Think Positively or at Least Be a Practical Pessimist
I was teaching a course on Effective Management and was frustrated to notice one of my students had written “Pollyanna” all over the handout. I was challenging these managers to believe in their staff and had asked them, “If you can’t believe in your employees, why are they working for you? Let them find a job where their boss will respect their talents and take them as far as they can go. These are people trying to support their families and reach their goals. They deserve a boss who thinks they can do that.”
To me this is a practical way to run any business. It’s demoralizing to work for someone who doesn’t believe in you. I have always believed that most of us would be happy and productive if we were in a job that matched our skills and our temperament. When someone isn’t happy and we are not happy with them, it is high time they go play somewhere else. Then we can find someone with an attitude, aptitude, and skill that matches what we need.
Being positive doesn’t mean being starry-eyed. It isn’t even all that idealistic. Not only is constant starry-eyed optimism dangerous, it is practically impossible without a large, steady dose of tranquilizers!
Being positive means keeping hope alive. It means keeping the vision in front of you and refusing to be waylaid by negative thought patterns. It means pushing through the doubt, fear, frustration and insanity. It means remembering who you are and why you started this crazy business or project in the first place.
We’re all tempted by negative thoughts that drag us down and pull us away from our intended path. Oh well! That just means we are human. We don’t have to succumb to it. Admittedly, sometimes we need to recognize it and give ourselves permission to hang out with it for a while. It doesn’t hurt to take time to figure out what’s bugging us.
But sooner or later, we gotta get back on the horse.
What’s important is to recognize the difference between negativity and practical pessimism.
A practical pessimist knows the odds of things working out vs. things working out badly. He then makes decisions based on that information. The practical pessimist knows if he steps in front of a speeding bus, he will die. So he doesn’t step in front of a speeding bus. Pretty simple.
A negative person, on the other hand, arrogantly believes the world is out to get him (as if the world has that much time or even cares!) So he thinks every speeding bus has his name on it.
Don’t give yourself too much credit. The world isn’t paying all that much attention to you. Step back. Take stock. Recommit to the game.
…and get back on the horse.
Take care of yourself!
Beth
(excerpted from my book “101 Ways to Make Your Life Easier“)
Beth Terry, CSP
Certified Speaking Professional and Author
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