10 WAYS YOU CAN SHED? Workplace Negativity Without Really Trying

by Kathy Dempsey, RN, MED, CSP

Workplace negativity is at epidemic proportions. Exposure is deadly. Moreover, this highly contagious virus creates toxic environments. And it actually weakens your immune system. Negativity adversely impacts your physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and financial wellbeing.

Research shows that the average person complains 15 to 30 times a day.
On Monday, people complain for 34 minutes. From birth to death, shedding is a continual process of embracing the new and letting go of the old. My husband Ron died three years ago. After his unbelievable LIVE funeral, I asked him how he was having so much fun and dying so well. His profound response, "You Die Well by Living Well Today," has become the foundational premise of The Shedding Revolution?. 

So why waste a second of your precious life by complaining and being negative? What if shedding negativity in the workplace was easy? What if you could live longer, have more friends, be healthier, enjoy life more, and be more successful at work? Traditionally people who see the world in a positive light achieve these outcomes.

Here are 10 ways you can SHED workplace negativity without really trying:

1. Pretend every day is your first day on the job. Remember how you felt on that first day? Most of us were at the height of optimism - feeling excited, upbeat, and positive about the future! We couldn’t wait to get home, spread our enthusiasm, and share our experience with anyone who would listen.
2. Join the Positive Party not the Pity Party. Limit your time around negative people. When you are invited to their pity party, don’t be available. Change your mindset. Move. Change your location. Get physically away from the person or situation as quickly as possible. Most of us spend way too much of our discretionary time around negative people.
3. Ask yourself, “Is it going to matter in 100 years?”  This absurd question immediately brings perspective. Remind yourself, “This too shall pass!” Whatever situation or problem has arisen, everything passes. This is just how life works.
4. Play the Reframe Game. SHED? Happens! And when it does, access your support team. Take two minutes, gather your coworkers, and play the reframe game. What’s right about this situation? How can I view this situation from the most positive light? The person with the best reframe of this situation wins a prize.
5. Invite three people a day to your Praise-Fest.  Encourage and praise people at your workplace: a coworker, your boss, a customer. Consider sending a card or a text, sharing a compliment, or acting as an anonymous positive pal. This simple strategy reinforces the maxim that the more you encourage others, the more you feel encouraged.
6. SHED being a Control Freak. What a relief! Repeat the serenity prayer. Relax and remind yourself that you can’t control all the outcomes or what other people say and/or However, there are some things you can control - your actions and reactions. Attachments to outcomes are dangerous. They trigger negativity every single time.
7. Practice the 90/10 SHED? Principle. There is a difference between complaining and constructive feedback. Some issues really need to be addressed. When issues arise, spend 10% of your time on the problem and 90% on the solution. Redirecting complaints to action steps promotes innovation, creativity, and effective problem solving.
8. Be Selfish. We’re a society that is “ON 24/7.” We never turn off. We’re overstressed, overwhelmed, overstimulated, and over tapped. Unplug and recharge. Learn how to practice self care, set healthy boundaries, say NO, and ask for what you need!
9. Be the Workplace Jester. Find something funny about the situation, and share it with others. Laughter is the best medicine - it’s free, and comes with no side effects. It’s contagiously healthy, and it immediately shifts your brain from a negative to a positive state.
10. Declare a New Allergy: I’m allergic to negativity. Shedding negativity is an inside job, and it starts with you. Stop playing the negative mental tapes. They’re way out of date. Download a positive playlist, and live stream it from your inner voice, your truth. Remind yourself to SHED UP!

SHED the negativity, and keep your positive attitude up!

SHED Challenge: Take the Pledge to SHED?. For 24 hours SHED Negativity. We SHED better together! Share this with your boss and co-workers. Ask them to join you and take the Pledge to SHED?. For 24 hours, SHED negativity and complaining. Take a public pledge to stay on track, keep each other accountable, and eliminate workplace negativity.

SHED Challenge SIGN UP: Click the link or visit www.KeepShedding.com/challenge for the SHED Challenge and to download more resources to ignite both you and your team.

Kathy B. Dempsey, RN, MED, CSP is an award winning author, change expert, and founder of The Shedding Revolution. Kathy is the #1 leading authority on shedding negativity in the workplace.

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