Don’t be an Eeyore, Bounce like a Tigger
If you are a leader, a coach, a teacher, a partner, a parent, pretty much any phase of life, you must be able to shut out the Eeyore attitude and wear the Tigger cape.
Growing up I was a Winnie the Pooh fan. Most of us were I would venture to say if you fall in or around my age bracket. The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh was my jam from the ages of four to seven when it aired.
I would also assume that you all know Winnie the Pooh and the characters found inside the pages and in the cartoons, with two of the prominent characters being Eeyore, our faithful Donkey, and Tigger, the energetic “one of kind” stuffed Tiger.
Thinking we are on the same page here with character identification, I will say this very clearly and simply—don’t be an Eeyore, bounce like a Tigger in life and in your business, always.
I realize that we all have Eeyore in us from time to time, and that’s ok. It’s ok to have a melancholy day, think and feel through a sad or depressing situation and truly hit all points of the emotional spectrum. After all, we were created that way—to feel. Both the good and the bad. You can’t recognize wins without understanding loss, so it all tracks here.
If you are a leader, a coach, a teacher, a partner, a parent, pretty much any phase of life, you must be able to shut out the Eeyore attitude and wear the Tigger cape.
For leadership this is a no-brainer. In my previous post Culture: Why it Matters I speak to leadership and how your culture comes from the top down. Being energetic, having courage and belief in yourself, teams and mission is a must. It’s the only way to form a strong and viable culture.
There will be bad days. There will be things that go wrong, usually daily. How you address those problems and stand tall for your teams, friends, co-workers, partner or kids is critical. Again, it is ok to feel, it’s not ok to make yourself ineffective because of emotion.
We all know the Eeyore types that bring problems to every scenario and every solution. Albert Einstein famously said “Stay away from negative people. They have a problem for every solution.” Think about that. Think about when you have been the problem and solutions didn’t matter. How did it affect those around you, and better yet how did it affect you personally?
I will climb out on a limb and say that it served you and your sphere of influence terribly.
The other side of this coin is how to deal with negatives in your life that you can’t change. Surely you have co-workers or others that are always in Eeyore mode. There is always a negative happening in their life or in how they view the immediate future. They are the gossipers, the passive-aggressive types that say, “well I am ok with it, but Jim won’t be.”
When you can’t change them or their thinking, limit exposure as often as possible. Bounce around them like Tigger but don’t get bogged down in the bullshit. Anyone who takes an “I can’t” or an “I won’t” stance is a failure and a cancer to your culture and attitude. Most often those are tough or impossible patterns to change or fix.
These people will exist. When they do match the negative energy with positive approaches. Work to create at minimum a net zero environment. It is easy to accept failure, recognize issues and sit in the “I told you so” seat.
It is hard and arduous to lead from example, create a culture of growth and push yourself and those around you beyond boundaries that have been previously set by yourself or standards that get in the way.
You must have balance, the yin and yang if you will. Understanding that you set your tone and approach is the fastest way to bring about positive change. Being an Eeyore won’t get you there, it will grind you and your projects to a hard halt. Being a Tigger will provide the energy and positivity to keep it flowing.
On Tigger’s Wikipedia page it describes the character as being “Cheerful, outgoing, competitive in a friendly way, and has complete confidence in himself.”
There are times we may remember Tigger as being a bit outlandish and sometimes exaggerating his moments of glory, but his Wiki page goes on to point out that his claim that Tigger’s “never get lost” is confirmed by his ability to hunt down Rabbit in the forest despite a thick fog hiding the trail in the featured film Winnie the Pooh and Tigger too.
Don’t let the foggy trail and others seeming doubt or lack of a plan change your mission or divert you from your goal.
Embrace being the Tigger and avoid being the Eeyore, you will bounce higher and further than you ever imagined.
