Talking to cheerful people

After a coffee with someone who built something they’re proud of, I want to go home and work. Their energy is contagious. You leave the conversation thinking “why not me?”

The opposite is true too. Ten minutes with someone who complains about everything, and my motivation is gone for the afternoon.

For a long time I thought real work meant locking myself in my room, phone off, no one around. Sometimes that works. But most of the time it just makes me sad, and sad me is slow.

So now I do the opposite. When I’m stuck, I call a friend. I go work in a café. I ask someone what they’re building.

Choose who you talk to the same way you choose what you read. It shapes your mood more than you think.