“People don’t bloom where they are planted.  They bloom where they are loved.” – Bob Goff

Some folks think “love” isn’t an appropriate word for the workplace.  Love is personal.  Love is private. Reserved for families and close friends.  I get it.  It would be weird to go around saying “I love you” to acquaintances at work.

But I want everyone to believe that our work environments are places where you can bloom.  How do we achieve that?

If you think “love” is too radical for the workplace, I’d ask you to consider a continuum.  The desired place is blooming, where love exists.  The undesired place is desolate.  The opposite of love is hating.  Hate breeds desolation and barrenness.  Love breeds blooms.

There’s a passage in the Bible that describes love as an unconditional positive regard for others.  

Love is patient.  Love is kind.  It’s not jealous.  It’s not arrogant.  It hopes.  Love believes.  It rejoices with achievement.  It holds truth as a standard.  Love endures.

The opposites of all those things are known to us as: Impatience. Rudeness. Meanness. Dishonesty. No hope. No faith.  No ambition for achievement.

Consider the extremes…behave with each other in such a way as to cause blooms.  Don’t worry, we won’t confuse it with you loving us.  We’ll just think you care enough to want us to blossom.