How to Maintain a Positive Attitude at Work
Sometime or the other most of us have had a job where bringing yourself to work seemed like the hardest thing to do every morning. Most of us still dread Monday mornings and need to be reminded constantly to plaster a smile and act professionally.
Have you often felt unappreciated at work? Have you often felt that your boss and colleagues are trying to bring you down? Having a negative attitude not only robs us of our productivity, but it also affects our overall mental health and often has a long-lasting negative effect.
That brings us to the question, what is a positive attitude? How does one maintain a positive attitude?
Not every work comes with a great working atmosphere. So how do we cope with negativity around us? A positive attitude is something that goes above and beyond being cheerful. A negative attitude is often a result of having a fixed mindset. No one should live in a constant state of “fight or flight”, but negative attitudes create exactly that scenario.
Here are some easy ways to help you change and imbibe a more positive attitude at work
1. Control your language
Be nice to others. It’s important to be mindful of the words we use. During conflicts, using “I” statements help us articulate our thoughts better. It takes the blame off the other person and allows for an explanation. Also, when we might be tempted to say something, it always a good thing to hold our tongue in cheek. The language we use every day has a great effect on how we think about ourselves, our work, and those around us.
2. Be nice to other people
There is a huge difference between criticism and constructive feedback. Try to give feedback about the behavior and less about the person. If you are being targeted mindlessly because of your membership to a particular age, race, gender, sexual orientation, language or region, do not stoop to the level of the others. Stay above and focus on the outcome of your work. Let your success make the noise.
You continue to stay in your own lane and keep up the great work. Choose your arguments wisely. Not every provocation requires a retaliation. Stay away from gossip. Maintaining a positive attitude at work means that you are a team player who treats all team members with respect. By refraining from joining a gossip circle, you can ensure that you maintain that level of respect. Stay away from the rumor mills and hold yourself back from passing that personal comment to someone you dislike.
3. Assume responsibility, and choose your response
How you respond to a situation depends on who you are. While it’s easier to get carried away with the situation and react strongly, it takes self-control to not react. Instead, respond to the situation with élan.
Every day is not a good day – but don’t let issues back home affect your work in the office. You may have been stuck in standstill traffic that morning or experienced a 45-minute delay on your train ride, but you can’t let those frustrations affect your work. If you are in a foul mood, ensure you walk it off before you get to the office. That way, instead of ranting to your colleagues about how terrible your morning was, you can poke fun at your bad luck and give everyone a chuckle. Laughing at your unfortunate circumstances will keep the work environment positive, where ranting will add negativity.
4. Look to long-term instead of short-term
When the situation is difficult in the short-term, adjust your vision to the long-term. Short-term situations tend to be heavy on the emotion. Making decisions or taking action based on that is not only a bad idea, but tends to feed negative attitudes. Viewing things in the long-term, on the other hand, make the challenges of the now seem much less terrible because the bigger picture reveals an exciting outcome.
5. Express Gratitude
Despite the rough days, there’s always something beneficial about holding a job, and it’s important to remind yourself of that. Take time each day to write a list of what you are thankful for. Research shows that expressing gratitude each day helps rewire the brain to think of more positive thoughts and improves overall mental health.
Hence I would like to conclude by saying that while it’s true that we can’t choose our colleagues or our supervisors. We can definitely choose the attitude with which we approach each day. After all, we can’t choose the cards we are handed. However, it’s our obligation to play our best game with what we have been dealt with.
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