Pete was unhappy. A complainer. A malcontent. His bosses tried to help—with transfers, new assignments, new teammates. But Pete’s emotional temperature always returned to “dissatisfied.”

And, of course, his attitude was contagious. Wherever Pete went, gloom infected his coworkers … except for Amy, who kindly but firmly told Pete that the less heard from him, the better. Amy knew the company’s downsides; she just chose to focus on the upsides. As it turns out, Amy’s outlook was contagious too.

This is Howard Butt Jr. of Laity Lodge. No workplace is perfect. How could it be? It’s filled with people. You can focus on what’s wrong and make yourself unhappy. Or focus on what’s right and make a difference … in the high calling of our daily work.

“Do everything without complaining and arguing.”— Philippians 2:14