There are certain emotions or ‘things’ which have a firm link.
For instance, motivation and productivity have a close link. Productivity and profitability have a close link. Morale and productivity also have a link.
Within the workplace, one thing tends to lead on to another almost naturally.
Another link that is certainly worth exploring is the very firm relationship between having a positive mental attitude and being a confident person.
Both positivity and confidence link to happiness, health, and wellbeing. Both sides of the coin influence the other one.
For instance, when you’re thinking in a negative way, you start to pull back. You try and retreat away from a situation because you think that you’re going to either be humiliated, hurt, laughed at, or upset. As a result, your confidence in yourself is lower.
In a working situation, this could arise in many different situations. For instance, you might be asked to join a collaboration session around the boardroom tables, and you have an idea you want to share, but you’re worried that people won’t take you seriously. That negative thought then means that you don’t have the confidence to speak up and share your idea.
Who knows, that idea may have been a real game-changer and could have influenced a real change in the workplace. The fact that you felt negative and lacked the confidence to speak up to your colleagues means that you’ll never know.
This type of situation can easily catch on and spread throughout the workforce. A team of unhappy workers is not a good situation to have, because it affects the workplace culture within the organisation and drags everything down. In this case, managers would need to look at what was really causing the problem and put measures into place to change things a little.
Increase Positivity, Increase Confidence, and Vice Versa
The close link between these two entities is undeniable.
When you’re thinking more positively, you see opportunities. That means you feel more upbeat and confident naturally, and that means you’re more likely to speak up when you have ideas, and you’re more likely to go after opportunities which could help you in your life and in your career.
The opposite is true. When you’re feeling confident, you automatically start to see the positive before the negative. You start to look at the glass as half full, rather than half-empty, and this shows you a work of possibilities and opportunities that could come your way.
Focusing on one brings the other into your life. It also helps you feel happier in your workplace, and also spreads into your personal life.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that becoming a more confident person or a more positive person is easy. It really depends upon your starting point. The fact that you realise work needs to be done however is a good thing. This means you have the drive and determination to make changes that will benefit you over the long-term.
A positive mindset is certainly helped by developing a positive workplace culture. This is something which needs to be looked at from a management point of view but having an open-door policy within the workplace, i.e. the ability for employees to approach management with ideas and problems whenever they feel they need to, helping you to identify problems that might need rectifying.
As a starting point, try thinking of three positive things when you wake up every morning and three things to be thankful for when you go to bed. This small change can help to kickstart a range of changes that would bring major benefits into your life, and if everyone in the office does the same, there will be a tidal wave effect of huge positivity and change.
There’s no negative in that, and a whole lot of major positivity coming your way!