Do you know why the right attitude is crucial in business? Knowing when and why to monitor or adjust your attitude isn’t something we’re taught as a rule in school – unless we count getting a detention for being a bit mouthy in class, or a kid in the year above putting us on our arse for the same reason!
My point is, learning how much of an impact your attitude has on, well, pretty much everything; everyone around you, your relationships, your work performance… is probably the biggest step you can take towards reaching your full potential in business.
If you’re familiar with my blogs and webinars you’ll know that I believe we all have the power to choose our inner dialogue, and that we should choose one of self-motivation and encouragement and not one of self-defeat. It’s choosing that positive mental attitude, and lending it to your inner voice that will help to navigate the ups and downs of business – sure, it might be a bit shit sometimes, but it’s how you respond to it – your attitude – that makes the difference between you feeling bitter or better.
And it’s not just about making yourself feel better about things. Not only will maintaining a positive attitude maximise your business’s performance, and make you feel confident and in control – it will also have a knock-on effect on those around you.
Imagine working for a right grumpy old git (perhaps you already do!). He’s always moaning that numbers are down, that he’s not sure how much longer things can continue, and that he’s worried everything might go under.
Does he sound like a joy to be around? Can you imagine working your hardest and volunteering for overtime?
Of course not.
The truth is that with a boss like that you would feel completely unmotivated, and probably couldn’t care less if the company went under or not. This feeling eventually becomes endemic among the staff, and in time is picked up upon by customers, who won’t want to buy from you. And thus; a self-fulfilling prophecy occurs – the business fails.
I’m not saying it’s easy to keep a positive attitude all of the time – we’ve all felt doubt about the future at some point in our lives – but it’s important to remember that, in business, a positive mindset can be the difference between success and failure…and these tips could help…
Think Of Your Team
If you have employees, keeping them motivated and happy is much easier if you have a positive attitude yourself – if they’re your team, think of yourself as their coach – let them know that they have a chance to ‘win’ if they believe in themselves and follow your (game) plan.
No matter how bad things are looking, never let your team know that you have doubts – always let them know that there is a chance to achieve success.
Be Happy That You Do What You Do
If you’re ever having ‘one of those days’ where conjuring up a positive mental attitude is seriously hard work, keep in mind that you chose to set up your business because it was a passion of yours – something you loved in an area of expertise that made you happy. If you can remember this and stay happy while you’re working because of it, then all that positivity can only lead to good things.
It might be a case of removing yourself from your business for a very short while until you remember how much you love it; how it feeds your souls…..think how lucky you are to be able to have the chance to do it for a living, and feel the positivity flow.
Be Proactive
Do not sit there and wait for opportunities and good things to come to you – go out into the world and grab them!
Someone with a negative mindset will dwell on their problems (business or otherwise), growing them into their head to epic proportions until they are all encompassing and insurmountable….All they will think about are these problems, and that mindset will attract more problems, and start a snowball effect until you are buried under an avalanche of your own creation.
Having a positive mindset, a positive attitude, and a positive innervoice means that you will look for solutions and opportunities instead, and your problems will shrink as you attract more and more good things to you.
Be Accountable
Whether you work solo or whether you have employees, when it comes to your business, the buck stops with you, so prepare to hold yourself accountable when things go wrong. This doesn’t have to take you down into a negative spiral – use any failures as a learning opportunity and try to take anything positive from the situation.
Blaming other people for failures isn’t big and it isn’t clever – also, it’s a pretty fast track to negativity city central. Even if an employee (for example) was to blame for your business’s shortcoming, being excessively negative by keep banging on about it is just a huge waste of your time and energy.
Instead, move on and stay positive – look for solutions rather than dwelling on the problem.
Don’t Be Too Proud To Accept Help
There’s no rule that says in order to run your own business you have to be doing EVERYTHING yourself, so accept help gladly when it’s offered, and ask for it when you need it.
Accepting help can mean that all of the issues that are frustrating you or distracting you from growing your business can be taken care of, making it easier for you to remain positive, and have more time and energy to devote to your passion – which is why you started the business in the first place.
Be Grateful
Take a little bit of time everyday to be grateful for what you have. Daily affirmations (or writing it down in a gratitude journal if talking out loud into the mirror makes you feel like a bit of tit), will help foster and maintain a positive mindset, and keep you working towards your goals.
Don’t Think, ‘What If?’
If you want to create a positive vibe around anything – your business, your relationships, your parenting skills, your fitness journey – ‘what ifs’ are an absolute no no.
Planning strategies for things that might go wrong is sensible – but constantly thinking of all the things that could go wrong and obsessing about them is just courting disaster.
You need to stay positive that all of your hard work will pay off. Thinking only of worst case scenarios is just asking for trouble and will only lead to bad things for you and your business.
Keep A Good Sense Of Humour
Vital in most areas of life, keeping a good sense of humour can often be the difference between something making or breaking you. Nothing will help you to create and keep a positive mindset more than having a sense of humour – so for god sake don’t lose yours.
Finding the irony or the humour in situations that might not be ideal can stop you from spiralling into negativity. Of course, it won’t change the situation, but laughing about it will help you to remain positive and keep you on the right track of working hard to achieve your goals.
Exercise
It’s unlikely that you’ve never heard of the positive effects that physical activity can have on your mental state, so I won’t bang on now about happy hormones and endorphins and how exercise is nature’s antidepressant – but setting aside even just 30 minutes a day for exercise or recreation absolutely works when it comes to keeping a positive attitude and a healthy mindset.
Exercise relieves stress and can have a positive impact on your mood, helping you to maintain the positive mindset you need to succeed in business.
Come on,