Dare to be Peppy

When I was in business school, my friend Polly and I decided to name ourselves the two peppiest people at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

We did this not because of our inherent Pollyanna natures or our uncritical admiration for all thing b-school; quite the opposite. We made this decision because we recognized we were in danger of falling under the sway of cynicism, and still had the clear vision to see that this would not be a good thing.

MBA students are very peppy. They are high-energy, can-do people. Compared with, say, law students, they focus on execution more and analysis less.

When we started business school, Polly and I felt different from the mass of b-school students, and one of the ways we felt different is that we were skeptical of jump-on-board group activities. We felt proud of our critical faculties. We understood the world. And its difficult complexities. And its iss-shoes. More than others, anyway.

But then we realized that critical faculties can come at a cost. We found ourselves holding back from what we were experiencing, and from what we were contributing.

So we decided we would be the two peppiest people at Stanford business school. We also decided that our most dreaded class, Cost Accounting, was actually our favorite class. "Are you ready to study for our favorite class?" one of us would ask. "Omigod, I can't wait to get started on our favorite class!" the other would reply.

Sometimes it was difficult to fulfill our mission. Polly went on a study trip to Chile and Argentina with a group of b-school students. "Let me tell you," she wrote. "It is quite a tall order to be the peppiest person amidst a group of people who are getting up at 6 to go jogging in downtown Santiago. Extreme levels of peppiness are in evidence."

Other times, people were not so supportive of our peppiness. When we started something called The George Stephanopoulos Fan Club (this was in the early Clinton days), and created our own fanzine, Stephanoupouletter, just for fun and the prospect of fame, some of our classmates thought we were incredibly witty and creative fun, and others thought we were kind of weird. It sure opened us up, though, and we even got into People magazine.

Deciding you are going to be the peppiest person in your environment really does change the way it looks for you. You choose one path - positive energy - over another - detached analysis. You pull open the shades and let the light pour in, even if it might bleach out your expensive carpets.

In certain professions - law comes to mind - deciding you are going to be known to be peppy takes courage, since peppiness is not always a culturally smiled-on characteristic. But try it. It gives you options, and you might like it.

Follow Michael Melcher on Twitter: www.twitter.com/MichaelMelcher

Comments

[JScott]

Peppy can get annoying after a while tho, the comment about the 'peppy nurse' brings to mind nausea. Interesting that they don't have that breakfast cereal anymore called PEP (you ancient folks remember that?), probably because people weren't deceived, it was just breakfast cereal like any other breakfast cereal.

[SisterAnn]

It took me a long time to learn to lower my expectations. Instead of thinking that this is going to be a great day, I think 'this will probably be a terrible day. That way I am never disappointed.

Every once in awhile, I am surprised with a wonderful day where everything goes well and everyone seems to be 'up'.

I wouldn't advise being too peppy with all that is going on, the market going down, the war grinding on and (untold) inflation eating our lunch. You will probably get on people's nerves being too happy:)

[tcagle]

I went to work at a general mail facility on the night shift, moving letters and magazines. My plan was to stay awake by being peppy, and I found out quickly that the old hands abhor this. Peppiness in their view reduces the number of union jobs. They were nice about it as they taught me their version of the Thorazine shuffle until I got it down.

[RAMHaiti]

Sounds like you accomplished more as a peppy. Perhaps you are a peppy and you finally convinced yourself to be yourself.
I was in Santiago, Chile when Pinochet died last December. Who were the peppies: the folks in the streets throwing rocks or the well dressed people attending the funeral? Or perhaps it was the current President of Chile and her entourage who decided not to attend the funeral. None of the above? I can't figure it out. Perhaps you can help me on that one.

[Silverstar]

Some of the most disgusting people I know are nurses who come in all peppy to your sickbed while you are in pain. A pox on them all. And no peppy undertakers either.

Life is a balance of light and dark, of energy and stillness, of crowds and solitude. I am not the peppy type, never have been, never will be. It could be my hypothyroidism, or my biologically induced depression. But I will take stillness and solitude any day over peppy.

[mommadona]

*(she stares up from her "red eye" (single expresso in a small, dark roast coffee) at that perky puppy of a person standing in silouette in the sun...)

"Bush has an MBA."

(she waits patiently for the perky puppy person to quite dancing from one foot to the other.)