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There is great power in positivity. Positive people spread their energy throughout the world, through the things they say and the actions they take. The good news is that positivity is contagious. We would all do well to try our best to actively insert more positivity into our surroundings through our thoughts, words, and deeds.

After a recent cruise vacation, our family was asked to fill out a comment card, which offered us an opportunity to rate the level of service on our trip. We were able to specifically name 6 employees who helped to make our vacation great through their hard work, great attitudes, and abilities.

It was only after enjoying the opportunity to laud these hard workers and hopefully provide them with some recognition for their efforts, that a thought occurred to us about the nature of reviewing. In today’s world, especially with the preponderance of easy (and in some cases) anonymous reviews, so many reviews tend to be negative.

It only takes a quick browsing of a company’s social media page or a web forum to see that many people who take the time to write or speak their feelings about a business or service do so only after a bad experience. As a society we are quick to point out when we feel we have been slighted or not given our fair share, but how often do we put in the same time and energy to point out someone who did a great job, or went above and beyond to give us more than we bargained for?

The fact is that most reviews are either overwhelmingly positive or negative. This is because it takes time to write a review. Some people take the time to reward excellence with praise, but many who spend the required energy to review do so because they are upset, and hope that their negative message will get them something in return (like a discount or apology) and perhaps, make someone feel just as bad as they apparently did before writing their review.

It may take time to write a positive review or thank someone for a job well done, but it can go a long way to helping them feel better about themselves, and reward their hard work. Consider going out of your way to leave a positive review as a way to insert positivity into the world. Besides the good feeling it generates for you and the recipient of the review, it helps to engender an attitude where we spend more time focusing on things done right as models to emulate, as opposed to pointing out things done wrong, and examples to avoid.

Take this opportunity to discuss as a family ways that you can recognize those who have helped and served you. It is also a great opportunity to discover other ways to generate positive attitudes, and focus on the good in life.

For further discussion of moral questions related to online reviews, see our posts, “The Morality of Hotels Fining for Bad Reviews” and “Stay True to Your Online Review?”