A key factor to staying motivated and keeping a positive attitude is finding something you love to do. Having a job that you love can definitely make this easier, but not everyone ends up with their “dream job.” Fortunately, I think this runs deeper than just having a job you enjoy. I believe that people need to find something they love to do outside of work. This could be as simple as reading books, playing a sport, or working out. A hobby that you are passionate about can play a huge role in someone’s attitude and motivation. For instance, I am passionate about the outdoors. I love to hunt, fish, camp, you name it! I try to spend as much of my free time doing these hobbies with other people who have similar interests. When I participate in these types of activities, I am always in a good mood and don’t have an ounce of negativity in me. This motivation is also reflected in my day-to-day activities as well. When you have a hobby that you are passionate about, it gives you something that you can always look forward to, especially when you have multiple hobbies you can do year-round. This positive attitude and motivation can be carried into your work life as well.
Clearly there are SEVERAL other factors that can impact motivation/attitude but, in my opinion, another big one would be to surround yourself with the right people. Surround yourself with people who find a positive outlook even in a negative situation. This positive attitude and behavior can rub off on you which will ultimately create a more positive environment with more motivated people. For example, at one of my prior jobs, we went through 2 different managers. Everyone that I worked with through the first manager didn’t really like their job or want to be there. I know it’s not because of the actual work they were doing, it was because of the environment and attitude that the manager was displaying. I found this to be true because after that manager quit, the second manager was the complete opposite, and the environment and motivation level literally flipped from negative to positive in the matter of 1 week which made work life much more enjoyable.
It is crazy what an impact someone with a positive attitude can make. Sometimes I catch myself making cold calls and thinking to myself: “I will never use their service” or on the flipside: “I will most likely be using their service when I find a need for it, or at least recommending it to someone.” This decision can be made from just talking to the secretary or business owner for a minute! Sometimes I am just so surprised at how nice and friendly some people can be on the phone and it draws me in and makes me think a lot of their business. From a business owner’s standpoint, I think it would be detrimental to hire a secretary who lacks a positive attitude, because even if the work you do is out of this world, the perception of your service is going to be mediocre if you have someone answering phones with a negative attitude. Although there are many factors that go into being motivated and having a positive attitude, a great start would be to find a hobby that you love, surround yourself with the right people, and try to find the positive aspect of every situation!
Contributed by Travis Haren.
All images are the author’s own & may not be republished without express written permission.