When I was working at Pacific Bell in the early 90’s there was a co-worker that called me “Perky” because he felt I was always positive and conveyed that everyday that I came into work. I wore that name with pride since I loved conveying a happy attitude everyday. It also felt great being able to make our workday more fun for everyone around me.
REM coined this phrase in their song of the same title and they got it right! Shiny, happy people emulate love and laughter and make gold and silver shine all around them. Put in another way – happy people are successful people.
As a Reinvention Career Coach, I know that reinvention starts with figuring out your passion to find a career that makes you excited to get out of bed and go to work every day. Having a job that keeps you excited and interested has a big effect on how well you do your job.
Happy people naturally make great workers since their positive attitude means they look at problems as opportunities with a possible solution rather than just complaining. They approach life, and their job, with the mindset that everything can be improved with some effort. As their manager, you don’t need to work so hard to motivate happy people and their energy can spread to the rest of the team.
Happy people wake up thinking about having a great day, accomplishing their set goals and engaging with other positive people. They look at the world as half full with clear, sunshine filled days and take time away from watching negative news on TV.
Take time yourself to start every day with positive affirmations that state all your strengths in the present tense and what you will accomplish to get what you want. Read books about learning how to be and stay optimistic and practice what you learn. Turn off negative images on TV or social media and start filling up your inbox with uplifting information. Train yourself to be a positive person and you will, not only be a great worker, but enjoy your job a lot more in the process.
Don’t get me wrong, being happy all the time is not necessarily possible. There are times in our lives when we are dealing with very difficult life events and happiness is a day to day, even moment to moment, challenge. The scientific studies and approach to choosing happiness is outlined very well in this article on Oprah.com written by Mark Matousek, http://www.oprah.com/spirit/how-to-choose-happiness/all
And, if your work environment or direct boss is toxic and negative then you may need to make the decision to quit and find a more enriching job or career. Deciding to make that change should be based on several factors, however, my point is that your own attitude and decision to strive to be a positive person will make you a better worker overall. Happiness, and the art of being happy as much as possible, is not just going to enhance your everyday life, it will also improve your work.
Ralph Waldo Emerson is famous for saying “Nothing great was ever created without enthusiasm”. And everyone you work with will agree!