2008
Four billion people watched the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, significantly more than watched any other recent TV program. Perhaps the Olympic Games have an inexplicable magic such that even people like my mother who do not follow sports closely are unable to take their eyes off the TV broadcast. … I would call this the “Olympic Positive Emotions” phenomenon. … Why do we so strongly appreciate the Olympic Games? I propose that there may be three sources for our appreciation of the beauty of the Olympic Games, all of which I have observed in myself….
One of the most impressive scenes of the Olympic Games may have been when U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps shed tears on the medal podium when his sight met his mother’s on the spectator stand after achieving his unparalleled goal of winning 8 gold medals in the Olympic Games.
Germs and colds aren’t the only things we spread in the workplace. Our emotions, both positive and negative, are just as contagious. Have you ever walked into a meeting and felt so much tension that you became tense, too? Conversely, have you ever walked into someone’s office and felt so much openness that you started to feel more open and welcoming as well? This spreading of emotions from one person to the next is what psychologists call Social Contagion Theory.