Job success comes from a success mindset.

Want to be more productive? Earn a better performance review? Get that promotion? Have less stress? Your job success in all those areas and more start when you bring a success mindset with you to work every day.
You are in control of the reality that you create for yourself every single day. It all starts in your head the minute you wake up in the morning. How are you going to approach the day? Do you roll out of bed with a feeling of absolute dread….or do you feel motivated and excited? At this point, nothing has happened yet to really tell you how the day is going to unfold either way…and yet the attitude that we form in an instant sets the tone for your next 16 hours or so. Make no mistake, we are in control of the direction we choose to take.
Here’s what we know for sure: When you make the decision to choose positivity at work, you will…

• Be 31% more productive
• Earn a 25% higher performance rating
• Have 23% less stress
• Make 37% more sales
• Be 65% more likely to get a promotion

In fact, 75% of job success can be predicted from one simple thing – bringing a success mindset to work with you every day. There are three things that make up a success mindset: Work optimism, positive engagement, and support provision. Let’s take a quick look at each.

Work Optimism

Mantra: “Good things happen.”
Work optimism concerns how you use your mental resources. What do you focus on? The paralyzing, demotivating aspects of the job, or the exciting, energizing parts of it? When you engage in work optimism, you put your energy into the good instead of the bad, and generally believe that positive things will happen. Work optimists are three times more likely to be highly engaged at work, and five times less likely to experience burnout.

Positive Engagement

Mantra: “In the face of challenges, I can succeed.”
Positive engagement is the idea that you train your brain to perceive stress as a positive challenge rather than something to be feared. When we view stress as a threat, that results in fight or flight behavior – we either tackle the problem aggressively (though not necessarily effectively!) or we run away from it. If you can flip the switch and view it as a challenge that you can conquer, and own that your behavior in the situation will be the difference between kicking down the roadblock or being derailed, you will be 15 times less likely to experience burnout, six times more likely to be highly engaged with your work, and three times more likely to be satisfied with your job.

Support Provision

Mantra: “I invest in the success of others.”
Here’s the one that’s not like the others! The more you support the people you work with, the more likely you are to succeed. Workers who make it a point to help out their team members are five times less likely to experience burnout and 65% more likely to get that promotion!

A few strategies to get started

When you live and breathe positivity as your default everything around you will change for the better. Here are a few simple ways that you can start rewiring your brain:

• Start every conversation with something positive. For example, if you’re asked how you are in the morning before you’ve had your first cup of coffee, resist the urge to yawn and say “I’m exhausted!” Instead, frame it positively – “I’m great! Hey, I heard you landed that new account – congrats!” Not only do you give out a boost by giving someone else a compliment, you also prime your own brain for success by telling a positive story.
• Think things aren’t going your way? Look for evidence that disrupts the story you’re trying to tell yourself. When you fact check negative or stressful thoughts, you’ll often fine that it’s simply a matter of context, and that new information can tell a wildly different tale.
• Become a “thank you” giving machine! Take the time to say thank you to someone who has helped you out, or give a general word of praise to someone you work with every day. The more positive thoughts you give out, the more goodwill you will receive!

Remember, it takes 30 days to build a habit – you’re literally creating new neural pathways in the brain. That means that you’ve got to keep with it, but after a month it will start to become second nature. If you can do one of these things every day for 30 days, that will be a great start to reframing your perspective and bringing your success mindset to work.
The data doesn’t lie. Positivity is your key to job success!
This article is based on the research of of Michelle Gielan in the book Broadcasting Happiness.

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