Why negative isn’t terminal

Hey you! Yes, you – I’m talking to you. Why bother? There’s no point treating people with bad teeth as they’ll only go away, guzzle more fizzy drinks and smoke forty a day. Then they come back whining and won’t even buy a decent toothbrush.

Phew! That was very negative wasn’t it? Did it put you off – I guess if it did, you won’t have read this far. Those of you more resilient are probably ploughing on hoping I’ll get to the point soon. I will. It’s this: do not tolerate negativity or poor attitudes and let them affect what you endeavouring to achieve. Stay focused on the horizon with your eye on the prize.

Soul mates

In a team environment it’s easy to attract negative comments and attitudes from team members and patients. Despite being potentially upsetting, rarely are such comments made with heartfelt intent. Usually it’s because a team member’s dog was sick on the carpet that morning, a patient bumped their car as they parked it or a colleague at a conference just had some CPD disallowed.

Abracadabra

The trick is to have the self-confidence to not be put off, to ‘rise above it’ and to continue along your chosen path. To achieve such positivity and resolve to carry on, here is a few tips to help you.

It can be useful to have a mantra or phrase you recite either to yourself or out loud in response to a negative comment.

You could also carry around a real positivity device. For example, if you can juggle, always have juggling balls to hand. A quick reverse cascade should soon make you feel upbeat. For a virtual positive boost think about getting home and taking your new puppy for a walk.

Not legitimate

Take your foot off the accelerator pedal. We’ve all done it – looked down at the speedometer to see it registering 85mph. It’s easy to get drawn into speeding when others around you are doing it. So it is with collective negativity. Have the willpower to metaphorically ease off the accelerator pedal by saying: “I don’t believe things are as bad as you’re making out” or “There must be an upside to what you’re saying.”

What if these tips don’t work for you? In that case you must resort to ‘illegitimi non carborundum’ – the pseudo Latin phrase commonly regarded as meaning ‘don’t let the b……..ds grind you down’.

Author Nicki Rowland

Posted by Gemma