If you’re like most people, that simple title has you feeling at least a few trepidations. Don’t feel bad, that puts you in good company. Sometimes the hardest challenges we face are the challenges we face when we are facing ourselves. Looking at ourselves in the mirror and honestly asking the question “Am I helping to keep the flow going, or am I stopping the flow?” is a very difficult, yet rewarding thing to do.
It isn’t that difficult to keep the positive energy flowing. Most of us have seen the e-mail versions of missives that guarantee good luck in so many days if you send the thing off to at least so many people in such and such a time. Then there are those of the same ilk that tell us if we don’t immediately send the darned thing out to all of our friends we’re going to get a bunch of bad luck arriving at our doorstep. These missives play on our inner desire to be contributors to positive energy streams! I’m not asking you to start a chain e-mail. I’m not asking you to call and tell ten friends. What I am asking is that you look inside to see if you are keeping the positive energy flowing, or are you “positive energy dam?”
Take, for example, how one accepts a compliment. Although we all like being told nice things about ourselves, many of us have difficulty accepting the compliment. This is not surprising since in order to accept a compliment and take it to heart you have to believe in yourself and that you are worthy of that compliment (or, better yet, allow that compliment to carry your belief in yourself to a higher level). However, when we accept a compliment for what it is “an expression of praise, admiration, or congratulation” (American Heritage Dictionary) we are consciously stating that we are worthy of the same. This is where many have difficulty accepting the positive energy of the compliment and being able to allow that positive energy to flow further.
We have either uttered them ourselves, or heard them repeated by others; the quick and easy passing off of a compliment paid. Statements like “Oh, this old thing?” or “you must have bad eyesight” not only degrade the recipient, but they do not honor the positive energy flow created by the kind words of the compliment. Think of it this way, when someone pays you a compliment, they “generate” a positive energy flow with their words. When that positive energy flow reaches you, you have two choices. You can accept the positive energy and pass it on by accepting the compliment with good graces and no second guesses (a simple “thank you” or “I’m glad you noticed”), or, you can turn the positive energy into a negative flow by pe-shawing the compliment away.
Once you receive that positive energy, it bubbles, it grows, it glows; and you can’t help but pass it on. You compliment another person, you step in and lend a hand to someone in need, and you go home in a great mood and spend quality time with the ones you love. Each of these actions literally pass on the positive energy, and the coolest thing about it is that, like those lines of names on the internet petitions that make the circuits, the energy gains “weight” and becomes stronger!
So, the next time you’re embarrassed because someone complimented you. Remember to keep the positive energy flowing! Say thanks and then add to it and pass that positive energy on.
