How Negative Thinking Can Have Major Job Consequences
Posted January 30th, 2017
Everyone knows that having a negative attitude toward your job and the world in general will create problems. And now there is research showing that having a negative attitude, or more precisely, what psychologists refer to as neurosis, can be the most important factor in sabotaging a person’s success on the job.
A person who is neurotic responds to challenges or obstacles with negative thinking. He or she tends to believe the worst, act on impulse, and even become paranoid. This kind of thinking can even affect a person emotionally, creating anxiety disorders, and physically, resulting in cardiac disease and asthma. It affects your ability to think clearly and dispassionately. Needless to say, all of this can have a big impact on your job performance.
People who are more emotionally stable, on the other hand, are able to respond much better, exhibiting greater creativity and higher performance.
Moreover, research has shown that the impact of neuroticism increases exponentially as the job becomes more difficult and complicated. So, keeping calm under pressure and your wits about you in highly charged situations is of prime importance for optimal job performance. Here are a few things you can do to maintain your composure.
1. Direct your anxiety.
If there is something that is making you anxious or frustrated, the best thing is to do something about it, that is, take action. Direct all that nervous energy toward doing, not just worrying. For example, if you are nervous about an upcoming presentation, spend your time preparing for it as much as you can.
2. Don’t jump to conclusions.
Those with neurotic tendencies are apt to catastrophize. They look into the future and always see the worst that can happen. They see one bad thing leading to another. And that naturally leads to heightened stress and anxiety, preventing clear thinking and wasting time.
A quote of Winston Churchill is fitting here, “When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened.”
3. Don’t over analyze
This is related to jumping to conclusions. It involves over thinking a situation, going over it again and again in your mind. Doing this simply conjures up all that can possibly go wrong or all of the problems that can develop. Again, the antidote is direct action.
If you are ready for a new job, Bayside Solutions can help you. For those who work in technology-related fields, Bayside has the expertise and network to match you to the right job. Give Bayside a call today.
