October 22. Encouragement And Discouragement Ratio.

As leaders, we sometimes use measurements to determine if our team is being productive. Ratios are common tools to evaluate if a deployed strategy is working. If you see that your customers are five positive ones compared to one negative, you might be more concerned than when they were five to three.

But what ratios affect our team? Are you aware that our brains are wired and built with five times the number of neurons dedicated to the negative compared to the positive? Our brains are wired to act like Teflon to the positive and Velcro to the negative. What words are we using with our team?

This ratio exhibits why people want to be appreciated and just how often they need to hear it. Your team members may not get the positive reinforcement anywhere else in their life so we might be well advised to change that ratio. If our team is associated with the higher ratio, it makes sense that our members would feel more attached.

Do you want your team to experience the lowest positive effect of any area of their life with you? We likely want our members to have a positive effect on other areas as well as to have a positive effect by working with our team?

Perhaps being a member on your team is what creates the positive and encouragement that drives all the rest. What do you want your team to create in you? Do you want to be negatively impacted, brought down, and discouraged?

If being on your team does not have an impact on the positive and encouraging side of the spectrum then maybe some shifts, and adjustments could be considered.

As brothers and sisters in Christ, we live in a broken world. We all fall short sometimes but our brains do not need something to be broken to find something negative to absorb our focus. Those negative neurons are always busy.

But thankfully we have the most positive gift ever received to live with. That gift is Jesus Christ. We read, “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NLT.

Look at the power that has been given to us. The Bible is teaching us how important these thoughts are, but modern research is supporting it as well. We are being asked to concentrate and bring attention to the positive. Consider how much joy our own brains are keeping us from when they focus on survival and the negative.

Where can you insert into your daily routine a place for the positive? It might be that you create a positive focus session at the end of your day. Maybe you might start your day with one. These are certainly worth our consideration and the faster we implement it for our faith, home, and teams the better.

We are what we think so why not think positive? What is the first thing that you can do about it in the next seven days?

Let us pray, Heavenly Father, you are the Master of all the math and ratios that we ever might uncover. Awaken our minds to the best ratio of all, one Savior for all time. Strengthen our resolve to move from negative thought ratios to a positive thought ratio. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen,