POSITIVELY CONTAGIOUS

The Swine Flu is not the only thing you catch in a locker room. Turns out you are just as likely to catch someone’s bad mood and negative attitude. Yes, the latest research demonstrates what we’ve all known to be true, that emotions are contagious. Researchers call them emotional contagions and they impact our practice environment, productivity, teamwork, and performance in significant and profound ways.

As we know all too well, one negative player can pollute an entire team and create a toxic environment. One negative leader can make practices miserable for her team. A player in a bad mood can turn off the energy in a practice or game. Complaining can act like a cancer and spread throughout the entire team and eventually destroy the teams vision and goals. And negative attitudes can sabotage the morale and performance of a team with great talent and potential.

That’s the bad news... but there’s also good news.

Positive emotions are just as contagious as negative emotions. One positive leader can rally a group of willing people to accomplish amazing things. One positive-minded player can positively infect every player on the team. One positive team member can slowly but surely improve the mood and moral of her team. And pervasive positive attitudes and emotions at practice can fuel the morale and performance of any team.

You are not just a creation of your team’s culture but rather you are creating it every day through your thoughts, beliefs and actions. What you think matters. How you feel matters. And the energy you share with others, whether it’s positive or negative, really matters.

You can be negatively contagious or positively contagious. You can be a germ and attack your team’s immune system or you can act like a dose of Vitamin C and strengthen it.

You are not an island unto yourself. You are forever contagious and you and your emotions impact the world around you.

(thanks Jon Gordon)