Banish Negative Thinking, Deal With Difficult People

Banish Negative Thinking

A growing amount of research has shown that a pessimistic outlook will invariably not only take a toll on your career, but on your health as well. Pessimists are not good at handling stress. They have less confidence and are not as well equipped with effective coping methods. Therefore, looking at things negatively will not only stress you out at work, but your immune system will be taxed which will lead to health problems and more negativity. All in all, a bit of a vicious circle …

If you fit the negative bill, try the following to change your outlook:

Take a creative accounting of your life. Keep a mental checklist of all the good things that happen to you. Simply focusing on the positive can really boost your mood.

Avoid upward comparison. There will always be someone smarter or wealthier than you, but comparing is not a positive attitude. Forget about them, and concentrate on you.

Recognize how your mood affects your outlook. If you are in good spirits, your day-to-day experiences and interactions will be more positive. Don’t wallow in muddy negativity - accept any bad news or experiences learn from them and move forward.

Dismiss put downs. Nothing others say can ever change your own intrinsic worth as a person. Put downs will only lead to insecurity if you let them.

Enjoy the small things in life. Each thing you do well, however small, is an accomplishment, even if it is a routine task. You’ll feel more in control of things if you separate jobs into achievements and, as a result, you’ll feel more in control of your life. Hopefully, people will notice how well you do things and just how valuable you are.

Dealing with difficult people

Some people are just difficult to deal with. But difficult need not mean impossible. Sometimes, all it takes is a little understanding and strategic communication.

n    The dictator. This is someone who bullies and constantly demands. Deal with a dictator by responding to his or her tirades in a calming and disarming way. Change your method of communication - from phone to email or memo, for example.

n    The know-it-all. An expert who has an opinion on everything. But when to be found in error s/he will pass the buck. Know-it-all invariably enjoy making people feel insecure - therefore, you must affirm your self-confidence. Limit your responses and offer other considerations without necessarily totally disagreeing with a point of view.

n    The yes person. This person will promise any deadline, but rarely delivers. S/he may be charming, but lacks any real credibility. Have them state a deadline and then point out a list of possible obstacles that may hinder the time scale.

n    The wet blanket. The opposite of the yes person, the wet blanket is forever talking about why things don’t work. Negative and pessimistic, s/he is resistant to change. Pin them down to facts. Success in dealing with them means moving from emotion to fact.

n    The passive. The passive never lets you know where s/he stands by avoiding controversy at all costs and never offering ideas or opinions. Ask open-ended questions that initiate conversation. Reassure that it’s acceptable to disagree.

Internal affairs

Improving communication in any organization can have unexpected benefits…

Good internal communication, between members of staff at all levels helps improve the efficiency of any business. It ensures that everyone knows which direction the company is heading in and also helps to improve the job profiles of even the junior members of staff. Staff members stop feeling that they are being left in the dark as to what is happening and therefore begin to feel that their job is important.

For many larger businesses the main form of internal communication is through memos/emails, but this is a very limited and impersonal form of communication and often results in a poor response.  

Improving contact within your organization need not be that difficult, but all the following suggestions do need to be implemented regularly, as they will not work as “one-offs”.

Ground meetings at regular intervals. These only need to be 15 to 30 minutes long, but may prove to be the best time spent with the staff. It is here you can explain what is happening within the company, and more importantly, why it’s happening. During this period you should also be able to assess staff attitudes and get feedback.

The ground meeting can be altered to suit your business circumstances, and you may find within larger organizations that a series of meetings at different management levels, with the information being passed down, represents a more useful structure.

Staff should leave the meeting with a “feel good” factor, and this will in turn promote your company goals.

The internal newsletter. Particularly relevant where large numbers of people are involved. This type of publication should carry company news and information about individual employees, promotions and special events.

There are many other quick and easy ways to improve customer relations, here are two examples:

• A strategically placed bulletin board or suggestion box

• Displaying targets and end of month turnover on the board

If your company, like so many, is committed to achieving a “culture of excellence”, then putting your internal affairs in order is likely to play a key role.

Rethinking time management
If you find that traditional time-management strategies don't work for you, a book called, Time Management for the unmanageable by business consultant Ann McGee-Cooper (Bantam Books) may be just what you need.
The book points out that there are two different ways of looking at time. One is called monochromic, and the other is polychromic.
McGee-Cooper says, "Monochromic time refers to linear time - time that is measured by the clock and typically decided in advance." Because most of the business world runs on monochromic time, business people must follow this schedule. We all know that being punctual is a top priority in most offices.
Polychromic time, according to McGee-Cooper, "is related to decisions made intuitively at the moment, as events are played out. The more you deal directly with people, the more polychromic you must become.
For example, you know about how long it will take you to type the quarterly report or prepare the minutes of the weekly meeting. But can you predict how long it will take to handle a customer complaint or conduct a performance appraisal? Obviously, we must be more flexible in managing our time when we are dealing with people.
Another key is choosing a time-management system that will work for you knows what kind of thinker you are. In other words, do you have a right or left-brained thinking preference? Keep in mind that one type of thinking is not superior to the other, just different.
Left-brained dominant people are well organized and routine-orientated. They find conventional time management tools, such as "to do" lists and planners helpful. On the other hand, right-brained people like spontaneity and flexibility. They don't find traditional time-management systems "user friendly."

Develop your own color coding system.
Draw colored boxes around activities or tasks scheduled on your calendar, or used colored dots to call attention to them. For example, hot pink for intensive projects, red for deadlines, etc.
Build in flexibility by using self-stick notes.
Jot tasks that can be done anytime during the week on these notes and place them on your calendar. Then, if you want to reschedule the task, simply move the note to the new date.

Take a creative accounting of your life, Keep a mental checklist Of all the good things in your life. Simply Focusing On The Positive can really boost your mood!