While you might not have thousands of followers on social media, or even if you are never on social media, you are still an influencer. Every action you take in front of another person, of any age, will have an influence on them. Young people especially are watching everything around them. They see it all-the good and the bad! Because our minds are programmed to watch out for negativity, it can be far more common for us to notice someone acting poorly. But that doesn’t mean that the small positive actions we take are not influencing others. Even a small action like thanking the person ringing up your order at a restaurant could have a very positive impact on them if they are having a bad day or just had to deal with a difficult customer that left themselves doubting their worth. Our behavior influences the people around us due to a desire to “fit in.” Numerous studies showed people would change their answers in a group setting if enough other people were saying the wrong answer. I want to encourage you to always be an example for others to follow, even when it’s not the easiest thing to do. You just never know how many people you might be influencing!
Scan through your social media or think about recent conversations you’ve had. Were people talking about positive things in their life? Were people complaining? Were people sharing their challenges or their wins? So much of our life is determined by our thoughts, and if we are always surrounded by limiting thoughts and negativity, it’s easy to fall into a spiral of those thoughts. I’ll be the first to admit that I can fall into the complaint game where you keep trying to find things wrong with your life- the weather is bad today, traffic was awful, that news story was tragic, my kid was so annoying yesterday, etc, etc, and soon an entire conversation has been about nothing good or inspiring. I’m really working hard to ask great questions when around people now- what’s going well for you lately? Do you have a new goal for 2022? What has inspired you recently?
Share your wins with others! Posting about your wins will help inspire others. Live as an example for others to see. We need more authentic people showing their struggles AND gains. You are an influencer in your own social circles. The world could use more positive influencers. There are plenty of false, overly-perfect influencers making others feel bad about themselves. And there are plenty of people who only post on social media to complain or share their struggles. I bet you can instantly think of one person you know who only posts angry rants or tragic stories about themselves on social media. Too often we feel like we will be judged if we post good things because we have been warned not to be boastful people or come across as show-offs. Honestly, I’m thrilled when I see my friends happy and posting about all the good things in their life. It’s a reminder to think about the good things in my own life. If you choose to share the bad parts of your life, please balance it out with some good too. We all have good and bad days, which makes us human. It’s important to connect with others and share out truth.
How can you have a positive influence on those in your life this week? What questions can you ask others to get them to focus on the positive in their lives? You might just be surprised at how many are influenced by your actions.
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