Paul Brian
There are some people who know how to lift everyone up.
All it takes are a few words from them and the whole mood can shift in a positive direction.
Here’s how to know if you’re one of those individuals.
1) You are able to motivate others
The first of the signs you have an upbeat personality, who ignites positivity in others is that you are able to motivate people.
If you’re on a hike and the going gets tough, a few encouraging words from you and your comrades are beginning to pick up their step.
If you’re in the gym doing a workout class and people are starting to groan, you let everyone know they can do it and folks respond and try even harder.
The bottom line is that when you speak and encourage people it makes a difference.
If you’re not sure whether you have this impact, try it and see what happens.
2) You can see the positive in most situations
Next up in the signs you’re able to lift people up is that you see the positive in most situations.
Even when it’s a dull, rainy day, you point out that holidays are only a week away…
When everybody seems to be having problems and down about life you invite a few friends over for a home-cooked meal.
You not only see the bright side whenever possible, you actively help create that bright side in other people’s lives.
3) Your jokes lift people up
Another key sign that you’re a net plus to those around you is that you use humor to motivate and inspire people.
This is often called affiliative humor, which means that it is humor which laughs with people instead of laughing at them.
You use humor to lighten difficult situations and to make people see their own potential.
If your girlfriend says she’s getting fat and ugly you say at least she’s still your honey and she should ignore people who make comments about her weight.
“Why?” she asks.
“Because you’re bigger than that,” you say.
Make sure she knows you’re joking. Then take the slap in the face like a man.
4) You take charge in a crisis
When a crisis occurs, what do you do?
One of the top signs you have an upbeat personality, who ignites positivity in others is that a crisis brings out your best.
If you’re in a restaurant and somebody collapses and needs emergency medical attention, you’re already dialing 911 and creating a perimeter around the person to give them space.
You’re looking for a doctor who can help and making sure people stay calm, asking those with the sick person what happened.
You take charge in a crisis and make others feel safe that things will be OK.
5) You’re an optimist at heart
The next of the big signs you lift others up is that you’re an optimist at heart.
It’s like the classic Charlie Brown comic where Lucy says that one day we’ll all die and everything will be over.
Yes, Charlie agrees, but for every day until then we get to be alive.
That’s you in a nutshell. Seeing the best in each situation and being an incurable optimist.
6) You notice others smile around you
Another of the signs you have an upbeat personality, who ignites positivity in others is that you notice people light up around you.
When you show up and start interacting with them, folks smile.
Some people just smile a lot, of course.
But what makes this different is when you notice that people who usually look glum or don’t smile around others, do so around you.
7) You use ‘power words’ to rally the troops
The next in the big signs you’re a positive influence on others is that you use a lot of proactive and “can do” language.
I call these power words…
Words like:
- Great!
- Absolutely!
- Incredible!
- Brilliant!
And so on…
They’re strong, supportive words. And you let people know they deserve them whenever possible, rallying the troops as much as you can.
8) You are a team player and bring people together
Next up in the signs you’re a positive influence on others is that you’re a team player.
You focus on what can bring people together, instead of what can drive them apart.
You avoid gossip and polarizing topics and prefer to see the ways in which people can add value to each other.
In your personal and professional life, you prefer to bring folks together.
9) You are empathetic and others appreciate it
Empathy is a rare and much-appreciated quality that not many people have.
It’s different than sympathy, which is feeling sorry for somebody.
Unlike sympathy, empathy is the ability to understand and comprehend what somebody else is going through and be there for them.
If you’re empathetic and able to support people without any hint of being condescending, then you’re definitely a person who brings others up, especially during dark times.
True empathy is hard to find, and those who display it are always well received wherever they go, because of the positive qualities they bring to every situation.
10) You focus on people’s strengths, not weaknesses
Last and not least in the important signs you have an upbeat personality who ignites positivity in others is that you focus on strengths, not weaknesses.
When you look at a crowd of individuals, you see what’s right about them more than you see what’s wrong about them.
In your business and personal life, you highlight and emphasize the points that make people stand out in a positive way, rather than those shortcomings that they may have.
This leads to people feeling positive and inspired, since they feel recognized and valued by you.
Beating the blues
The blues come for all of us at times, and sometimes being sad and unmotivated is natural.
But it shouldn’t last forever!
Being one of those who’s able to ignite positivity and enthusiasm in others is a great gift.
Use it wisely and never forget your own power to change a situation for the better!
