I think most of us understand that if we Give out Good, we will get good back. It’s just the way the universe works. We understand it. But many of us don’t live it. I think this rule is often best illustrated with teenagers.

My daughter and my wife were butting heads recently, and I decided to have a “chat” with my daughter. So I told her that I was going for a run and asked her to ride her bike along. She agreed. It took her about ten minutes into the ride before she realized she’d been duped!

Teenagers often struggle with the transition of roles between child and adult. They want the rights of adults, but sometimes are not ready. And often when they don’t get their way, they go back to acting like a child (some adults do this too!). The problem is, these teens don’t understand that they often control this destiny more than they know. When they spew anger and contempt to parents or authority figures, they most likely get that same emotion back. It’s only natural. But when they show maturity and positivity, we are more likely to trust they will act appropriately when a moment of choice arises.

I tried to explain this to my daughter on a long run around town. To her credit she was quiet and listened. She acted with some maturity. So I gave her trust back.

But what does this mean for adults? I hope the message is clear. You truly do get back what you put out there folks. And if you give out “good” in large or small ways you will see a great return on that investment. What kind of good? Start with a smile! Give the person on the street, in the store, or even on the phone a smile and watch the smiles in front of your multiply! Now add this philosophy to Facebook world! It works there too! If all you do is post about the problems, challenges and complaints in your life, more will show up. So seek out things to be positive about and “give out that good” everywhere.

So let’s get out into the world and give out good. We are likely to get it back!