3 Ways to Slay Eeyore Vampires
May 12, 2024
Your stomach churns when they walk in the door.
Your blood pressure goes up as you see their name on caller ID.
You groan when their email arrives.
Regardless of whether it’s a customer, team member, or boss, they are all the same: negative people at work.
They all go by the same name—Eeyore Vampire.
“Eeyore” because like the storybook character, “It’ll never work” is their mantra.
“Vampire” because once the sun goes down and you leave work, “Eeyore” morphs into mental, dark shadows that suck your time, energy, and attention away from your family and friends.
We all have Eeyore Vampires at work. The question is, “How do we deal with them without becoming one ourselves?”
Here are 3 Ways to Slay Eeyore Vampires:
Focus like Garlic
Begin your day with a dose of high-flavor positivity. Listen to upbeat, positive lyric tunes. Read a litany of positive quotes or a chapter of an encouraging book.
You hardwire your brain for success and tap your motivation to achieve the positive regardless of how many Eeyore Vampires you encounter that day.
Eeyore Vampires detest it when you focus. They’re looking for someone to validate their miserable existence. Their lives suck.
Just as a little garlic flavors an entire dish, a little positivity lights up your entire day. Mix positivity in your daily attitude as you focus like garlic.
Filter like Holy Water
Expect Eeyore Vampires to waltz into your day consistently. Be ready to douse them with filtered holy water.
Filter your encounters by expediting the experience as quickly as possible. Refuse to be held captive. Prevent their pessimistic words and negative attitude from passing through your emotional filter. Trap them.
Holy means “set apart.” See yourself as resistant to the bite of negativity, above their reach.
Water is life-giving instead of life-sucking. Reverse their negative effects.
Choose to be impervious to the negativity. Observe the misery without participating.
Filter like holy water.
Find a Stake
Jim Rohn was correct—you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.
Got an Eeyore Vampire in that group? Stake him in the heart.
Be an active stakeholder in meaningful relationships with positive people. Give positivity to receive it.
When you experience an Eeyore Vampire, immediately message or call a positive friend. Drive the negative experience home quickly with your friend. Then move on to relate a counter-balancing Work Positive engagement. Watch as the Eeyore Vampire’s influence disappears.
Sure, we all experience Eeyore Vampires at work.
Choose to create a Work Positive culture as you focus like garlic, filter like holy water, and find a stake.
Three more ways to create a positive work culture that attracts top talent, reduces team turnover and increases productivity and profits!
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