People are prone to worry, especially when faced with fears of the unknown. Run your own business and this worry multiplies ten-fold as you grapple with impacts to your livelihood, family, employees, customers, and everyone else who looks to you for answers.
It’s nice being in charge — until it’s not.
The thing is, you have agency over how you respond to stressors when they arise. You can carry the weight of the world or you can hold it momentarily before moving it somewhere more productive.
As with any skill in business, maintaining a positive attitude isn’t something you simply adopt overnight. It’s learned overtime as you become more self-aware and cognizant of its potential. Here are just a few of the benefits positive thinking can bring to your business approach.
Problems Turn Into Solutions
From a survival standpoint, negativity bias has been ingrained into our makeup. In assuming the worst of our situations, we preserve ourselves from the fallout that might come with them. However, this approach also deprives ourselves of possibility.
There’s a difference between blind optimism and positivity. No one’s here to tell you you should assume the best possible outcome for every business decision made. Of course not — you’re bound to make mistakes.
The idea is not to let negativity prevent you from seeing what could be. If you dwell on problems, you’ll never see the solutions.
People Want to Follow You
At the right dosage, positivity is contagious. It makes people feel uplifted and hopeful about whatever lies before them.
As a business owner, this is something you should aim to bring to those on your team. You want to be a leader, not just a manager — someone people don’t simply have to follow but want to follow.
Speak to employee strengths in addition to their weaknesses. Recognize the potential for mistakes. Lead by example and encourage people to think outside the box rather than feel trapped inside of it.
Improved Mental State and Productivity
When you channel positivity in negative situations, you naturally find yourself in a state of calm. You think clearer, act faster, and find yourself moving with forward momentum. Think of it as a small shift in the conversation you have with yourself.
For example, maybe your year hasn’t been as profitable as you had imagined it would be. The positive spin isn’t to tell yourself, “It’s fine, everything’s fine.” You’re not ignoring the not numbers in front of you or throwing up your hands to say, “I can’t do this.”
Have those negative thoughts, thank them for stopping by, and then turn them around. The more you practice awareness and reframing, the easier it’ll be to declutter your brain over time of thoughts that aren’t serving any kind of long-term, productive purpose.