Keeping a positive mindset at the office

This article focuses on what you can do to Create a supportive mental environment for yourself in the office.. Hopefully, summer has given you a chance for a break and a time to put your professional worries behind you. When you get back to the office, here are four tips to keep your spirits up at work.

Tip No. # 1: how you see it, it’s how it is

The thoughts you have about your work environment determine how you feel about it.. This is not a new point, but it seems that, nevertheless, we often forget it. However, research shows that constructive thinking and positive emotions make us more creative, better at problem solving, and generally able to perceive our circumstances from a broader point of view. As such, I want to suggest that having A positive mental and emotional environment is essential to optimize our well-being and performance at work.. On the contrary, we have all experienced how negative thoughts and emotions distract us from our tasks, reduce our ability to innovate, and generally hamper our style.

It’s so easy to let the many irritations in the workplace get to you. While neither in itself is that bad, it’s the build-up that will end up weighing in on you. So, pay attention to the thoughts you indulge in and see how you feel, as emotions often have a physiological dimension that you can use as a telltale sign. Then redirect your thoughts to be more constructive, for example: “I do not want to attend this committee because we only go around in circles and never achieve anything” it could be “while I am not looking forward to this committee because not much is achieved, the time will soon pass and I can continue working on more interesting matters later. “

Tip No. # 2: become your own advisor

The example I just gave may sound easy and straightforward, but I’m sure many of you have tried to manage your thoughts beforehand and have found that reframing your thoughts is harder than it sounds. At the same time, have you noticed how easy it is for others to advise you in times of distress? Or that it is easy for you to give good advice to others even if you have difficulty following yours? This is due to the phenomenon of “psychological distance”: we analyze situations better and make better judgments about problems when we are not emotionally entangled and have some perspective.

So how about taking a step back? In fact, imagine that it is not you, perhaps your best friend, or a trusted colleague, someone not involved, “no skin in the game”. By doing so, you can become your own advisor – someone who can clearly see what is happening and whose balanced point of view can form the basis for a more constructive mindset and, as a result, an emotional reaction. The trick is to get out: If you were someone else considering your situation, what would you advise?

Tip No. # 3: leverage your strengths

Let us now consider a little more the kind of advice that will be beneficial to you, Must? In my opinion, the worst advice is the one that feels irrelevant. You know how people often start warning phrases with the phrase “If I were you”? And yet many proceed to defend a course of action that is totally at odds with their character. That, to me, is bad advice – not because it’s bad in and of itself, but because it’s not something that comes naturally to you.

So any suggestions you make to your advisor, be sure to respect your authentic self. In particular, let me point out your strengths. When the going gets tough, life gets complicated enough regarding the specific difficulties of the problem without adding the challenge of using non-core skills. Rather, let your advisor consider Which of your (many!) Strengths will be most relevant and appropriate for today’s challenge..

Tip # 4: get inspired

Let’s recap. To navigate the sometimes stormy waters of the workplace and hold onto your happiness at work, it is important to have the ability to redirect negative opinions towards more constructive thoughts and therefore elicit more positive feelings about the difficult situation you are in. The key is get out of yourself, get away from the challenging situation you are facing and become your own advisor. Lastly, when you give yourself advice, focus on using your strengths to meet your challenge.

For the fourth tip on how to stay positive, let me invite you to incorporate into your advice not only what you know about your preferences and strengths, but also what their role models do and how they do it. Thinking about the people we respect and admire is another way to harness new ideas to handle a difficult situation. And please don’t think you have to be exactly like your hero to emulate them – in fact, ask your advisor to help you figure out how to properly adjust your role model’s behavior to your own context and capabilities.

There you have it: some tips to help you face the inevitable ups and downs of your workplace with more equanimity. Develop your ability to get out of the situation you find challenging, become your own advisor, and give yourself good ideas based on your strengths and inspiration from those you respect, admire, and represent your role models.