How positive is your outlook on your business…and on your life in general?
There is evidence that the power of positivity is great.
Projecting and believing in a positive outlook reduces stress. It improves health. And it flows not just through you, but through those that you work with.
From a business owner’s perspective and a leader’s perspective it’s important to have the faith that your business will succeed. It’s important because without a leader that believes in the business the business won’t succeed. And if a leader doesn’t project positivity then the employees likely won’t either.
Healthy Pessimism or Unhealthy Negativity?
I read the Good To Great series of books. I really like them. They’re some of my favorites and in those books one theme pointed out was that leaders of successful companies have a paranoia about their businesses. They believe that at any moment something bad could happen.
However, those successful leaders didn’t have a negative outlook on their companies. They didn’t think that their business was destined to fail. They were paranoid that they were doing something wrong and that sparked an effort to continually improve.
Most people have been around someone that is negative. They pick at little details in life and paint a picture of negativity from those details.
And sometimes it’s difficult to avoid being negative. We all have bad things that happen, but for some those details define all things in their lives. I look at videos and stories of people that have had horrible things happen to them and I can’t imagine how they deal with it, but some will have smiles on their face.
Negativity can defeat a spirit. We’re just talking about the fate of a company or of an organization. If the leader becomes overwhelmed with negativity about the business the business is likely doomed for failure.
A few months I wrote about how we often become what we believe.
If the leader of a company doesn’t believe the business will do well the business the business will likely become what the leader believes.
That’s why it’s so important for the leader to believe that the business can succeed.
Let’s look at some ways to be more positive when it comes to your business or organization.
Tip #1. Change What The Business Is Doing
Obviously it’s not always that easy, but nothing about business is really easy. The folks featured in the Good To Great books changed things when it wasn’t working. They had reason to be negative about the business, but they researched, created a plan and then stuck to a plan that they believed in.
Tip #2. Find What You Appreciate
Being appreciative or gracious for things in your life are key to being happy and positive. Most people have things in their lives that are negative and things that are positive. It can be easy to fall into the trap of focusing on the negative. I think we’ve all walked that line and understand how it can be easy to sweat the small stuff. I can’t imagine the horrible things that happen. But those that find positivity are the ones that look for it in their lives and appreciate it.
Tip #3. Treat Others Well
Positivity for our own lives can come from treating others well. Think of the last time you did something good for someone else. That person likely felt gratitude for you, but I’m sure you also felt good about what you had done. It makes us feel good to treat others well. I try to remember this because in our business, blogging, it’s easy to read a post and point out to the writer that there is one or two mistakes. Over time, hearing only about those mistakes adds up. It’s important to make changes, but it’s just as important for us to point out the thousands of great words the writers create.
Tip #4. Change Your Body Language
Tiger Woods is arguably the greatest golfer of all time. You could argue that a few others are the greatest, but we really see it now just how good Tiger was during his prime. Something that stood out about Tiger was his body language. He almost always had a stoic look about him. He held his head high. He looked straight forward. He stuck his chest out and kept his back straight. he would do this even when things were going wrong. When he would hit a bad shot he would get frustrated for a moment, but only for a moment. Then he would stand tall and move on. The feeling was that this body language allowed him to feel positivity about what he was doing. He made his body feel confident so that he could be confident…not the other way around; at least not all the time.
Tip #5. Change Your Diet
Finally, your mood and outlook can be affected by your diet. If you’re not eating well you don’t feel well. You may not even realize how good you can really feel if you’ve had a poor diet for a long time. Here are some tips for changing your diet as a way to make your outlook on life better.
Conclusion
Being positive obviously helps you. If you don’t believe in your company then the company won’t succeed. If you believe that it will be successful then that outlook will likely come true. It’s the reason entrepreneurs talk about vision even if they don’t call it a vision. And your outlook projects from you to those that you’re leading. For them to be positive you need to be positive. Use the tips here to help yourself to believe in what you’re doing and it can lead to success.