Are you heading down a negative path?

Being transparent with yourself and identifying when you are starting to slide to the negative side of things is going to go a long way towards the success of your career. Maintaining a positive attitude through change and adversity will do the same. It’s more important than ever to identify when you are sliding down a negative path and take swift action to address those thoughts before you start to see it negatively affect your career. It’s not an easy thing to do, so let’s take a look at some of the things you might be saying to yourself or others that can be perceived as negative.

• “It’s not my job!”
• “That will never work.”
• “I’ll do it when I have time.”
• “So what, who cares?”
• “I do just what I’m asked, no more.”
• “I’m not paid to do that.”
• “It’s THEIR fault!”
• “Don’t blame me…it wasn’t my idea.”
• “It’s not my problem!”
• “Everyone else does it!”
• “Why do I always get picked to do this crappy job?”

When you are saying these types of things to yourself, especially out loud to others around you, it can drag yourself and others around you down. I always say, every interaction you have with others is a job interview. Keep this in mind when you find yourself going down this path. Most of the time the negative things happening around you are outside of your control, so why fuss about it? The only thing you can control is how you react to it. Try these 3 things to maintain a positive attitude.

Avoid negative people

• This one may sound easier than it is. It’s hard to break away from the negative people in your life. A work this may be a bit easier. Being around negative people can drain your energy and cause you to feel overwhelmed. The ability to recognize the negative people in your life, and finding ways to avoid them will result in a more sustainable and satisfying life for you. Find the positive people in your personal life and surround yourself with them as much as possible. At work find someone who is in the position you want to be in and shadow them at every opportunity.

Action alleviates stress

• It’s a vicious circle. You stress about something that you need to do or fix in your life but you just do everything you can to avoid it. Then that stresses you out more. Try to push yourself to take action. You will find the fear you had will most likely not come to fruition. After you take action on the pending items at home and at work you will feel 100% better.

Read positivity, watch positivity, and listen to positivity

• With all of the resources we have to get our news and information, negativity is all around us. Instead of following the negativity on social media try to type words like positive, motivation, or success into the search on Facebook or Instagram and following pages that will insert a positive message into your life. Instead of watching that show or story about drama and negativity, watch Goalcast videos or a Ted Talk to insert positivity into your life.

We all get negative from time to time. Being able to identify that quickly when it happens and taking action to insert some positivity will result in a happier and more productive life.

Dale