What You Transmit, You Receive

Do you believe in the law of attraction? I do.

This morning, I was in a great mood walking Mickey, my Irish Setter. I’d had a great night’s sleep. I appreciated a little spot of bright blue in the grey Portland sky. We paused with other dog walkers to watch tugboats in the river turn a giant ship laden with grain and point it towards the Pacific.

During our walk, a pretty yoga instructor came outside her studio to pet Mickey. A friendly construction worker nodded good morning, and a barista said she liked my shirt.

Compare that to the previous day, when I had been surprised by some disappointing news and I let it get me down. I was in a foul mood. All day I felt as if clouds of dull, murky water weighed down my heart and muted my headspace.

And all that day, everyone behaved strangely. I held the door for some people at the gym and they looked at me like I was a psychopath. I greeted a woman I know in the park and she barely grunted an acknowledgement back. Two jerks cut in front of me at the bar as I tried to order a Stumptown Porter.

Does your inner state cause a reaction in the people around you?

I keep going back to one of the best management courses I ever took at Wake Forest University, where our instructor emphasized that “you must manage internally before attempting to manage others.”

Since then I have noticed that any time I feel clear, free of anxiety and open, random strangers approach me and every interaction that I have with every person goes well.

Whatever you are thinking and feeling is transmitted outwards. Maybe it’s body language, micro-expressions, spiritual vibe, or tone of voice. No matter how good of an actor you are, people do sense and respond to your inner state instinctually.

This week, experiment with taking care of what is going on inside of you. Do what you can to be in a calm, content state and you will notice a reaction from your audience, coworkers, friends, family and strangers.

Photo credit: Flickr.com/photos/mori-arty/