Sphere of influence, 2

It was the middle of the day yesterday when I ran into my local grocery store to pick up a couple of things.  Apparently a lot of people had a similar idea.  As I said it was the middle of the day on a week day, so I was surprised to see there were a lot of people in the store and lines forming at the checkout.  Things moved slowly as only a handful of cashiers were open.  

The store manager, a diligent man whom I had seen many times pacing the floor making sure all was running smoothly, had noticed and called for more cashiers to open.  This took a couple of minutes but already people were starting to look around, fidget and one individual started grumbling out loud about how he should go to their competitor.  The effect this one person’s grumbling had was to raise the level of tension all along the checkout lines.  As cashiers opened people rushed to them without the decorum of yielding to the person next in line.  This led to some more grumbling and a woman cornering the manager warning him that she would expect a refund if her cream was spoiled because of the wait.  Needless to say, this raised the collective tension level exponentially.   

Here’s the important thing about your sphere of influence, it doesn’t exist in a vacuum.  Your actions and reactions will inevitably be brought to bear on those around you, for good or bad.  In other words, the grumblers succeeded in raising the anxiety level around them.  Conversely, had they remained calm, made light of the wait and kept the situation in perspective, they could have had a calming influence over those around them.

Bottom line, you are responsible for your sphere of influence.  You are responsible for your actions and reactions and the consequences, good or bad that come your way.  So if you don’t like what’s been coming your way lately, perhaps you should check your sphere of influence.