You Keep It Classy?
The line between constructive criticism and destructive complaining is often blurry.
How can we stay positive but remain honest in our interactions with clients, colleagues, employers and fans?
Please share your thoughts in the comments below!
