One day recently, a contact of mine who I had been giving advice to told me about an episode involving a close friend of his. It turns out, my contact’s acquaintance worked for a manufacturing group in India in a technical position. The friend is supposedly an emotional person, and had been upset because he was not appreciated by his superiors. He was constantly complaining that he was not getting his due recognition, and therefore had been threatening to resign from the company.
Fortunately, the cooler head of my contact prevailed when he convinced his friend to take a day off to consider the matter further. He also asked him to shift his attitude from hostility and bitterness to having positive thoughts and feelings towards his superiors and the organization as a whole.
Well it turned out that the very next day, my contact learned that his friend had suddenly and most unexpectedly received a bonus of 4.85 Laks (~2000 US dollars, a substantial sum in India) from the company! It was a stunning development, and a sure sign of the phenomenon of life response at work. Equally remarkable was the fact that he garnered the sum during the current world economic crisis when salaries were being decreased and people laid off.
When I read the story, I commented to my contact that neutralizing a negative attitude will always evoke a positive response. Moreover, if one goes a step further and turns negativity into positive goodwill, as the friend did here, then the response can be overwhelming.
Several weeks later, I received another note indicating that there was an update to the story. My contact wrote that he implored his friend to continue his inner effort of inner goodwill towards his manager, the CEO, and the organization; and once again, which the friend again took it up in full. The friend then called the contact back to tell him that another miracle had taken place. It turns out that he was suddenly and most unexpectedly asked by the CEO of the company to make a major presentation. Not only was it successful, but it was very much appreciated by his manager. Thus, he had now made a 180-degree turnaround from bitterness and feeling underappreciated to garnering full recognition by his superiors!
In this case, we see how one individual showed inner courage by following the sage advice of his friend, thereby turning around a negative situation to its complete opposite. That same power is of course available to each of us. All we have to do is determine where we are expressing a wanting attitude, and then make an effort to neutralize it, or better yet turn it into its opposite. When we do, we too will experience a miraculous-like outcome. Moreover, if we take to this approach on a regular basis, miracles will be our constant companion.
Keep in mind that the solution to the overwhelming majority of problems we encounter is inward, not outward. When we shift our emotions away from insecurity, ranker, and bitterness, we align with and attract the most positive of conditions. And if we go a step further and turn those feelings into their complete opposite – e.g. from resentment to active, positive good will -- then we attract conditions that simply overwhelm, as was the case of the friend who saw his deepest aspirations in his work life fulfilled.
--Roy Posner 16:59, 15 February 2009 (UTC)
See also other Case Studies on Life Response
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