One’s mindset in any given situation, business or non-business, can often times be the most determining factor of the situation’s outcome. If you’re feeling negative about how well you are going to perform a certain task, chances are, you are not going to give the task your best effort. When you throw yourself at a task feeling positive and optimistic, on the other hand, you will almost always find yourself completing the task with surprisingly satisfying results.
Optimism goes an extremely long way in the business world. Those who are optimistic about their work will get things done more efficiently, effectively, and quickly than those who are pessimistic. With optimism comes innovation, and with innovation comes top-notch results.
It is far too common for people who are surrounded in a pessimistic environment to have trouble being optimistic about the things they could accomplish. Being a truly good worker is all about putting your mind to getting things done to the very best of your ability. If you are a person who walks into work without the motivation to do the very best that you are a capable of, you are only limiting yourself.
So, what if you are a person who has trouble finding the energy and optimism needed to complete tasks to the best of your ability? You feel like you could do much better and go much farther if only you could find the motivation to put more effort into your work. But, how do you find that motivation? Sometimes, all it takes is a little bit of recognition.
Xerox asked a number of business professionals about their thoughts on optimism in the workplace. Ann Rhoades, Co-Founder of JetBlue Airways, and President of People Inc. said, “People want to be recognized for their results and in the right way. Students coming out of school today want to be recognized for a job well done more than just a paycheck.” She then went on to say, “Treating people well and authentically respecting them leads to far better business performance.”
People today spend the majority of their time at work. It is very important that you feel as though the work you are doing means something, because as Shawn Achor, Founder of GoodThinkInc. says, “Optimism is the belief that our behavior matters. Without meaning, our behavior, even if successful, doesn’t matter.” If you can train yourself to put meaning into your work, you can create a habit of feeling positive and optimistic when at work, which really helps manifest high quality results, and in the end, will set you apart from the crowd.
ReturnOnOptimism.com is a website presented by Xerox which is designed to help you find your personal return on optimism–or “ROO.” A quick survey on the site will help you determine a calculated number, out of 100, representing your ROO. At the end of the survey, users are shown results of the most common answers, along with information and links to guides on how to improve your ROO.
You will find that there are many tips and tricks given by the experts themselves which can help you feel better about going to work, successfully accomplishing all that you are capable of, and, most importantly, making you into more of an all-around optimistic person. If you’re looking for a little push to help you find that motivation and optimism needed to take yourself and your work to better places, be sure to check out the website. Or, maybe, you feel as though you’re a total optimist already and you just want to make sure that you score 100 out of 100. Either way, it is a very fun, helpful site and it is designed for people belonging to all kinds of businesses and industries in order to give you an accurate representation of your personal level of optimism.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Xerox, however; the words and opinions are my own.