John McWade posted an article to LinkedIn recently about Uber’s new branding design. John is one of the most talented graphic designers I’ve ever seen. He has an uncanny ability to take complex designs and simplify them.
In the article, John mentioned the negative press that Uber has received about the design change. He writes, “Negativity, no matter what form it takes…means to negate, to bring to nothing. It is the antithesis of creativity…It requires nothing of the critic — no vision, no skill, no toil — the obvious corollary being that nothing happens. Does he want to make things better, or is he content to poison the air?”
Recent incident
I can’t help but think of a recent incident where I responded to a member’s question. Without thinking, I gave some poor advice. I apologized and corrected the information as soon as someone brought it to my attention. It was the “bringing to my attention” that stuck with me, though.
You see, a painter brought it to my attention by posting a cartoon and ridiculing my advice. He closed his comment by stating that if you want good advice you should ask a professional. In this case, that would be him a twenty-year old T-Shirt vendor.
Choices
I thought about the different ways he could have responded. He could have contacted us (we have communicated via email many times) and informed us of our mistake. He could have corrected the information by replying to the post. He could even have written an article answering the question and posted it to his own site. Instead, he chose the path of negativity and ridicule. In short, as John says in the article, he brought nothing to the table. He added nothing to the conversation.
Look…I’m not crying in my beer. I was a door-to-door salesman for over twenty years before I retired. I experienced enough rejection and negativity to last anyone two lifetimes. As a result of that sales experience, I developed a different perspective on negativity than most folks have.
Perspective
Perhaps, negativity is a sign you’re headed down the wrong path. Perhaps, it’s a way for you to realize you need to rethink how you are approaching people in the first place. Maybe, it’s nothing more than God telling you that you need to pay attention to what’s happening around you. The point is, when you get perspective on negativity, you begin to see beyond the event itself and into what the event is trying to teach you.
Some negative events are inconsequential and you can ignore them. (For example, the guy at the ice cream shop gives you rum raisin, instead of pistachio almond ice cream.) Other events, though, need a bit more introspection. You’ll know which is which depending on the depth of the “sting” or hurt. The more the negativity “stings”, the more you need to pay attention to what the event is trying to teach you.
Opportunity
The next time negativity smacks you in the face, take a deep breath. Calm down and ask, “What’s the lesson here?” Recognize the opportunity to turn a negative experience into a learning experience. YOU can bring something to the table, even if negativity brings nothing to the table.
It’s all about mindset, isn’t it?
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