Last week was about bike riding and being brave.  This week we are going to talk about kids as petri dishes and being contagious.

I am sooooooo thankful that summer is here.  As a parent to two young girls, Alice (7) and Violet (5), I feel that during the winter months kids are essentially walking petri dishes.  As soon as winter comes my entire family is in a constant state of being sick.  My children have an uncanny ability to capture and share germs with anyone and everyone within a 50 mile radius.  Alice will catch something and pass it around, and then Violet will catch something new and pass it around.  Meanwhile, we are cooped up in the house, tired, feeling crummy, and irritated with each other.  Dealing with sick kids during the winters is one of the sucky parts of parenting.  It’s a bit of an unavoidable part of life.  Kids are just more susceptible to things, and I swear all kids are contagious.  If you understand what I’m saying, can I get an amen?  (See the picture.  You probably see a girl enjoying herself.  I see that too, but I also see someone gathering germs to bring home😉)

You might be wondering how this connects with work.  When I talked about my kids I talked about them being contagious with regards to physical illness.  I also believe that emotions and attitudes are contagious.  They are powerful like a virus, spreading fast, infiltrating every nook and cranny of a team or a culture. 

Have you ever witnessed this on a team you’ve been on?  Maybe you’ve worked with someone whose positive attitude always managed to inspire hope in any situation.  I know I have.  There are people that I love bumping into because, I know that merely seeing them and chatting with them for a few seconds will fill me with energy, laughter, sunshine, wisdom, and so much more.  These are the people I try to spend most of my time with.  Maybe you’ve been on the team with the person who was always so negative that it seemed to spread and taint everything.  All it took was one person spreading those negative germs to turn the culture into something that is toxic, causing countless hours of swirl and frustration.  I’ve been in this situation too, trying to quarantine that person and their vibes away from everything.   If emotions are contagious, we are the carriers.  Unlike being stuck with a disease, we can choose our outlook.  We can choose our attitude.  We can choose to be a virus for good.

The challenge:  You’re contagious.  What kind of vibes are you spreading?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry