Negative people are a downer. They kill innovation; they wreak havoc on momentum; they damage enthusiasm; they slow down initiative. When it comes to an organization trying to move forward, they destroy great ideas. They bring everyone down - not just themselves.
The buzz-kill the buzz of killer concepts.
Negative people are one of the most significant challenges that organizations face when it comes to leadership teams trying to align with the future. If you read my post last Friday - "At what point will you realize you've wasted time waiting for a recession that never happened," you will know the problem has accelerated as a whole bunch of people slid into a mindset that the world right now is all downside, with little upside.
Stop it.
Sadly, surveys show that negativity abounds. Here's a sample.
AMERICANS are among the most negative people on the planet, according to a new survey.
Asked about their feelings the previous day, more than half said they had felt stressed – well above the global average of 35 per cent.
The new Gallup poll on the world’s emotional state in 2018 also found that 45 per cent of Americans felt worried a lot and one in five said they had been angry.
It put the United States in joint fourth place for the most stressed populations in 2018, along with Iran, Albania and Sri Lanka at 55 per cent.
The US was trailed only by Greece, which topped the table at 59 per cent of the population, the Philippines at 58 per cent and Tanzania at 57 per cent.
....
In fact, the survey shows that levels of negative emotions are even higher than they were during the Great Recession.
THE GREAT DEPRESSION Americans are among most negative people on Earth, new survey reveals
29 April 2019, THESCOT
That's fascinating to think about, isn't it? And the fact is, negativity has an impact:
Organisations are confronted with the challenges of holding and motivating staff members from different culture, background and often with different attitudes.
Specifically companies are challenged daily to find ways of providing their employees an environment that is positive and empowering.
This is because negative workplace attitudes are highly contagious and can affect everyone. Moreso, experts believe workplace anxiety can bring about negative attitude which in turn reduce overall productivity, damage group morale, and even cause the loss of good employees.
Even when a few people in the workplace have negative attitudes, it can spread to others as well, because negative workplace attitudes seem to spread faster than positive attitudes.
Overcoming Negative Attitude in Workplaces
12 May 2014, All Africa
Check the emphasis - negative attitudes travel faster than positive ones.
Yikes! It gets worse.
It is important to note that a person with a negative attitude has the same power to influence others as a person with a positive attitude. The difference appears in the results. Positive attitudes in the workplace have many benefits, including improved communications, better teamwork, increased morale and higher productivity.
The opposite is true for negative attitudes. They dismantle teamwork, increase stress and cripple productivity. In the workplace, the big difference between the winners and the losers is often attitude.
Overcoming Negative Attitude in Workplaces
12 May 2014, All Africa
Did I say yikes already?
How widespread is negativity? Take a look at the people who surround you, or check your own attitude. It's pretty clear that there are some people who just grab onto negativity and cling to it like a sodden life preserver. As soon as they are triggered by anything, they reach for their negativity. If you praise them, they focus on their flaws; if you suggest a great idea, they'll shoot it down; if you point out a mistake, they can freak out on you.
Is that you?
Studies show that if you allow yourself to continually 'go negative,' the idea becomes trapped in your mind; it becomes a core part of your psyche; it defines who you are; and it controls your actions. That's dangerous. because there's no change for you to chase tomorrow if you convince yourself that it will just be the same crap as today.
That's why I focus so much on the idea of trying to encourage some optimistic thinking each and every day. Each and every moment, there's a little war going on inside your head between the positive and the negative, the doom-gloom machine, and the happiness endorphins. Focus on the gloom, and you'll spend more time focusing on your failures, faults, and flaws, and less time focusing on building confidence, focusing on success, and moving forward rather than back.
Fight the battle - because even if you find yourself in negative circumstances now and then, you don't want an overall negative disposition to cloud and shape your mind when good things are actually happening.
As the song says.
Because the good times are always right in front of you!
Futurist Jim Carroll knows that the only shot that matters in golf is the next one. The same rule should apply to the next few seconds, minutes, and hours of your life.