The truth is, your negative thoughts are holding you back from achieving the career success you really want. Negativity limits and constrains. It strips away opportunities for success, self-esteem, trust, confidence, and growth.
Being positive, on the other hand, has the opposite effect. Using positive language and behaviors builds up support structures and creates new roads to solutions and success.
How to have a positive attitude at work
So how do you get your mindset into a positive state that results in greater achievements at work?
1. Be your own advocate
Being positive strengthens your ability to advocate effectively for yourself and others. This in turn attracts more opportunity for all involved. It also helps you engage with others more effectively and gain support more easily for your ideas and initiatives. If you don’t believe you can do it, chances are that you never will.
2. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot
Next time you catch yourself saying “I can’t do that”, take a look at the reasons why. For each of those reasons, ask first whether it’s actually true. You’d be amazed how often we make our decisions based on “solid facts” that end up being little more than opinions and conjecture.
3. Learn from your past
It’s easy to believe that negative occurrences in your past will determine your future. However, through positive thinking, you can see beyond what lies in your history. Experiencing setbacks or becoming discouraged is understandable, but staying positive can help you work through it to find success. It also boosts your “immunity” to negative outside occurrences and you will become more resilient and bounce back faster.
4. Set some goals
Whether you’re into planning or not, having an idea of where you’re headed is a leap towards thinking positively. Get a piece of paper and a pen and ask yourself the question, ‘what would I like my future to look like if I stay on the same trajectory?’ Write down anything and everything that comes to mind.
Interestingly, if you do this a few times, you’ll start to notice the same words and ideas coming out again and again. And you can bet you’re onto something worth chasing. Your goals don’t have to be planned out too rigidly – actually, it’s better to have some flexibility because you never know what life will throw at you.
5. Don’t do it alone
Being positive builds your reputation as someone worthy of trust and support and paves the way for more collaborative success rather than crushing competition in your path. It develops you as a role model and someone to watch, admire and learn from. An optimistic team member helps create effective solutions rather than making complaints.
6. Surround yourself with like-minded positive people
You need to give some thought to who you’re hanging around with. Do those people make you feel good? Because if you surround yourself with positive people, it’s much easier to think positively yourself. Don’t be the grumpy person in the office. Although you may be frustrated about any number of situations, approaching them from a positive, rather than negative, standpoint, can keep you from coming off as bitter and tough to work with.
7. The health benefits
Staying positive can help you avoid some of the negative pitfalls of stress, offering a happier attitude and approach to work. Some of the health benefits of positive thinking include a longer lifespan, increased resistance to the common cold, a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, and increased physical well-being. This means positive people are able to miss less work, avoiding sick time for the common cold and even more troublesome issues like cardiovascular disease. In summary, a positive attitude – it’s all in your mind.
Benefits of positive thinking in the workplace
A positive thinker has many advantages over those with a negative mindset. Their positive energy will attract others, making working relationships with colleagues easier and encouraging teamwork. Those who are good at positive self talk improve their self confidence, in turn improving their decision making skills and their management abilities. This is particularly important for someone hoping to climb the career ladder.
Changing your habits
If you are in the habit of negative thinking, it can feel hard to change your way of seeing the world. But remember, a habit is exactly what you are dealing with. If you repetitively think in a certain way, you are reinforcing the neural pathways in your brain – just like muscles in your body, these then become stronger and easier to use than the alternatives.
All new skills require practice, but with a little effort you can change your negative thought habits and practice gratitude. It will become easier and easier to do, and positivity will become easier to maintain.
Are you looking for a job in Ireland?
Whether you are trying to adopt a more positive outlook, or already feel that a positive attitude helps when job searching, at CareerWise we can help you find the perfect role.
As experts in all things work related, our team at CareerWise can guide your job search, assessing your skills and matching the best talent with the best roles, every time.
Specialist recruitment in Ireland
CareerWise is Ireland’s leading specialist recruitment firm, based in Cork, Shannon & Limerick, Galway, Mayo and Dublin and we can help you to find your ideal new job in Ireland.
We specialise in the Engineering, Supply Chain, Science/Pharma, IT and Accounting industries in Ireland, and we look forward to working with you. Contact us online now or call us on +353 (0) 21 206 1900 to arrange a consultation.
