Thinking about my own expressions of being positive and reflecting on it is that my job
really allows me to express this. I am a Personal Trainer at a gym and for my clients to be
able to tackle one of the workouts I have planned for them I need to make sure I stay
positive throughout the work out for them. There is nothing worse then having a coach that
is negative and just not giving you that energy that you need to get through that work out.
You want someone that is going to be interactive, pushing you to that limit and keeping you
motivated. For that you need someone that is positive and willing to go that extra mile for
you. The hardest part for me is being so positive in my morning class ( which is at 4:30am)
the car ride over there is always a struggle but when I set foot in the gym the positivity just
starts to flow and I am ready to go! I am sure it helps them get through the work out that
early in the morning. I like to think of myself as a super positive and cheerful person. I bring
positivity to my day every single day by just doing certain things throughout the day to keep
myself upbeat. My first thoughts when I wake up are to be grateful to be alive and well. I do
some morning stretches to get these lazy bones going and down a big glass of water. I speak
to myself in the mirror daily. If you can't face yourself at your best moments you surely will
not be able to do it in your worst moments. I do self talk ALL the time. I have post its posted
all around my house of my goals, positive memos to myself, and inspirational quotes. I
choose to treat myself with the utmost appreciation because I value myself and everything
about me; my time, my energy, my focus, my goals, my family, my education, my well
being, and especially my attitude. My life is meaningful and I want to make an impact or a
difference no matter how big or small while I am here on earth. With that being said, how I
treat myself is how I treat others. I ALWAYS want to be able to say I treat people how I
treat myself and actually mean my words.Working in the life insurance business has
definitely opened my eyes to so many different cultures and backgrounds. You meet all
walks of life; some may be young or old, rich and poor, educated or dropout. Since having
started in this business I have learned never to judge a book by its cover and to always keep
an open mind. I have learned some of the most interesting things from people who would be
considered uneducated or poor. No matter who the person is, there is always something you
can learn that you may not have known prior to communicating with said person. Granted,
you get some nasty people from time to time but I pride myself on breaking down those
barriers that people tend to build when just meeting someone new. A simple smile can do
the trick but just being a genuinely nice person always trumps because you radiate positivity
when you treat people in a manner they are to be treated and people buy from people they
like.Working for myself I don't have to worry to much about inconsistencies unless I am the
one making them. If I had to deal with such nonsense I would like to think I would keep the
same cheery disposition I normally have on a day to day basis. Being an upbeat person is
just alluring. I want to draw people in not away. I do understand errors happen from time to
time but after a little conversation stating the errors along with a great job, keep up the good
work.....just pay closer attention to.....(areas needed.) Honestly, we are adults. We don't need
to be scolded. Just a simple conversation with clear directives, expectations, and gratitude
goes a long way. When I think of my own positivity and how I express it, I tend to tell
people they are valued, and show support verbally and nonverbally. My expressions of
positivity also change depending on who I am speaking to. At work, I offer my assistance to
co-workers, I acknowledge them when they have had a success, and I tell them I appreciate
the time and attention they put into an assignment or task. When I am with my family, I
show expressions of positivity differently. I give hugs and I tell them I love them. I also am
someone who apologizes when I am wrong or make a mistake. a When writing in a positive
tone at work, I should know who my audience is when I am writing an email, memo, or
other types of correspondences. I should write in a clear and concise manner that others will
understand. I should also avoid using negative words or phrases that would receive an
adverse reaction from those I am communicating with. Maya Angelou wrote, “I’ve learned
that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never
forget how you made them feel” . I worked for Walmart. As a customer host. My job duties
were to greet every customer coming into. store and leaving. I also had to scan their
receipts. This job came with the good, bad, and very ugly. Don’t get me wrong I love my job
but it was very stressful. Because the customers would get offended. If I asked sir or ma’am
can I check your receipt? I recalled this one situation I asked to checked a customer receipt
because they had items that were not in a bag and the customer before them had items in a
bag. They called me racist it got out of hand quite. I had to reassure myself that I was only
doing my job. Anything that’s not in a bag I have to check. The customer even stood there
why I checked the next customer with items just like there’s. One example they found out I
didn’t treat them any different the situation calmed down. Sometimes you have to reassure
people especially working at retails stores. Yes I believe in the customer is always right but
to a certain extinct. I believe the way I handle myself didn’t put me in jeopardy or the
customer. There are several areas in my line of work that are judged by the score (%), I am
held accountable for my Market, and in turn I hold my Managers accountable and their
teams. I was the leading Market for the Business Unit in a program called the "Lift" where
the company minimum was 12% or higher. The majority of my 260 employees maintained a
score above 12% with a few stragglers under 10%. When I was exploring different was to
encourage my team to strive to reach the minimum I created a spreadsheet that ranked
everyone from the highest to the lowest with a color chart. The employees between 10 and
12% I labeled beside "go for 12%", the employees that were under 10% I labeled
"unacceptable". My direct supervisor and mentor through a coaching moment encouraged
me to reword how I addressed the under 10 with the same point but with "below company
standards". I was still getting the point across that they were not performing well, but I was
not as aggressive with how I let them know. I try to be positive every day. When I wake in
the morning i find that listening to gospel music while getting ready for work puts me in a
good mood. It calms me so to speak. Sometimes i have to tell myself, "Today is going to be
a good day!!" Because Lord knows one of my coworkers tries my patience! I smile a lot and
i greet everybody i come in contact with. I try to have an optimistic approach at work and try
to stay away from negativity and people who constantly complain about things. I feel that
negative energy begets negative energy and i feed off people. if i see someone is having a
bad day i will ask them if they are alright and try to give them encouraging words. When
attempting to keep a positive writing style at work i keep in mind who I'm communicating
with. I want to make sure i say what i have to say but make sure that i keep it respectful so
as not to offend anyone. The way I express positivity is by always being kind whether I am
at work or out in public. At work every morning when I go into the office I always say
"good morning". Someone could be having a rough morning and a simple good morning
would lift their spirits. I am always trying to be as positive was possible even in negative
situations or a negative environment. I don't like to dwell I like to find a solution to the
problem. At work I am sure we all have experienced a time when it is just a busy,
overwhelming day. Days like that I still remain positive because in a room full of negative
vibes, that one good vibe of positivity can shift the room. For example, one day I came to
work and we had about 2 call outs and every one was upset and worried about not being able
to get their work done and I simply told everyone don't stress we will work together and get
everything done. Instead of thinking the worst I like to think about the good and find a
solution. Being positive in uncertain situations can make things a lot less stressful. Positivity
(when writing) will impact the audience's outcome. I occasionally become emotional when
writing and have to ensure I do not “overdo it” when I express myself because it might not
have the best result. I like to express my opinion and make sure I get my point across, but at
the same time I want to ensure there is a win-win situation (for both parties) and want to
avoid offending someone if they do not agree with me.Some of the resources provided in
chapter 5 encourage you to consider the readers' values and priorities. If we receive an email
at work we should prioritize it and respond to it in a timely manner. If we respond on time
and in a professional manner, the outcome will often be favorable. You are communicating
to them that you have received the message and what your next step will be. While doing
this we also have to ensure our message is respectful. We don’t want to sound “pushy” or
demanding. Another resource was the AIM planning process. This acronym stands for
Audience, Identify, and Message. “Effective business communicators possess an uncanny
ability to step into the shoes of their audience members” . I can think of a few moments
where I exhibited positive behavior in my work environment that led to us to not only
complete our assignments, but complete them in an effective manner. We had a tough
project that required us, for weeks, to endure late nights and early mornings. This
assignment was not a field up, instead it was a simulated exercise that required us to
dedicate most of our time. My junior marines were on the brink of collapse as they were
extremely tired and burned out. But, every day, I would come in with snacks and I would
always tell them to not give up, that “no man can stop time” and once we were done we
could reap the benefits. I joked around with them in an attempt to keep their spirits up.
Needless to say, a few weeks of this led to the accomplishment of the mission and it was
efficiently accomplished, I might add. It was done so well, that they were recognized by unit
leadership. Adding a positive writing style can help mitigate improper habits like logical
inconsistencies even though they are common. Not too long ago, one of my marines said
“nobody wants to be in the marine corps” and at the time I did not know he used a logical
inconsistency, honestly I had no clue what it was. But now that I think of it, he did in fact
use a logical inconsistency. He made that comment based off of the frustration towards the
marine corps, but his mindset might have been different had he been in a positive
environment. I feel that with myself and giving politeness is that I am constantly saying to
people as I pass them especially when I am work or with the ladies I work with I am always
saying "Hi beautiful". I've been told numerous times that I make people's day better by
saying that to them. Plus, I feel by saying that or even just acknowledging them as you past
makes people feel like they are being seen. We never truly understand what people are going
through on a daily basis and even just a "Hi" makes a huge difference. In my old position we
had morning huddles in the morning where we would get the plan for the day, joke around a
little, and then go on our way to start working. Now in my new position that doesn't happen,
so I make sure I get to work a few minutes earlier than I am suppose to start so I am able to
say good morning and see how my coworkers are doing. I feel it helps with good work
morale and showing my coworkers that I care. When I think positiveness, I think greeting
people. Being able to say hello to new people you may have just met at the grocery store, or
even at your new job. Having that little bit of time to ask a random person how they are
doing? I feel positiveness is stepping outside of that shell and reflecting your positive energy
onto others. Being at work obviously is a different atmosphere than the at home. However,
why do we change who we are at home to a totally different person at work? We think
professionalism vs reality, but why not be who we are destined to be? So, each day I work
my manager manages to come by to ask me how I am doing? And I typically respond back
with good, how about yourself? Then the conversation ends. I ask myself, why can’t I
continue the conversation to make things more positive and worth communicating? Until
one day I decided to ask my manager how he was doing? And made more efforts to check
on him and give out care to all my colleague’s. Then I think to myself maybe that was the
message my manager was gravitating towards. Asking others how they were doing? To
make it a point to engage with others whether it is uncomfortable or not. Now in my
workplace us as colleagues write out inspirational quotes, have morning huddles, and are
able to form great communication with those in and out of work. Positive thinking is
undoubtably a fundamental factor when it comes to overall business success. People are
naturally drawn to positivity and having that positive, optimistic attitude allows you the
ability to influence and inspire your target audience. A prime example would be how
"Negative content tends not to go viral because who wants to read all that text? ... You don’t
need the same number of words to describe why a cat is cute as you would need to explain
why certain hypothetical cat shelters don’t meet safety codes of care." ("The Importance Of
Positivity In Business", 2015) As a firm believer in having a positive mindset, I utilize this
daily in all areas of my work. This includes meetings, seemingly endless emails, as well as
constant employer demands. There have been numerous occasions where I needed to utilize
my positivity in order to successfully complete an assignment ahead of time. There is often
the tendency to resist doing things sooner that you are used to completing them, especially if
it is a last minute request. There is always too much to do and not enough time to do it -in
just about every occupational field. I believe you can get much more accomplished with a
positive attitude followed by positive influence. Many things can be going on in someone
else life, and we have no clue about. Foe example I had some customers the other day that I
have known for years, that night when he went home he shot himself and died, unbelievable
and so sad that this happened. I always try to help people if I can and do the right thing. If
you keep doing good things, good things will come your way.I agree with you that a simple
"Hi" can improve a persons day. I work in a hospital and I always make sure I acknowledge
the patient and the staff. I make sure to listen to their concerns and follow up with them to
let them know that I care. If I can put a smile on someone's face then I feel like I have made
a difference. You are correct in saying we don't know what people are going through. Being
friendly to someone doesn't cost anything and it's not as hard as some people make it out to
be. My coworkers and I try to keep a positive attitude and have been told by others in the
department that we are always laughing and working issues out together.I try to always be
kind no matter where I am at as well. I definitely try and be kind to those that are rude
because there obviously have been times where I have been rude back and I just feel really
bad after. You never know what someone is going through and they could be just having a
bad day. And, there have been so many times I have came to work in my old position and
have had more than 2 people off so it makes it hard to get the quota met for the day when
we are down people. Unfortunately, we can't change the fact that other people called out so
staying positive helps with your day and your attitude towards toward and like you said a lot
less stressful. I couldn't agree more with your statement. Before I use to second guess myself
and question whether I should continue to be kind when sometimes your kindness can be
mistaken for weakness. It wasn't until I got older that I had realized that I am just a naturally
kind person and people love to be around that type of energy. When you are a positive
person people just know that you can be trusted and can connect with on a higher level.
Offering acknowledgement to someone who may be having an off day is the best way to
turn that negative disposition they are into something positive. Sometimes all people need is
a warm smile and some acknowledgement. Being kind costs zero dollars yet most strive for
the bare minimum.
