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. 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.
