Yesterday, a friend who is in business sent me a note. It was a note to encourage me to “keep on keeping on.” Stay the Course!
So over the past couple of months, it’s been an eye-opener, and as a business owner harder and as a business owner is more and more challenging to continue to have a good heart and good intentions when there are so much negativity and people looking to take advantage of those with a good heart. So, my thought to you was on your positive newsletter, a good topic would be not to circumvent or change who you are due to what’s happened to you by others. I think we all need a good reminder that we need to stay true to who we are regardless of how we’re treated sometimes by people who take advantage of others.
I read it and immediately, I thought it was a good topic to cover.
Ralph Marston is quoted saying, “Start strong, stay strong, and finish strong by always remembering why you’re doing it in the first place”.
Here we are!
The last year has been a tough one for many folks. Everyone has been affected on one level or another. And through it all, I have seen an uptick in stories about people stepping up to the plate to help others. Many were individuals, but so many were businesses, their owners and their employees. My friend and her company were one of them.
I do understand that sometimes people will take advantage of our goodness. I have been around long enough to see that it happens. On the other hand, I long ago made the decision that I would do what I felt I was supposed to do. Over time, it has caused me to be a better individual, and I have found that the majority of people are good and simply going through tough times.
Positive News For You is based on the fact that people are good, they usually want to do something good and someone needs to tell others about them. ?
You may well be one of those folks who love to help people. But something did not go so well. Maybe the person or the people didn’t respond well, maybe not even at all. Perhaps you found out they “double-dipped” for the item(s) you purchased. (I get it. It has happened to me.) But that does not mean that the other times you helped weren’t important. Unfortunately, our minds have the ability to process the negative. It takes energy to focus on the positive.
Maybe you are a business that likes to do good things in your community. I know a lot of businesses that do lots of good things and sometimes not everything goes right. (Just the other day, I saw folks attack a business owner for not getting the right toys.) I get the idea, that enough might be enough.
I understand that not every recipient is grateful and that not every giver is humble in their approach. But in both cases, most are not like that.
But this is meant to be an encouragement to all of you who give, who help and who work hard to make the world a better place. Keep on doing what you are doing. Focus more on the “why” you do it and less on “what” you do. By doing that, you are holding your reason for doing high, and the opportunity to pay attention to what might not have worked, dims in comparison.
“Live your life in such a way that you’ll be remembered for your kindness, compassion, fairness, character, benevolence, and a force for good who had much respect for life, in general.” Germany Kent
Like my friend, I want to encourage you “NOT TO QUIT!”
Winston Churchill said, “Never give up on something that you can’t go a day without thinking about.” People who like to help others or who make it their business to help, usually can’t walk away from folks in need. And even if they do walk away or even stop, they think about it.
I want to motivate you to not give up. My friend reached out to me, because she felt what I do is important to others and to reminding folks about the good things that are going on. If you were not there, who would be? What would others do without you?
It is easy to think it does not matter. But it does.
The world all too often embraces the division but the only way that stops is when we take a stand. Making the decision not to participate in it, but regroup and polish off our “why”.
I am also willing to say if you have gone through a hard time, maybe because you wear your heart on your sleeve, then I will be here if you need some encouragement. (And I am sure there are others.) Especially for those in the world of business. Too frequently, we hunker down, when we really need to be heard and to hear words of encouragement.
So, let’s all make a decision to do better. To encourage those who are doing good things for others. To recognize that everyone we may help may not be in the space to be grateful. And to continue to do good works, perform acts of kindness and make our communities better.
To those of you making things better for others, I commend you!
Let’s make 2021 a super great year.