For many people, workplace stress is a fact of life that they think will never end. But you can reduce and even eliminate workplace stress.
If you tend to have a negative attitude in the workplace, this tip is for you!
There is a natural human tendency to go to the negative rather than to the positive. Office negativity is not helpful. But there is a way to keep negativity, and the resulting stress, away. For example, suppose you receive a note that your supervisor wants to see you before you leave for the day. The natural inclination is to assume that the meeting will have a negative connotation. There is no basis for this. It is a faulty assumption; it’s guesswork.
Your supervisor may have a pleasant complement for you. Since the time you received the note and the time you met with your supervisor, you may have significantly increased your anxiety and stress level. The first chapter in my book, Live Without Stress: How to Enjoy the Journey, is about assumptions and how they create unnecessary stress.
A Simple Question to End Workplace Stress
Here is a simple question to ask regarding how to get rid of negativity and workplace stress: “If I were really important here, what would I be doing?“
It is almost amazing how this question can help keep you positive and increase your effort and joy in your work.
One of the first things you will notice is that you will stop complaining about your job. You will find yourself becoming a self-starter and come up with a few good ideas that you can begin implementing.
You will also notice how fast the day goes when you are involved in a positive way.
Every time you may fall back on old patterns—be they boredom or complaining—ask, “If I were really important here, what would I be doing?”
Tip: Make a sign for yourself with this question on it. Put it in a place where you will easily see it. Every time you look at it when in a negative mood, you will immediately feel your energy rising. The reason is that your cognition of reading those words will prompt a positive emotion and help diminish workplace stress.
You can get many more empowering tips like this one in my award-winning book, Live Without Stress: How to Enjoy the Journey. Buy one and get one free as a gift. You will not want to depart with your own copy. Be sure to check out the Without Stress Facebook Group where you can connect with other life-minded people on a journey to manage and reduce stress.
