We had a hackathon at work this week, and it brought home to me again the
value of people who exude energy and who reflect energy back to me. As I think
about explaining this, it seems obvious and pat, but it’s on my mind, so I’ll
try to put it on the page.

There are people who want to raise their hands to do things, who join
activities, who break out of their lane to help out on projects. You must have
some people like this in your circles. They have the sparkle of participation
in their eyes. I’ve described them as reflecting
energy back to me: I get excited about something, and they add to it, they “yes
and” it, and I feel more excited. I put some energy into the interaction, and I
feel like I leave with more than I started with.

And maybe this isn’t about who is energetic and helpful, but about the scope
of their interest and tolerance for new activities and efforts. Almost anyone
will help if you have a specific question they know something about. I’m
talking about the kind of people that hang out in an online forum, or show up
for a volunteer organ