I have done an experiment on spreading positivity in my work environment.
I started working for my current employer three years ago. During the first year, I was completing my studies and besides getting my job done well, I did not do much for the community and team spirit at work. The second year came around and I graduated. I was working at a job in which I did everything mainly alone and I did not really need to work with others.
Third year was about to start and I applied for a new job, as I did not enjoy the alone working and the job was not giving me enough challenges. I got a new position, where just a small part of my work was to be done by myself and most of the work requires communication with my colleagues.
By this time, I had noticed that the environment we were working in was filled with negativity. Most people had the attitude that work is just work and you are not supposed to enjoy it. I still have a really long career ahead of me and for sure I do not want to become a negative complainer and not enjoy my work!
For sure the work itself is not always that fun and easy, and should not be. If there are no challenges you will not be able to learn or grow. But the people and the environment can still be positive and supportive. I decided that I was going to be more positive towards all my colleagues and speak positively about my job.
In just a couple of days the first people were contagious. A few days and the first colleagues started smiling more and instead of just “Hi” in the morning, they said “Good morning, what a nice sunny morning”.
It is the small things that keeps me happy throughout my workday. It is the smiles I get, the good mornings, the small personal questions and most of all the positive attitude that I see and face. There is no need to pretend or fake your positivity, but just forget the continuous negativity and try finding out more positive things from your life.
There are days when I fall to the negative side, I get frustrated easily and everything seems to be annoying and too difficult. But this is not every day for me, it is just some days. And that is better, I feel so much better when I am positive, I have more energy and I get more things done.
If you are having a hard time with finding positive things from your life, start writing a diary. Each night before bed, write down 3-5 positive things about that day. They can be anything, even just small things such as “I got the laundry done today”, it does not have to be anything that special. That is what got me going with the positive lifestyle.
