Influential Power

It's amazing how much influence and power you have, or can be given. Some of this power, however, may be positive, or more harmful than you realize.

I was reminded of influential power just the other day when I jokingly remarked to a colleague that all they seemed to do throughout the day was eat. The response from my colleague, "You are going to give me a complex", reawakened my thinking that some of us can negatively influence people without even being aware that we are doing so.

As another example, take a simple facial expression, a smile, and a one-word greeting, 'hello'. It is astounding how much impact this simple greeting can have on a work colleague or friend, or to a total stranger when you pass them on the street. A simple smile and an hello can do wonders for someone's spirit who may be a little down at the moment, feeling a bit unappreciated, or feeling all alone with their own issues or concerns.

Three points need to be made here.

First, is that you cannot influence others unless they give you the power to do so because we all have a choice.

Second, we can choose to be influenced or affected by others or their actions, or we can choose not to. Just like you can lead a horse to water, you cannot make it drink unless it wants to.

And, third, some of what we may consider to be our most innocent actions or lack of actions can help or hinder.