Do you want to learn a simple trick to help you guarantee career success? It’s called Positive Thinking and it can have a huge impact on your career potential.
A single positive thought can be viewed as having the same effect as dropping a pebble in a lake. The ripples can be seen and felt long after the pebble has disappeared from sight. This ripple effect of positive thinking can have an impact not only in terms of career growth but also in the impact it may have on your own mental and physical health.
The Benefits of Positivity
So, why should you try to adopt a more positive outlook? Well, it has proven results when it comes to career success…
- Helps you engage with others and gain support for your ideas
- Builds your reputation as someone trustworthy
- Helps you highlight your achievements
- Boosts your energy
- It’s related to higher levels of job performance
- Enhances your self-confidence
- Broadens your mind to see new possibilities
- Leads to a positive impact on your physical health – lower stress levels, lower blood pressure, helps you to sleep better and to feel less anxious
How do I become more positive?
Of course, it’s easier said than done. Humans are often conditioned to think negatively – a mistake will be remembered for far longer than a success story. And, of course, positive thinking doesn’t mean that you simply ignore life’s most difficult situations. Instead it’s adopting a positive outlook – viewing a difficult time as something that will pass, seeing a lack of success as a single issue that you can move on from.
If you tend to have a pessimistic outlook, you can change if you adopt a few simple strategies. Adopting a positive mindset in just a few areas of your life will have the exact same ripple effect. Positive thinking spreads – if you let it.
- Be Grateful
Try to think of three things every day that you are grateful for. Some people like to write this down or record it as a note on their phone, others simply think of them. Whatever style works best for you is fine! Set a daily alarm on your phone to remind you and carefully think of at least three things that happened on that specific day that made you feel positive. - Be Kind
The pay it forward campaign has had proven success in improving people’s mental health. Pay for the person behind you when ordering a coffee, open doors for people, take time to say hello when you pass someone in the street. But, here’s the crucial part, note what you have done and how it made you feel. Allow the ripples to take effect. - Avoid catastrophising
Catastrophising is when you take a small issue and expand it in your mind until it seems insurmountable. “I’m stuck in traffic so I’ll miss my meeting. I’ll probably get fired when I get back to the office.” Try to think of simple steps to help keep you calm. Use the ‘best friend test’ – what would you advise your friend to do in this situation? - Surround yourself with positive people
Tim Smit, the founder of the Eden Project, once said during a business seminar – you can have ten positive people in a room but you only need one negative person to drain all that energy away. Adopt a similar approach in your life by spending more time with the most positive people you know. - Positive self-talk
Instead of telling yourself what you can’t do try to rephrase your thinking. “I’m getting better at..”, “It didn’t go as I planned today, what can I do to make it work next time?” It’s easy to dwell on mistakes and lose confidence in your abilities, allow yourself a maximum amount of time for complaining and then think of three positives you took from a negative experience. It doesn’t matter how small they are! Try to start each day with a positive outlook – what are you looking forward to that day? How will you reward yourself for success?
Finally, it’s important that you keep practising, especially if you have a natural tendency to be pessimistic. Nobody is perfect, and we are all constantly learning, so allow yourself time to develop this approach to your career and to your life.
Leave a Reply