Skip to main content

The Most Deadly Disease

In this episode: The Most Deadly Disease . . .


Criticisms, constant complaining, and derogatory comments about fellow co-workers. While working retail, I repeatedly heard remarks like this: “You can’t imagine how miserable it is working with these clowns.”

Admit it, you’ve caught yourself sharing the misery of your “difficult co-workers” with other people on break, at lunch, before or after work. It’s been said, “Misery loves company.” Don’t join the crowd.

Zig Ziglar called it stinkin’ thinkin’ - boy, was he right on!

Did you know the most deadly disease on Earth is not COVID-19, although, right now, it may seem that way?

It’s Hardening of the Attitudes.

Thankfully there is a way to reverse this destructive tendency. It’s a simple daily process. Author Ken Blanchard shares the secret in many of his parables, “Catch people doing something right.”

Did you pick out the keyword in the previous statement? Simple. However, I must warn you it’s not easy. This takes a concerted effort on your part.

What’s the process, you ask? Three manageable steps:

Step one: Send a thank you note, a smile, or an emoji in a text. It’s those little things that make a big difference. Take action now. When you act,  you will reshape your habits and your attitude.

Step two: Find something constructive and positive to say the next time you talk about anyone with a friend or fellow worker.

Step three: Right now, catch yourself doing something right. My guitar instructor calls it - Today’s Small Win. 

Robert Schuller put it this way, “Inch-by-inch, its a cinch.”

Then as you walk away from any conversation, stop - take a minute - pat yourself on the back, and consider how good it feels to build up others and, most importantly yourself.

I’m convinced, as Zig Ziglar always said, “When you treat people exactly like you see them, you get the results you expect.”

So why not expect the best!

I’m Patrick Ball; thanks for listening. See you in the next episode . . .

Comments

Most Popular of All Time

Resurrecting the '90s Graphite

Let’s face it, there’s a certain danger in reading John Gierach's Trout Bum . His wit, self-deprecation, and sharp, effortless satire are entirely infectious. If you aren't careful, his words will inspire you to drop everything, wade into a freezing river, and try to outsmart a creature with a brain the size of a lentil. In my case, re-reading Gierach recently didn't send me straight to the river. It sent me digging through the dusty, spider-guarded corners of my garage. In the early 1990s, seeking a natural escape from Manhattan's concrete canyons, I decided to learn to cast a fly rod. I bought an Orvis Rocky Mountain —eight-and-a-half feet, three ounces, built for a five-weight line—and had absolutely no idea how to use it. To avoid aimlessly whipping the water like scrambling eggs, I took fly-fishing lessons from Al Cucci, co-author of Hatches , on the Delaware River. With his guidance, I fished renowned waters: the AuSable in New York and Michigan, and New Jersey...

From Mailbox to Microphone

In this episode, catching up with Sierra . What happens when you combine a little imagination, modern digital tools, and the willingness to make a glorious, muddy mess? You get our guest’s latest project. I’m Patrick Ball. Welcome back to On the Fly . Today, we are diving into the world of native plants and guerrilla gardening with twelve-year-old creator Sierra. After watching her impressive, self-produced tutorial on how to make ‘Seed Balls,’ I had to know how she did it. It’s incredibly inspiring to watch Sierra evolve from a young artist wielding crayons and stationery into a savvy digital creator. She’s writing scripts, mastering voiceovers, and editing—all to make a positive, green impact on her local community. “She shoots, she scores, and she’s here to tell us all about it.” Please welcome Sierra to On the Fly ! Let’s get into it. Audio interview . . . For more blog posts showcasing Sierra’s talents, see: The Mailbox Surprise . . . and The Summer Surprise I’m Patrick Ball. Sta...

The AI Debate Was Settled in 1954

In this episode, what a 70-year-old sci-fi mystery teaches us. Welcome back to On the Fly. I’ve been looking for a clear way to explain how we should be handling Artificial Intelligence today. I finally found the answer hidden in a book I just finished. The twist? It was written more than seventy years ago. Isaac Asimov's The Caves of Steel was published in 1954, when a computer filled an entire room, consumed enough electricity to dim the neighborhood, and had roughly the computing power of today's microwave. Yet Asimov set his story nearly 3,000 years in the future—a world where humanity lives in sprawling enclosed cities (New York) and depends on advanced technology for nearly every aspect of daily life. The remarkable part isn't how much of the technology he imagined. It's how accurately he predicted us. In Asimov's future, society struggles with the introduction of highly sophisticated humanoid robots powered by "positronic brains." Naturally, a lou...

The Birth of a Cubs Legend

In this episode, The 162-Game Exhale — and the Birth of a Cubs Legend There’s a hush in the baseball world on Game 162 — a collective breath drawn in and slowly released. Scoreboards stop flipping. Dugouts empty. For six months, the game has been our steady heartbeat, pulsing from the cherry blossoms of Tokyo in March to the crisp, playoff-charged winds of late September. And now, as the regular season exhales, baseball fans everywhere pause to absorb the story we’ve just lived. For me, that story has been deeply personal. This season unfolded in the rhythms of my daily life. It was the summer soundtrack echoing beneath the constant turmoil of politics and sensational headlines. It was a handful of carefully chosen ballpark pilgrimages stitched together with countless nights in front of MLB.TV. And at the center of it all, for a lifelong Cubs fan like me, it revolved around one name — a young center fielder who turned hope into history: Pete Crow-Armstrong. The 2025 season didn’t begin...