I Choose to Lift Up Everyone Around Me.

In a recent episode of the television show Friday Night Lights, Coach Taylor talks to Jason Street. He tells him “You lift up everyone around you.” That was quite possibly the subtlest, yet most powerful scene I’ve ever seen on TV. It called to me and made me realize the person I want to become: someone who lifts up everyone around me.

Friday Night Lights is one of the best shows on TV. It’s the story of high school football in a small Texas town. The characters include Coach Eric Taylor, his family, the football players, the students of the school, the high school boosters, and the entire town of Dillon, Texas. If you’re not watching this show, you are seriously missing out--no football knowledge or fan-dom required.

The show began with star quarterback Jason Street getting injured and partially paralyzed in a football game. Throughout season 1, the team learns to deal without their star player and they eventually do well. Meanwhile, Jason learns to deal with going from star quarterback to town mascot in a wheelchair who can barely lift a fork to feed himself.

Jason eventually becomes an assistant coach for the football team giving valuable insight to the backup, and now, first-string quarterback.

In the relevant seasons 2 episode, Jason decides to quit coaching. He speaks to (Head) Coach Taylor about quitting and Taylor tells him “The coach and the players, they learn from each other, it goes both ways. You lift up everyone around you. That's a powerful gift to earn.”

You ever notice that some people are just easy to be around and some people are really difficult to be with? Some people naturally bring everyone up, they make everything easier and more enjoyable, they make everyone feel better about themselves. Meanwhile there are people who just naturally bring the entire group down. They bring a dark cloud of negativity wherever they go.

I choose to raise everyone up.

Step one: stop complaining unless it will actually do good and then propose what should be done. You can say “This sucks,” but always follow it with “Let’s go and do _____” Always have an idea of what to do and don’t get mad or complain if people don’t follow it.

Step two: acknowledge when someone has or is doing a good job. See the good in everything even if it requires creativity and imagination. Don’t be afraid to say "thank you" or “wow that was awesome”.

Step three: at the same time, don’t be a pushover. Be loud an assertive like an alpha male. If you have good ideas and assert them, people will listen.

Step four: always remember the positive experiences from everything. Remembering the good things will help you become internally congruent with your positive vibe.