Here is my own experience on the importance of a positive attitude and how it helped me with my career.
At my last job (which I can now blog about since my last day there was one week ago) there were some questionable goings ons with the upper administrative unit. Earlier this year, the two primary employees in my division had lost their tenure and were forced to leave; one of them was my boss.
Tensions Rising, but Who’s Getting Tense?
Now I suppose “the people on the third floor”, as we used to call them, wanted to make progressive changes in the system. Perhaps they needed more people with modern ideas who could think outside the box. Some real proactive go-getters. Or maybe they just didn’t like the two people they indirectly let go. Nobody was sure why this decision had been made. Yes, I thought it was an asshole thing for upper management to do, but I decided from the beginning that, although I felt compassion toward my boss and her colleague, it really wasn’t any of my business. I held a somewhat detached perspective about the whole situation, being interested but not involved, mainly because there was nothing I could do about it but also because I don’t like getting personally caught up in dramatic situations.
The reactions of my co-workers ranged widely, from being highly upset to maintaining a seemingly positive exterior. The co-workers who were upset the most also seemed to be the same people who always got personally attached to situations, expressed more distrust in general and experienced more workplace drama. Now, don’t get me wrong, because I consider some of these people my friends! So it’s not like they were dramatic and negative all the time, but it’s just something I noticed.
The atmosphere at my work was very charged and surreal during the days leading up to our new boss’s arrival, and many people were very anxious and pessimistic. In order to counteract this anxiousness and protect myself emotionally, I made a very determined and focused decision to go into the situation with a positive attitude. I saw it as a fresh start. A new beginning. And I was going to be happy, dammit.
A Stark Example
Before the new boss came along, I had several discussions with a certain co-worker friend who was particularly upset and distrustful of this new person.
“Look”, I said to him, “this person is just somebody trying to get a job, just like I’m trying to find a job. You can’t just make assumptions about this person based on what’s going on here. She or he might be a really great person to work with!”
I didn’t know whether this sunk in with him or not, but I continued.
“So many of our co-workers are getting upset about this situation and I’m not falling into that trap. You could say it’s a selfish decision, but I have to do what’s best for me, which is to stay happy. I refuse to be upset by this. I have too many other personal issues going on, like not being able to find a job myself. That’s why I decided to not get involved and to stay positive no matter what happens.”
And so the new boss came on board and my positive attitude was like a highly potent fuel for enthusiasm. Things quite literally took off between my new boss and me! On the other hand, my distrustful co-worker friend had a bad misunderstanding with boss lady within the first week or so of her arrival, making her so angry that they did not communicate with each other for the next few months! Funny how that worked out, isn’t it? 
Where the Fuel for Enthusiasm Can Take You
I quickly initiated a positive work relationship with the new boss. (Of course, it didn’t hurt that we both had the same ideas and work philosophies. We had a lot in common in that regard.) I expressed my willingness to work on new projects and, upon her request, handed her idea after idea of new changes that could be implemented. I was excited to be involved, and I made it VERY clear that I was going to help her.
I also made sure she knew about my struggles of finding a new job. I had just graduated a few months before she came on board and because of the poor economy I still didn’t have a job lined up. She said that she would help me out by giving me projects to work on that I could add to my resume. You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours. During the fall my workload just exploded. (Why? Because we still hadn’t found a replacement for the other person who was let go, that’s why!) But that explosion combined with my new boss’s awesome support allowed me to really flourish and grow! I am NOT the same meek and shy person who started in that position two and a half years ago! I started leading teams! Creating partnerships! Initiating projects! Holding meetings!
Without my boss’s willingness to let me take control and be independent, I would NOT be where I am right now. And because of that growth and experience I was picked TOP out of all the candidates for the job I now have. In fact, my new employer KNEW he wanted me there before even interviewing me. On top of that, my boss gave him a RAVING reference. That’s how well this all worked out.
Positive Attitude as an Everyday Practice
So lately I’ve been looking back on this experience and pondering the idea of having a positive attitude all the time, not just during uncertain situations. When I wake up every day, I try to remember to have that same determined focus to “stay positive no matter what happens” just like I did back then. If you think about it, every day is an uncertain situation. We never know what is going to happen, so we might as well maintain a sense of well-being within ourselves no matter what is going on in life externally.
Having a positive attitude is something that took a long time for me to learn, and is something I am still learning to perfect on a day to day basis. And believe me, some AMAZING EXPERIENCES can result! It makes having a positive attitude worth practicing.
