Welcome to a bright, shiny, new 2016! Isn’t it amazing how people change when a New Year starts? I’ve been thinking a lot about it lately because really it’s just another day, but we live by a calendar that dictates seasons, events, occasions and celebrations so when this new, fresh day approaches we get all excited and positive and set new year resolutions and you can feel it everywhere, can’t you? I do, for sure.

But then as the days and months trickle on, the gym memberships decline and the negativity starts creeping back in. You didn’t get the job you wanted, you didn’t win the lotto, your child didn’t get class captain, etc. etc. Yes, as time goes by unfortunate things will happen, things will not work out like you wanted, but good things happen too. The issue is – how do YOU handle the good with the bad?

I am a firm believer that attitude is everything. Some people appear to love being miserable. We all know people like that and they sap our energy, it’s exhausting and demoralising. I actively avoid negative people especially as a mother to a young child; if I want him to grow up with a positive attitude and a happy demeanour (which I most certainly do) then I have to set a good example.

I read a recent article by Entrepreneur Magazine which stated that attitude is more important than intelligence. Thinking of the workplace in particular, I completely agree. Over the years I have seen a massive shift from clients requiring ‘a degree in this and experience in that’ to ‘they need to fit in and have the right attitude’.

You are either a person with a fixed or growth mindset (think glass half full scenario)! If you have a fixed mindset you will believe you are who you are and cannot change to any significant degree. By comparison, a person with a growth mindset believes that they can improve with effort.

Don’t get me wrong, we all have good days and we all have bad days, but it’s how you respond to the bad days that matter. Do you just give up, or just keep on pushing through? There are numerous examples out there of people who have fallen time and time again but kept trying to eventually become a success. Two that immediately come to mind are Walt Disney and Bill Gates. Gates was a Harvard dropout and Disney was fired from a newspaper because ‘he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.’ What??? Imagine the world without either of them?

So what can we do to stay strong and keep positive?  Here are some ideas which may help:

• Be passionate – love what you do and do what you love! Pursue your passion relentlessly!!
• Take action – just do something, anything. Small steps will eventually lead to big results.
• Go above and beyond – either in your own business or a work environment, offer a better service.
• Expect results, rather than defining success or failure. Results are not good or bad they are simply a scorecard. Its how you interpret the scorecard that will keep you empowered. Not accomplishing the results you expect can be an opportunity to investigate why and how rather than label them a ‘failure’.
• Flexibility – speaks for itself. In an ever-evolving world you must be flexible to change your approach and/or mindset if things are not going your way.
• Don’t complain. Things don’t always work out so look for opportunity; everywhere!

Good Luck, Happy New Year and I’m looking forward to sharing my positive experiences with you during 2016!

Eva Grabner
Managing Director
Elite Executive Pty Ltd
eva@eliteexecutive.com.au
0409 59 11 88