How to Bring Positivity to Your Career
More often than not, when bad things happen there’s always some good that comes with it. I’ve learned personally that when I choose to remain hopeful, trusting, and positive, good things happen.
This carries into your work life, too. I have been recruiting in the staffing agency world since August of 2011 when I decided to leave banking/financial services, a career which I loathed. I felt like I was living a lie…trying to convince customers to buy more, pay more, believe in the ideas I was told to sell. I did this because it was my job, how I earned a living, what paid my bills. But I was incredibly unhappy and unfulfilled.
But then, a friend of mine turned me onto recruiting. She sold me on the idea of selling people an opportunity vs. selling people a product that I myself didn’t even believe in. But I do believe in people. I believe the best in others, I give people the benefit of the doubt, and I trust eagerly. I have a servant’s heart so helping other people achieve their career goals was exactly what I felt my new calling was.
I’ve had moments in my career where I’ve let negative thoughts flood my mind, so much so that it hinders my success. It keeps me from believing in myself and it limits my potential. Everyone hears it, that little voice that whispers “You suck!” or “You aren’t good enough!” or “Just quit!” Don’t listen to those lies. No one can dictate your success. You are in charge of it.
Choose to believe that you deserve good outcomes, you deserve that job promotion, you deserve to be successful (whatever success means to you). Buddha said it well: “What you think, you become. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you create.” So here are some tips that help me maintain positivity in both my career and my personal life:
When something bad happens, take a moment. Take a breath. Take a walk. A Recruiting Director I worked for when I lived in California (whom I consider a mentor during that period and such a great leader! Quick shout-out to Lori!) would always allow space for me to grieve. Yes, as a Recruiter we grieve our losses…at least I did. Once I let out my frustration, she would say “Okay, now that you’ve gotten that out, what are you going to do differently next time?” She always allowed for me to have my “moment” and encouraged me to be a better version of myself because of the trial.
Surround yourself with positive people. Pick your friends wisely. Or at least, find someone that you can be honest with that will allow you to have your “moment”, but still be truthful and honest and tell you what you need to hear vs. what you want to hear.
Find a positive mentor or positive influence. This could be a person you look up to, a boss, a friend, a family member, or something that brings a positive change to your life. You could choose to volunteer at a homeless shelter, pay for someone’s food/coffee in line at the drive-thru, or carry someone’s groceries to their car. What you put your time into and what you put your focus on, will be what you attract.
Take steps to be more positive. Line your workspace with positive quotes, affirmations, things that put you into a positive state of mind. Read motivational books, memoirs, biographies, stories. It helps to read success stories of how others achieved greatness in ordinary lives or amidst tragedy. Ups and downs are so normal and will never go away. It’s how we respond to them that dictates our happiness.
Speak positively. This sounds silly but I promise you, it will start to change your thinking. Speaking things out loud (almost like a pep talk!), affirming that you are good at what you do, you are going to get that rockstar candidate the job of their dreams, or if you’re the candidate, believe you’re going to get that dream job. Believe in yourself.
I am not an expert at positivity nor am I hypocrite. I get upset, I get angry, I feel defeated. But what I’ve come to understand is, “this too, shall pass”. Stuff happens. Tomorrow is a new day. We get to reset and redo and rethink in a more beneficial way. We get to choose to be positive.