Have fun with me for a moment. Imagine every time you had a negative thought…he’s such a jerk, that will never work, etc., you emitted a foul smell. Just for a second, but long enough to remind you it was negative. Now imagine everyone had the same affliction, they were stinky when they were thinking something unproductive or angry.
OK, now imagine a Monday morning meeting, what kind of odor do you think you might smell?
And, what if you were the deodorizer? You could auto correct yourself every time you started to think something that wouldn’t serve you well. You would keep the air clean and fresh, regardless of what type of odorous thoughts the rest of your team, family or friends might be thinking.
Interesting concept isn’t it? It came from Roger von Oech’s Creative Whack Pack, designed to help us use right-brain ideas to become more whole-brain thinkers. And it’s a great reminder our thoughts are contagious and have a tremendous impact on ourselves and others, we usually just can’t smell the negative ones!
