Top 7 Strategies To Overcome Negative Attitudes In The Workplace
Have you caught yourself adopting negative attitudes when things aren’t going so well in life or business?
Well, if you have you would be in good company because most people do take this depressed attitude, almost as though it gives some sort of solace. Haven’t we all believed at some stage that we deserved “better luck”, using this crutch to explain away our own failures?
The tendency to take a negative view is influenced by a combination of things that starts with a person's upbringing, their own personal foundation or their work environment.
I firmly believe that we are each like the attraction of a magnet. As we adopt a negative attitude, so we attract more negativity. Conversely, as we take an optimistic outlook, so more positive things seem to be drawn to us. Whilst the cynics would say this is a hugely simplified view, its essence is true and helps to point the way to working out how to handle negative situations.
As a business coach, I sometimes work with clients who have fallen down the negative thinking trapdoor. Some typical comments are:
- It's not my fault
- I shouldn’t have to do this
- It won't work.
- It can't be done.
- I don’t like change
- I deserve more respect
- They won't like it.
- He didn't ask me first.
At the root of these comments is Distorted Thinking Style, which is a normal thought pattern that over time changes and becomes a misrepresentation of the truth.
This is usually driven by a feeling of constant frustration. When frustrated, we start to become less flexible and our thought patterns become distorted into 5 typical areas, some of which I am sure you will recognise!
Five Types of Distorted Thinking Styles:
- Magnifying: We start to over exaggerate a situation turning the consequences of an event into a catastrophe such as, "I'm going to be fired."
- Destructive Labelling: An extreme form of over-generalisation, making an individual someone or a particular situation totally negative e.g. “We tried this before and it didn’t work then!”
- Imperative Thinking: This is based on a set of highly inflexible rules about how you and others should act, which is usually based on negative past experiences e.g. “She dresses like a tart”.
- Mind Reading: This is based on trying to second guess what someone else may be thinking in order to try to explain other people's actions toward a person or event.
- Divide and Conquer: This happens because of over-magnification and wanting others to support a particular position. People who have Distorted Thinking Styles have a tendency to seek and nurture support, usually creating a division within ranks or groups.
Every workplace will experience DST’s. The chances are that you have developed a challenged attitude at some stage or certainly would have had a team of people who may feel and react like this. But don’t despair, because there are some highly effective ways of addressing the problem.
The 7 Steps to Overcoming Challenged Attitudes.
- ESTABLISH your personal foundation to ensure that your outlook remains positive and healthy.
Whilst Maslow and Hertzberg defined our basic needs, I prefer to think that in this context it helps to remember what F.R.E.S.H.
stands for:
F: Finances
R: Relationships
E: Environment
S: Spirituality
H: Health
If you continually work on each one of these areas, a positive outlook will be created.
- STOP listening to that little negative voice working away in your head. Counter-punch the negative self talk with a substantial dose of deliberately positive thinking.
- LOOK for alternative explanations. In many cases there could be hundreds of them.
Unfortunately when you are frustrated you are often unable to see the forest for the trees - sometimes referred to as Frustration Tunnel Vision.
- MOODS are contagious, both positive and negative. Do something that will place you in a positive mood, such as deliberately smiling at and warmly greeting the people that you meet. In Monty Python terms “Always look on the Bright side of Life!”
- DEAL with your frustration. Learn to speak slowly, breath deeply and choose to remain calm (if you can’t quite do this then excuse yourself from the discussion). Create a break away from the point of conflict, it will allow you time to rationalise and think things through more clearly.
- STOP looking backwards and hanging onto the past. Your vision of each event or situation is totally up to you. You can either choose to be negative or positive...it’s your choice.
It’s worth remembering this quote: "Past failures don't equal current successes."
- DISTANCE yourself as much as possible from negative people and hearing negative things.
As human beings we cannot but help ‘absorbing’ our environment and this of course applies to the people within our immediate environment and the words being said. They will always pull you down and get you focusing on the negative which can only be destructive.
Ask yourself these questions:
- Who am I around?
- What are they doing to me?
- What have they got me saying?
- Where do they have me going?
- What do they have me thinking?
- What do they have me becoming?
- Then ask yourself the big question: Is that okay?
As the old saying goes, “if you want to soar with the eagles, don’t get grounded with the turkeys!”
Whether you are a company or an individual, dealing with attitude challenges by implementing this 7 Step Programme indicates you are making the first leap from making negative choices to making choices. This will certainly have a positive impact on you, your co-workers and family members
Could you benefit from the help provided by a personal business coach? Follow this link:
Business Coach
to discover the benefits you can gain.
For more information or to contact Paul Robinson directly email enquiries@business-solutions-wizard.com or phone 01572 823588
www.business-solutions-wizard.com
Leading UK expertise, information and support for small and medium sized businesses. Helping you to grow your sales and increase your profits.
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