Reaching for the Skies : The Power of Positive Influence

What kind of influence do you have on others?

Each day you bring the potential to influence other people whether it is positive or negative. Some of your impact on people may not be visible but one’s influence has power. Power is defined as the ability or capacity to do something or act in a particular way. It is highly important that you understand the power of your influence, for it has the potential to either build up or discourage someone. The minor aspects such as your facial expressions you portray and the words you utter may affect the nature of your social life.

As humans we must “Never underestimate the influence you have on others” Laurie Buchanan. As we have alluded, influence can be positive and negative.

Positive influence is the ability to uplift other people, and impact them to do the right things. For instance, we have a Malawian Professor Gregory Kamwendo, former Dean of the College of Education at the University of KwaZulu Natal. He was once told by his mentor that “When you dream, do not dream in black and white. Dream in colours.” Prof said these words of wisdom by his mentor kept him going to be where he is today. An African proverb reads “It takes a village to raise a child”. This is how Africans implement the power of positive influence. The Africans approach life from a sense of togetherness. We must always assist each other in order to become the best version of ourselves. We are our brother’s keeper.

Professor Gregory Kamwendo

Negative influence has with interactions that promote stagnancy, laziness, dishonesty, hate etc. Influence can also be passed on from generation to generation. A part of us believes that one of the reasons why the rich have remained rich and the poor have remained poor is because of the messages the young ones have received from their parents. The rich parents tell their young ones that the sky is the limit. The poor parents tell their young ones that their poor quality of life is all life has to offer. Once someone is negatively influenced, he or she loses focus and can end up in trouble. Today, we have people who were told that they were useless, and there would be absolutely nothing which they could do to end their misery; indeed their minds accumulated that perception about their lives. Negative influence affects the person in different ways, for example, he or she could fail to attain the best of him or herself because he was negatively influenced.

Let us share the story of the Motaung twins, Thuto and Tsepo. Thuto le Tsepo lost their parents at the age of six. They were taken to different foster parents. Thuto grew up and became a Medical Doctor whereas Tsepo ended up in jail. It is evident that Thuto had a positive influence around him which had a good impact in his future. Tsepo had a negative influence around him which had a negative impact in his future. Perhaps it is the different environment they grew up under. This story shows the power of influence. One can argue that a person’s personality is influenced by his background more than his environment; but again someone is allowed to differ on that aspect. Everyone has absolute power to determine his or her reality.

A scripture from the Bible reads ‘As a men thinks, so is he.’ Proverbs 23:7 Dr. John Tibane a speaker and author once said “Thoughts are like seeds they produce after their own kind”. We need to pay attention on what we allow our mind to entertain because it has power to determine who we become or how are we influenced. It also dictates how we influence other people. Chilling with pessimists will make you a pessimist. Spending time with optimists will make you an optimist. Mind your company. “Life becomes easier when you delete the negative people from it.” Ben Francia. Wisdom is an attribute that makes one to influence others positively; it will also guide him or her to only entertain positive influences. Wisdom is the answer.

There are different ways to positively influence people:

Firstly, choose to see good in other people, avoid criticizing people. If you have to criticize people go for what people call constructive criticism. Your comments to other people should build them up.

Secondly, have manners when addressing issues or situations. The first thing you say to someone sets the tone of the conversation. Your approach when resolving conflicts will determine whether a solution is found or the situation will deteriorate.

We can never talk about positive influence without mentioning positive thinking. Positive thinking also has power because it denotes that one must focus on expecting positive outcomes from life. Yes, it is possible that one may be influenced by somebody but everybody possesses the ability choose his or her thoughts. It is recommendable that everybody finds the strength to think positive regardless of the influence around them.

Your behaviour and how you treat others today will either open or close doors for you tomorrow. People you have influenced positively will never forget you. You are in their good books. People you have influenced negatively do not have any good thing to say about you. You are in their bad books. Make people to be always looking forward towards interacting with you. Remember in the end, we only regret the chances we did not take.

May God’s Grace and light shine on you!

Writers: S, Mpungose; M, Xaba & M, Thabana.