Positive Thinking and Positive Attitude at Workplace

1. POSITIVE THINKING
AND
POSITIVE ATTITUDE
@WORKPLACE

2. FOR A POSITIVE ATTITUDE
• Considering the current global trends, maintaining a
positive attitude can seem like Mission Impossible –II .
• Instead of falling victim to the negative work attitudes that
surround you, make an effort to buck the trend.
• Look for the good in your coworkers and your workplace.
By learning how to communicate with coworkers
effectively, you will gain recognition as a force of positive
attitude in the workplace.

3. FOR A POSITIVE ATTITUDE
• Here are some beginning steps for how to communicate
with coworkers effectively:
• Be appreciative
• Recharge yourself
• Volunteer your time
• Avoid negative work attitudes

4. Be Appreciative
• It is always nicer to get a pat on the back rather than to get stabbed in the back. If you're wondering
"how do I change my negative attitude," start by observing how you communicate with coworkers. If
you practice asking useful questions, giving accolades and being gracious at work for two weeks,
you'll notice a difference in the people you work with and in your own feelings about work.Stay
Positive Checkup Questions:
• How often do you show appreciation at work?
• Are there opportunities to energize your coworkers?
• What is the key to increasing a positive attitude in the workplace?
• It's easier than you think to create a positive attitude in the workplace - simply, show appreciation for
your coworkers.
How to Communicate With Coworkers Effectively:
• Give thanks. Thank coworkers for the work they do that makes your job easier - including the
peers, managers and office assistants. Even thank the security guard for making you feel safe at
work. Cultivate a thankful, positive attitude in the workplace, and in return you'll notice a change in
how coworkers treat you.
• Acknowledge a job well done. One of our favorite ways to create positive energy at work is to give
a "Most Valuable Player" award. Once a month, stage a vote for the office MVP - asking each voter
to include why their nominee should get the award. You can even have employees vote on what the
award will be, from premium parking to a tiara or crown.
• Celebrate. Take the time to celebrate birthdays, holidays, life changes and achievements. Not sure
how to celebrate? Bring in a Nerf football; bake cookies and bring them to work; or put up a graffiti
poster where people can leave positive comments.

5. Recharge Yourself
• Recharge Yourself
• A favorite quote of ours is "A dead battery can't charge a dead battery." Stop complaining
about negative work attitudes and lend your own energy to creating a more positive attitude
in the workplace. Be the office live wire!Stay Positive Checkup Questions:
• How can one person increase the positive attitude in the workplace?
• What specific things can someone do to tap into the energy of others?
• How can you maintain a more energetic and positive attitude in the workplace?
• Bringing more energy to work can seem draining. But everyone we've talked to who tries it
finds that they get more energy in return.
• How to Communicate with Coworkers Effectively:
• Be enthusiastic. Enthusiasm is infectious. If you're going to spend eight hours a day at
work, why not make it more than just tolerable. Make an effort to smile, laugh, and enjoy your
job. If you work to create a more positive attitude in the workplace, others will follow.
• Practice random acts of kindness. Each day try to do something kind and helpful. Offer to
cover for a coworker so they can attend their kid's soccer game, bring a busy colleague a
cup of coffee, or volunteer for a project. You don't have to create elaborate situations, just
keep your eyes out for opportunities to do a good deed.
• Look for opportunities to have fun. We all know someone who can make anything fun--
and make time fly. Be that person. It's amazing how a joke here and a silly celebration there
can breathe life into a stale office. Before you know it, other people will start coming to work
with more bounce in their step.

6. Volunteer Your Time
• Now is the perfect time to find a way to contribute to the greater good in your workplace. No matter
how busy you are, look for five minutes that you can give every day. Others are sure to appreciate
your efforts and you might even enjoy it.Stay Positive Checkup Questions:
• How do you find opportunities to volunteer?
• What are the best places to volunteer?
• Isn't it best to volunteer outside of your organization?
• Try these strategies for effective volunteering:
• How to communicate with Coworkers Effectively:
• Pitch in. If your office coffee pot or refrigerator seem to become a science project, break the cycle
by pitching in to clean it out once a week. Then encourage others to help out. Even relatively small
things (like a clean place to store your lunch) can dramatically improve the positive attitude in the
workplace.
• Contribute to the community. Instead of getting sucked into office drama, create positive energy
by volunteering outside of the office. Explore topics that are interesting to you such as
homelessness, drama or adult literacy then find an existing program that needs volunteers. We've
done all of the above and we were paid back a hundredfold.
• Don't overlook the need within. Recently we were in a grocery store that was holding a fundraiser
for another employee who had medical problems. They talked at length about how this brought
everyone closer. When looking for a project, don't overlook the needs and concerns of your
coworkers.

7. POSITIVE THINKING

8. Avoid Negative Work Attitudes
Negative work attitudes create a vicious cycle that can rob energy from an
organization. If you're famous for your awful moods and stinging commentary, try
something new.Stay Positive Checkup Questions:
• Can you resist sarcasm?
• Do you look for the good in people?
• Do you avoid stabbing people in the back?
• Avoiding negative work attitudes is easier than it might seem.
• How to communicate with Coworkers Effectively:
• Resist sarcasm. One of us grew up on the East Coast where sarcasm seems to
be as natural as breathing. It's tough to break the cycle of sarcasm, but it's worth
the trouble. If you're feeling sarcastic, challenge yourself to come up with
something clever to say that energizes the positive attitude in the workplace,
rather than depleting your coworker's energy.
• Look for the good. It's easy to get caught in an office drama trap. Instead of
blaming and gossiping, focus on the good qualities of your coworkers. You'll be
surprised by how much of a positive attitude in the workplace this will create and
how much more productive you and your coworkers will be.
• Stab 'em in the front. This came from one of our uncles. He was fond of saying,
"Friends stab friends in the front." Again, resist the temptation to stab coworkers in
the back. Instead, challenge yourself to be honest with coworkers without being
mean.

9. Focusing on positive thinking
• Here are some examples of negative self-talk and how
you can apply a positive thinking twist to them:

10. Identifying negative thinking
• First things first. Talk to team members and identify the below common forms of negative
self-talk :
• Filtering. You magnify the negative aspects of a situation and filter out all of the positive
ones. For example, you had a great day at work. You completed your tasks ahead of time
and were complimented for doing a speedy and thorough job. That evening, you focus only
on your plan to do even more tasks and forget about the compliments you received.
• Personalizing. When something bad occurs, you automatically blame yourself. For example,
you hear that an evening out with friends is canceled, and you assume that the change in
plans is because no one wanted to be around you.
• Catastrophizing. You automatically anticipate the worst. The drive-through coffee shop gets
your order wrong and you automatically think that the rest of your day will be a disaster.
• Polarizing. You see things only as either good or bad. There is no middle ground. You feel
that you have to be perfect or you're a total failure.

11. Focusing on positive thinking
• Focusing on positive thinking
• You can learn to turn negative thinking into positive
thinking. The process is simple, but it does take time and
practice — you're creating a new habit, after all. Here are
some ways to think and behave in a more positive and
optimistic way:

12. Focusing on positive thinking
• Identify areas to change. If you want to become more optimistic and engage in more positive thinking, first identify areas of
your life that you typically think negatively about, whether it's work, your daily commute or a relationship. You can start small by
focusing on one area to approach in a more positive way.
• Check yourself. Periodically during the day, stop and evaluate what you're thinking. If you find that your thoughts are mainly
negative, try to find a way to put a positive spin on them.
• Be open to humor. Give yourself permission to smile or laugh, especially during difficult times. Seek humor in everyday
happenings. When you can laugh at life, you feel less stressed.
• Follow a healthy lifestyle. Exercise at least three times a week to positively affect mood and reduce stress. Follow a healthy
diet to fuel your mind and body. And learn techniques to manage stress.
• Surround yourself with positive people. Make sure those in your life are positive, supportive people you can depend on to
give helpful advice and feedback. Negative people may increase your stress level and make you doubt your ability to manage
stress in healthy ways.
• Practice positive self-talk. Start by following one simple rule: Don't say anything to yourself that you wouldn't say to anyone
else. Be gentle and encouraging with yourself. If a negative thought enters your mind, evaluate it rationally and respond with
affirmations of what is good about you.

13. Putting positive thinking into practice
Negative self-talk Positive thinking
I've never done it before. It's an opportunity to learn
something new.
It's too complicated. I'll tackle it from a different angle.
I don't have the resources. Necessity is the mother of
invention.
I'm too lazy to get this done. I wasn't able to fit it into my
schedule, but I can re-examine
some priorities.
There's no way it will work. I can try to make it work.
It's too radical a change. Let's take a chance.
No one bothers to communicate
with me.
I'll see if I can open the channels
of communication.

14. Practicing positive thinking every day
• If you tend to have a negative outlook, don't expect to become
an optimist overnight. But with practice, eventually your self-
talk will contain less self-criticism and more self-acceptance.
You may also become less critical of the world around you.
• When your state of mind is generally optimistic, you're better
able to handle everyday stress in a more constructive way.
That ability may contribute to the widely observed health
benefits of positive thinking.

15. THANK YOU!

16. Resouces
• Resource Courtesy: http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-
lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/positive-thinking/art-
20043950?pg=2
• http://www.payscale.com/positive-attitude-in-the-
workplace