Good news or bad news, and what’s the difference?

Has anyone ever given you bad news? How about some good news? What is the difference or is there any difference?

Good news: material or information that makes us happy, content, calm, safe and validated.

Bad news – just the opposite.

So it would seem that there is a difference between good and bad news: read on.

Have you ever received bad news but in the end things went well or better than you expected? Have you ever received good news and over time what you thought was good news turned out to be not so good?

From personal experience, I can tell you that I have experienced all four:

Good news that was good.

Bad news that was bad.

Good news that I thought was good but turned out to be bad.

Bad news that I thought was bad and turned out to be good.

Confused yet? Well, I know that over time I often got confused about the difference between these two seemingly opposite messages. But then I learned that sometimes bad news for one person can be perceived as good news for someone else, and good news for one person can eventually be perceived as bad.

Confused? Let me explain.

In the end it is just news and what makes it bad or good or even neutral is not the news itself but how we perceive it, judge it, evaluate it or react to it.

How can someone perceive bad news as good? Or on the contrary, how could someone perceive good news as bad?

In short, each of us has a unique history, experiences, beliefs, and values, and as a result, none of us sees the same things or circumstances in the same way.

Someone who is worried, negative, pessimistic or impatient may see a delay as bad when another person who understands the concept that there are things we can control and there are things we cannot control, so why get upset about something you can? ? don’t control or if you can control it keep yourself busy.

In the end, everything that happens, just happens and what we do is interpret everything based on our expectations, goals, needs or mindsets, and all of these are unique to each one of us.

Let me give you a couple of personal examples. And if you’ll consider the explanation even though you haven’t had exactly the same circumstances, if you think about it, I’ll be able to relate.

Before beginning my career as a speaker and trainer, I was a national sales manager for an international organization. It’s a long story, but the short side is that I had a problem with my boss, the president, and as a result he fired me. Bad news, right? Well that was all I needed to decide it was time to start a career that has spanned over 40 years and has allowed me to see the world (25 countries to date) and work with tremendous clients and audiences. So, in the end, this bad news was really good news.

Here’s another quick one.

Years ago I proposed to my wife and she said yes. Good news, right? (No judgment here, please.) Well over time after giving my best for more than fifteen years I decided it was time to end it and why? Well, without the gruesome details, the relationship was gradually eroding my self-esteem, confidence, and optimistic mindset and I decided I didn’t like who I was becoming in that relationship. We parted amicably, but we parted ways. Good news, as I was able, over time, to recover everything that I had lost, emotionally and spiritually.

We all have our stories and we can all create lists of good and bad news that we have received but in the end it is just news.

During some of my corporate shows, I share this simple concept: stop asking your employees if they have good or bad news, just ask them about the news and then you decide what it is. Because their definition could be completely different from yours.

And vice versa, as an executive or manager, don’t broadcast, I have good news or bad news, just tell your employees you have news and let each of them interpret it as they see fit based on their personal views and attitudes. , mindsets, experience, expectations and how it might affect them personally.

I want to make it clear here that I am not talking about denial, surrender, acceptance or apathy, just a willingness to see that there may be another side to the story, one that you may miss because of your history, views, opinions. , opinions etc.