The first law of organizational thermodynamics

Energy is either created or destroyed.

Newton was right about physics, but in organizations and cultures, the opposite is true.

You're either the person who creates energy.

Or you're the one who destroys it.

You might be the one who initiates projects, who asks, "what if?" or eagerly says, "I'll do it." The person who finds and amplifies and supports the good work of others. The spark.

Or, it's possible you're the passive one, the naysayer, the bystander, the one who manages to eat the donuts at the meeting but not actually add much in the way of energy, kinetic or potential.

You can choose to be the generous one, putting in more than you take out, surprising everyone with a never-ending flow of generosity.

Or, you can find any of one hundred perfectly acceptable explanations/excuses/reasons why you're merely an absorber of it.