We are living in trying times, and it can be difficult for business leaders to remain optimistic while bombarded with disasters on personal and global levels.
As leaders, we must maintain hope and courage in the face of darkness—for our teams’ sake and sanity. Fortunately, many wise people have lived through hardship and come out on the other side with advice on staying positive during difficult times.
There’s no single secret to how to stay positive in a negative world, but there are three key things to keep in mind. First, there is some merit to the idea of “faking it until you make it.”
Finance columnist Jean Chatzky has said, “While you’re going through this process of trying to find the satisfaction in your work, pretend you feel satisfied. Tell yourself you had a good day. Walk through the corridors with a smile rather than a scowl. Your positive energy will radiate. You’ll find you are having fun if you act like you’re having fun.”
Other leaders agree. Businessman Jim Thompson once said, “Say something positive, and you’ll see something positive.” Famed salesman Zig Ziglar noted, “one small positive thought can change your whole day.” Likewise, our outlook is impacted by what we do and say.
Second, how you act toward others can significantly affect how you see the world. Aesop once said, “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
Writer Alison Levine puts it bluntly: “How we treat people is always our choice, and if we choose not to be respectful, it can come back to bite us.” We’re shaping our world daily by how we treat the people in it.
Finally, when you can’t figure out how to stay positive in a negative world, focus on what you can personally do rather than dwelling on the things that might happen to you.
According to author and speaker Jack Canfield, “Successful people maintain a positive focus in life no matter what is happening around them. They stay focused on their past successes rather than their failures, and on the next action steps they need to take closer to the fulfillment of their goals rather than all the other distractions that life presents to them.”
Tony Robbins wrote, “setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.” You might not know the future, but you can still chart a course forward.
As Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. has said, “Greatness is not in where we stand, but in what direction we are moving. We must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it – but sail we must and not drift, nor lie at anchor.”
If we keep putting one foot before the other, we might discover what religious leader Thomas S. Monson once posited: “You do not find the happy life. You make it.”
How do you stay positive when afraid? A professional business coach can help you learn how to stay positive in a negative world and focus on driving success. Click here for a complimentary video coaching session with Coach Dave, and let’s help you stay positive in the worst times.
Coach Dave
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