Finding Inspiration to Create a Lasting Impact with your Life from America’s Beloved Neighbor
Photo credit: Ashley Victoira @xoashleyvictoria
Do you ever wake up with a mild case of the cold weather blues? Do you wish you had a way to push restart and transform your mood and state of mind almost immediately? If so, I have good news for you. An unlikely neighbor from days past can help us do just that.
It was dark in the auditorium, and the spot light was on a familiar face, a face that had been on hundreds of television programs for several decades. Behind his tortoise shell glasses, Mister Rogers peered out at the audience with an expression of knowing gratitude. He had just received a lifetime achievement award at The Emmys. In his moment of fame, he did not offer platitudes. Instead, he roused the audience with a question. It was a powerful question, an invitation.
He acknowledged that many people helped him get to where he was that day. Some of them, like his wife JoAnn, were in the room. Some were far away, and some like his Grandpa McFeely were even in heaven. Mister Rogers knew the same was true for you and me and everyone in that room. We all have people who have loved us into being who we are today. They may be right here, far away or even in heaven. But, just as he invited the room full of celebrities to do, I would like to invite you to do: would you take ten seconds, along with me, to think of those special people right now?
Thank you for taking that brief ten seconds. Think of how happy they would be to know in this moment, you thought of them! How do you feel? Adopting a grateful state of mind improves our sense of well-being. When I do this exercise with my students or clients they often say they feel: thankful, connected, loved, grateful, warm, proud, along with many other positive emotions. This shift is The Mister Rogers Effect in action. This is just one of seven key psychological strategies Mister Rogers used to be a difference maker whose influence far outreached his years.
November means sweater weather which may conjure up images of the cardigan sporting beloved television neighbor, Mister Fred Rogers (or perhaps even Tom Hanks, who played him in the recent film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood). Mister Rogers was not only the unlikely star of one of America’s longest running children’s television programs (with over 800 episodes across 30 years in two countries), but he also changed history, won 20 million dollars to save public television, and had a major impact across the screen long before zoom was a mainstay.
Unpacking the psychological research supporting Mister Rogers’ methods, we can glean strategies to have a tremendous impact in our own neighborhoods. As fall weather turns colder and the sunlight slips away, remember our beloved neighbor. He taught us it was always sweater weather in the neighborhood. So, pick up a warm cup of your favorite beverage and a comfy cardigan, and learn more about the psychological secrets unveiled in Mister Rogers work with the perfect read for sweater weather, The Mister Rogers Effect. You will learn strategies to bring to life his wisdom in such a way that your impact reaches far beyond your years.
References:
Kuhnley, A. (2020). The Mister Rogers Effect: Seven secrets to bringing out the best in yourself and others from America’s beloved neighbor. Baker Books.
Emmons, Robert, A. and Stern, Robert. Gratitude as a Psychometric Intervention, Journal of Clinical Psychology. 69, no. 8. (2013): 846.
