There are not many people that will be able to say that the last few months have not been incredibly challenging, both from a business perspective and mentally. Whilst this pandemic is an incredibly rare situation to be in, we can learn things from this experience that we can take forward for the future.
Maintaining a positive outlook is a very strong weapon to have in your locker and if you can master it when times get tough, then this will set you in good stead for long-term success. In the great words of Rocky Balboa “It’s not about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” If you can stay positive until some type of normality resumes, you will be in a much better position going forward.
Here are some tips on how you can train your mindset to be more positive:
Focus on successes and what is going well
When negative thoughts start to creep in, remind yourself of the things you are grateful for. This can be anything from spending more quality time with your family, to finishing a job you have been putting off. It might help to write a list of all the positives in your life.
Set up your working from home environment
If you are working from home and not used to doing so, try and make your working environment as comfortable and professional as possible. Make sure you are set up somewhere with the least distractions.
Use Exercise to Clear Your Head
If you find yourself constantly immersed in news stories that are mostly doom and gloom, try to reduce the amount of time you are reading news or social media. A good way to clear your head and get some positive energy is to do some exercise. This could be simply going for a walk, or doing something more strenuous like a run or an online exercise class. You will feel much better after you have done some exercise because your body releases endorphins that give you a mental boost. Doing regular exercise should also help you to sleep better, if you have been struggling with that.
Spend more time speaking to positive people
Positivity has a tendency to breed more positivity, so if you are spending a lot of time talking to people that are really negative, you need to try and speak to more positive people instead, or at least try and direct the conversation to a more positive subject. If you can help someone else think more positively by cheering them up, this will also give you a feeling that you have made a difference.
Plan long-term goals
With so much uncertainty right now, setting short term goals might not be realistic in terms of your business. So, think about your long-term strategy, rather than dwelling on not being able to meet short-term goals you have set. Accepting that the situation is completely out of your control will help you to be more positive about your future outlook.
Have some fun
Think about things that you find fun and that make you happy. Maybe watch an old favourite comedy series, have a water balloon fight with the kids, or get some games out (obviously avoid Monopoly as we know how that turns out). Listen to music and dance around the kitchen whilst cooking, whatever can put a smile on your face for a while, is going to help you through these strange days.
These are just a few examples but remember that this is a temporary situation and there are better times waiting for us ahead. When the time is right, you should be mentally ready to channel all of your energy into driving success.
