Get Ready! It’s the Newest and Biggest Generation in the Workplace, Primed to Make a Difference You Can’t (and Don’t Want To) Ignore. This series offers career advice for the Biggest Generation since The Baby Boom, by The Millennial Mentor.
By Robyn Tingley
A university student asked me this week what my #1 tip is to be successful in the workplace. My response? Attitude. Employers can hire for skill. They can hire for experience. They can hire for education. But they will promote for attitude. They will keep investing in employees who bring a can-do approach to the job that engages people constructively to solve problems and deliver results.
People want to be around positive people. It’s that simple. Negativity erodes teamwork, stifles creativity, and is a major drain on productivity. No great leader was ever praised for making people feel stressed or self-conscious. People remember the times they were inspired and encouraged, even if the workload was heavy or the task was difficult.
Maintaining a positive attitude takes work, especially in the face of increasing demands and competing priorities. The key is recognizing that it’s an inside job. It all starts within you. Every day you must choose – beforehand – how your day is going to unfold. You need to take accountability for the thoughts you think and the words you speak. How you react to situations is completely within your control.
And it goes far beyond success in the workplace. Attitude is everything when it comes to living your best life. You must approach each day with intention. I like to start my day with gratitude. When you open your eyes, think about what is going well and play those things over in your mind. Before you even open your email and consider your to-do list for the day, program your mind positively. Tell yourself that you can handle anything that comes your way. You are smart enough. Resourceful enough. Calm enough. You are going to be just fine. In fact, you’ll be great! Picture the situations you are likely to encounter and visualize yourself smiling, confident and in control. The brain is genius. It will begin to recognize these positive affirmations, and it will create shortcuts over time to deliver more positive thoughts to your subconscious automatically. Positive will build more positive in your life.
The same is true for the negative. So be deliberate. Catch yourself in those times when self-doubt creeps in. When that little voice tells you that someone is being difficult, that you don’t have enough whatever (money, health, skill, love, patience), stamp it out. This is the only way to feel better, project more confidence, and attract other positive people into your life.
The best investment you can make is to spend a little time reading about the law of attraction and power of positivity. Find techniques that work for you, whether it’s morning meditation, keeping a gratitude journal, having a vision board, or sipping tea and contemplating the positive parts of your life, while visualizing the next steps and how they’ll unfold perfectly for you. Your future self will thank you for it.
Robyn Tingley’s career has taken her around the world as an international executive in Human Resources and Communications. She is the founder of GlassSKY.org, an organization dedicated to workplace diversity, gender equality, and helping people succeed.
Other articles in the Series —
Millennial Envy — an introduction to this unique generation
Networking: An Investment in Your Future
Welcome to the C-Suite! 3 Ways to Boost Your Personal Brand
Make Your Resume Work for You: 5 Ways to Stand Out with Recruiters
Take Back Your Happy – 5 Steps
4 Simple Ways to Shine in Meetings