Powerful, Practical Positivity

It always amazes me how powerful optimism can be.  When you spin your words positively, your outlook changes and you tend to think in the affirmative rather than the negative.  Your positive attitude transfers to your co-workers or your family and friends, who then begin to think positively about their own situations.  Contagious and addictive, optimism is a powerful tool.  The trick is to change your outlook at the start.

If you listen to the words that come out of your mouth, you may find that even "non-complaints" take on a negative tone.  Often the tone itself makes the comment sound like a complaint, even if you are stating mere fact.  Here is an example:

"My meat is overcooked.  I asked for it rare, but it doesn't even have a tint of pink in the center."

If you use the same sentiment, but take a positive spin on the words themselves, you wind up with:

"I believe that I asked for my meat cooked rare, and it looks overcooked."

Instead of focusing attention on what you did not receive, you turn your audience's attention to the straight facts: the original request and the result.  The first example can be construed as a complaint, while the second can be interpreted as a statement.

Listen to your co-workers and friends.  Do you hear the difference between a true complaint and a comment posed in a critical way?  When someone complains constantly, you tend to tune them out, or absorb some of their negativity.  Like positivity, negativity is also contagious, and it spreads rampantly.  When one person in the office complains about how stressed she is, she wears her stress out on her sleeve.  Others in the office will see that, feel the pressure themselves, and so they will adopt a stressed mentality as well.  If, however the stressor is actually energized by her workload, using Adrenaline to her advantage, her energy will transfer to the office, and others will begin to bounce around their workloads as well.

Karl Staib of Work Happy Now explains his experience in his blog series, "No Complaining."  Karl referenced the site A Complaint Free World, and for 30 days, he listened to his words, used positives instead of negatives, and refrained from co-complaining with others for the sake of empathy.  In his final post, Karl explains that his mindset has changed for the better, and he has seen a change in how others regard him.

A happy office is a productive office, so it pays to take an extra moment to spin your words toward optimism.  If you keep an eye on it, you will see a change in your overall mood in the office.

| Photo credit: Have-A-Nice-Day.org |