Tone

I have been thinking recently about tone and how it affects those around us. I am not talking about tone in regard to music, but rather in regard to character and mannerisms; also in regard to what people say. I know it is common, and might even be the cultural norm in many cases, for us (human beings) to focus on the negatives in a situation. I include myself fully in this generalization. That being said I know it is a generalization and will not necessarily be true for you, the reader, specifically.

My thoughts recently have mostly been directed toward a few different specific groups: my work environment, the media, and introspectively to myself.

Like many other companies, our sales are down this fiscal year at work. However, I hear often from management that we will be down 20% at the end of the (fiscal) year. The tone of this suggests to me and my fellow employees that no matter what we do we will be down 20%; management has already decided that is the magic number. With this information why should we try to work harder? Knowing that our sales are down tells each of us that our yearly bonus will be down. The sad thing is many of my fellow employees have just accepted this as fact instead of speculation. Sad. I might suggest having a positive attitude and encouraging those who stand out as a highlight in sales that month. Instead of pointing out the doom and gloom, point out the positives. For 2009 we might be 20% behind 2008, but keep in mind we were 35% ahead of 2007. The current economic climate is not a death sentence; rather it is an overall general view of the country and does not specifically apply to all corporations. Setting a positive tone in the work environment not only inspires employees to do good work, it also motivates employees to come to work every day and to look forward to the success of the company. Who here looks forward to going to work daily? I sure don’t. In fact there are days when I wake up and think “I cannot face another day with _______ sitting outside my door.” I actually really like what I do for a living and look forward to doing a good job; what I do not look forward to is some of my fellow employees and the cultural environment of the workplace. It is negative.

I have to say first of all in regard to the media, just to get it off my chest, that not everything is a controversy; not everything needs to be reported; not everything is news. I am not oblivious to the idea that a celebrity gives up a certain amount of privacy in exchange for his or her celebrity status. But when did we become the people who ignore our work and head to the conference room to watch an athlete apologize publicly for his private behavior? When did we become a society that when we hear a wife of 2 is missing we automatically assume her husband killed her? When Team USA beat Team Canada in hockey it was not a controversy, rather it was a good game. I think sometimes that the media no longer reports the news but rather commentates individual views as if it were fact. Again, this is a generalization. Good news media should have an equal mix of inspiring and discouraging news reports. The tone does not always have to be negative nor do we have to focus on the negative for a long time. For example, it was a shock and tragedy when Michael Jackson died; but I do not think it was a story worthy of 24 hour news coverage for weeks.

With this in mind I look inside to find a solution because I am tired of the negative that seems to be around me most of the day. With so much negative, how does one find peace and inspiration? I have made a decision to be more self-conscious about my tone and attitude. I fully believe that no one can be positive and happy all the time; but a concerted effort to be happy and positive is a good first step. I find that I complain at work or about work a lot. While I may have things to complain about, I can make a conscious effort to push aside the negative things and focus on the positives. For example: I have a job! I make decent money doing something I enjoy.

I decide if I allow a coworker or manager to upset me with their tone and negativity. I decide if I am affected by the negative media or if I can hear the news and not be brought down by it. Being serious about a topic is fine, not everything needs to be funny and lighthearted (I heard a joke today by a coworker that was not funny and even though she was laughing it had a negative tone to the punch line.) I believe it is time to start lifting one another up again and finding the good in humankind; find something to lift rather than tear down. Find a reason to cheer for life; find a reason to live, rather than merely exist.

I tend to feel this way during the Olympics every two years or so; when I see the best in people from around the world. When I can see people win not because of degree of difficulty, but rather because of the degree of excellence in execution. These feelings generally fade for me after the Olympics end but this time I am determined to carry it on.