Tips To Influence The
(Negative) Workplace
Into A Positive One
It all starts with your mindset
By Lizette Volkwyn
Think about a baby’s laughter. It is one of the most
contagious sounds when heard; you are bound
to start smiling and eventually, break out in laughter,
too.
Imagine if you could be like the baby’s laughter in
your place of work. The one everyone wants to be
around. The one that management depends on to
soften the blows of reality, hard times, and pressure.
A few years back, I walked into a new company and
from the first interaction, I experienced a sense of
gloom – from the receptionist, the PA, to the sales
team. All I could think of was “I got my job cut out for
me today!”
It turned out that a section 189 was called, and
everyone feared being retrenched and no one felt like
being cheerful or could not care less how it affected
the workplace.
The feeling of ‘doom and gloom’ and a lot of anxiety
is what a lot of us are experiencing today. How can
you, as an individual, change this and flip the switch
to inspire your other colleagues of the good in
every day?
It All Starts with Your Mindset
Here’s a quick exercise: Think of one of the funniest
moments in your life. Feel the fun, the positive energy,
the ‘I am in control’ moment. Are you feeling it?
Think of another great moment. Breathe in the
confidence, smell the success, feel the good vibe,
hear the cheers...can you feel it? Your mood just
changed, didn’t it?
Good, now take it one step further and put that
feeling deep in your heart, bottle that magic, hold on
to it and make sure you can access it whenever you
need it.
You may probably say that it is not the same. Here’s
the TRUTH: that is exactly what happens when we
bring energy into the workplace.
People Project What They Perceive
As an NLP Practitioner, we have a saying: ‘Perception
is projection’. This means that when you think
something bad is going to happen, you already
project and perceive a bad outcome before it
even happened.
You always have a choice to decide how to feel,
and this brings me to the following tips on how to
influence the energy in the workplace.
1. Ground Your Emotions to a Positive
Outcome
No matter the projected outcome, park your emotion
and find a positive solution - no matter what. One of
my clients had a situation where their division was
closing down; everyone was devastated. Through my
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