Garbage In, Garbage Out

Recently at one of the investor groups I’m a part of, I heard a very interesting analogy that I thought I would like to share with everyone. It revolves around the idea of how positive input leads to positive output. Obviously, this in and of itself isn’t groundbreaking news – programmers have said for years – “Garbage in, Garbage out” meaning that you will get no useful output if your input is no good to begin with. Well, according the person who shared this with the group, originally it came from Donald Trump, who spoke at a sales conference last week. This is what he had to say.

Your mind is like a clear glass of water. When a glass is filled with clean and clear water you can see right through it. You have vision, insight, you can see exactly what’s in it. But what if that glass had muddy water in it? Now things are unclear – you cannot see through it. No vision. No clarity. This is much like our mind when it is filled with negativity. Negativity can blind us, and keep us from thinking clearly. It can make it more difficult to envision solutions. Negativity can come in many forms - whether it is bad news on TV every day, or people who complain and bring others down, or even people lamenting about the commercialism of Christmas. Everyday there are several opportunities to get exposed to negative energy, and when it happens, our minds absorb it and we become like a muddy glass of water. With so much negative input, how are we supposed to espouse positive energy? The answer is, you don’t.

But, what happens if you take a pitcher of clear water and keep pouring it into the muddied glass? Eventually, the clean water flushes out the dirty water and the glass is again clean and clear. This is what we need to do with our own lives. We need to replace negative energy with positive by avoiding that which muddies the water and surround ourselves with positive people and motivating situations. Even if we are already full of negative energy, we can still flush it out with some good positive input.

So what are some ways to avoid the negative and fill up with the positive? First off – wean yourself off of the news which follows the old adage “if it bleeds it leads” – definitely a pool of toxicity. This doesn’t mean to avoid the news altogether and put your head in the sand. Look at the morning news as it relates to what you do – for example local real estate trends or new laws regarding property management, but don’t get caught up in the negativity of politics or bad news overseas. There are many things that are simply out of our control and to let ourselves get too caught up in it is to lead ourselves down a path of frustration. Stay away from negative people – you know the type- they hate their life, they hate their job, the sky is falling, the country is falling apart, and Christmas isn’t what it was when they were kids. Focus instead on people you like to be around, people that make you feel good. Do activities that bring you happiness or get involved in helping others. Nothing gets the serotonin going like doing something helpful for others less fortunate. Smile often. Get outside more – being outdoors and exposed to sunlight helps raise serotonin levels also. Award yourself for your small victories as well as your bigger ones to keep the momentum going. Whatever it is that makes you feel better as a person – do more of it. Be the clear glass of water and overflow with positive energy, not only for yourself, but to help fill other’s cups as well.