“Learn to speak kind words.  Nobody resents them.”

 Carl Rowan, Syndicated Columnist

 I have a 5-year-old son. As a parent, I’m always looking for ways to be both a better parent and a better person. Last year, I read something that touched my heart and my mind. My heart because it caused me to be self-reflective on how I interacted and communicated with my son.  My mind because it was simple but deep. Deep in the sense that I could see how I could apply what I read to my life personally and professionally.

With that said, I’d like to share what I read, which on the surface is about the positive or negative impact that a parent can have on a child based on how they communicate and interact with their child.

Beneath the surface though, we can get a greater meaning. . . It’s also about the power of one. The power of one person deciding what type of impact that they want to have in their interactions and communications with those in their lives:

“If a child lives in criticism, he learns to condemn; if a child lives with fear, he learn to hate; if  a child lives with pity, he learns to feel sorry for himself; if a child lives with praise, he learns to be appreciative; if a child lives with acceptance, he learns to love; if a child lives with honesty, he learns truth; if a child lives with sincerity, he learns to have faith; if a child lives with love, he learns that the world is a wonderful place in which to live.” (Source – Dennis Kimbro, Author of “Daily Motivations for African-American Success”)

After reading this, I thought to myself, “When I interact and communicate with others each day, what am I teaching them to “live with?”  Am I providing positivity or am I allowing the not so positive things that can sometimes happen in my life to create negative experiences for those who share my life, my space.  Am I taking responsibility for my actions and reactions when I have not exhibited the best of me to those in my world? What can I start doing now to create positive communications and experiences for those that I interact with?

What can you do to create positive interactions and communications with your co-workers and those you see daily or regularly? What’s in your control? For the next 30 days, can you pledge to be positive in how you interact and communicate with others? If everyone on your work team and/or your personal life committed to be positive for the next 30 days, what difference would that make in your daily work experience… what difference would that make in your world?