When times are tough and the going is rough; we are oversubscribed, over-tired, and over it. What do we do?
It is so easy in these situations to fall into negativity. Focussing on what isn’t possible and what is stopping us. Bemoaning the issues that are in our way, and in doing so we get in our own way. We become negative, cynical and we reduce our productivity, our effectiveness and we negatively impact all those we interact with. That is not the path of success, nor is it healthy for us individually and it certainly doesn’t endear us to those we work with.
So for those of you reading, who may relate and associate with the above scenario in any way, I wanted to share a few tips on getting your head out of the negative space, and back into a constructive productive mindset.
Positive thinking can be achieved through a few different techniques that have been proven effective, many of which we’ve talked about in other blogs such as Gratitude, Overcoming Fear, creating good habits and focussing on Personal development, so don’t forget you can always go to the full listing and re-read the ones that you feel relate to you.
Here are some tips that to get you started that can help you train your brain how to think positively.
Focus on finding the good things
The above scenario and many other challenging situations and obstacles are simply a part of life. When you’re faced with one, focus on finding the good things no matter how small or seemingly insignificant they seem. If you look, you can always find the proverbial silver lining to every cloud — even if it’s not immediately obvious. Refer back to the blogs about gratitude, just finding 3 positive things a day, if you do this consistently enough you will actually retrain your brain to see change as an opportunity for growth.
“Train your mind to see the good in everything. Positivity is a choice. The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.”
Open yourself up to humour
Studies have found that laughter lowers stress, anxiety, and depression. It also improves coping skills, mood, and self-esteem.
So being open to humour in all situations, especially difficult ones, and giving yourself permission to laugh is a great way to help not only yourself, but all those you interact with. It instantly lightens the mood and makes things seem a little less difficult. Even if you’re not feeling it; pretending or forcing yourself to laugh can improve your mood and lower stress. I find watching Facebook or YouTube clips of my favourite comedians whilst I make my lunch can offset the frustrations or challenges of the morning and enables me to reset myself before my afternoon.
“Laughter is like a windshield wiper; it doesn’t stop the rain but it allows us to keep going”
“Every time you are able to find some humour in a difficult situation, you win”
“A wonderful thing about true laughter is that it just destroys any kind of system of dividing people” – John Cleese
Spend time with positive people
Negativity and positivity have been shown to be contagious. So think about who in your work circles tend to be negative and who are positive. Can you id those that perhaps always moan or whinge first?
Have you noticed how someone in a bad mood can bring down almost everyone else in the meeting? A positive person has the opposite effect on others – bring a lightness, a laughter or an attitude of everything is “figureoutable”.
I love the concept of “figureoutable” – to learn more about it check out this video from Marie Forleo at Oprah Winfrey’s Super Soul Session…
Being around positive people rubs off on you. Not only, that it also improve self-esteem and increases your chances of reaching goals. So if you feel yourself slipping into the negative, get that IM or call out to someone positive for 5mins to reset, lift you up and help you see the bright side. I know who’s on my speed dial for this – who’s on yours?
Start and end every day on a positive note
Create a ritual in which you start off and end each day with something uplifting and positive. Here are a few ideas:
Tell yourself that it’s going to be a great day or any other positive affirmation as you settle down to your desk and unlock your laptop.
Recap and tell yourself the things you’ve achieved that day as you’re logging off (note this does not include anything about what you need to do the next day – this is emptying your mind as you switch out of work, but doing so with a positive last thought)
Listen to a happy and positive song or playlist before, after or even throughout the day
Share positivity by giving a compliment or doing something nice for someone.
“Pessimism leads to weakness, optimism to power” – William James
Focus on your long-term vision.
Change is very often uncomfortable, on both sides – for those implementing as well as adapting to. But this uncomfortableness is necessary when a business needs to grow. By focussing on the bigger picture and the long-term view you can contextualise the current challenges as just blips along the path.
Zooming out to enable the massive boulder blocking your path to become be pebble it really is.
We have lots of pebbles in our way here in Cloud right now – some we place in our own way, (or we kicked there from earlier in our path) and some were placed there by others. It makes no difference – we just need to focus on where the path is leading, and accepting that the route can change, the path may be windy or obstacle-ridden, but if we can see the horizon, see that the path moves forward then we can figure it out…
“What we see depends mainly on what we look for” – John Lubbock
Eliminate your 'sunk costs' mindset.
The more time and effort you've invested in something, the more likely you are to stay attached to it - even if pivoting or walking away is the sounder choice objectively. Don't let the fear of losing what you've invested guide your decision making (refer back to the recent blog on the 4 Rs of Fear).
Think rationally about the rewards and costs of continuing down a certain boulder strewn path or forging a new one. We must remain flexible, adaptable and open to the fast moving, dynamic world of Cloud within an organisation undergoing extensive change itself. Everything is on the table – if we need to pivot a little to see past the challenges or to find an unobstructed path then let’s do that…
“Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow” – Helen Keller
How to think positive when everything is going wrong
Trying to be positive when you’re experiencing distress borne out of frustration, annoyance or intolerance can seem impossible. All the above is easy to say and do when the going is good… So during more challenging times, it’s important to take the pressure off of yourself to find the silver lining. Instead, channel that energy into getting support from others.
Positive thinking isn’t about burying every negative thought or emotion you have or avoiding difficult feelings. The lowest points are often the ones that motivate us to move on and make positive changes. We are having to lean into some really hairy issues at present – and we definitely shouldn’t avoid them, but we do need to ensure we are applying the correct perspective, mindset and see pebbles for pebbles..
If this is an area that resonates with you – then can I recommend a book – Relentless Optimism by Darrin Donnelly.
I’ll finish with a quote from Darrin:
“The people who succeed aren’t the ones who avoid failure; they’re the ones who learn to respond to failure with optimism.”
Until next time...
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