The Power of Positivity

By Annabel Plowman , Business Manager at dSb Recruitment Consultancy Ltd.

I strongly believe that having a positive outlook on things enables you to cope better in stressful situations.

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Obviously, this is nothing new, people have been saying this for centuries, but I truly believe a positive mindset leads to a better life overall – whether that is in business or personal.

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Working in recruitment, due to the daily highs and lows dealt to us it is easy to become focused or sometimes obsessed with what is going wrong and let your thoughts spiral.? When I first started my career in recruitment back in 2014, I used to manage my mind by expecting the worst – that way I wouldn’t be disappointed – except I still very much was, and worse still, I was very accepting if things continued to go wrong.? My thoughts would sometimes get out of control I wouldn’t sleep well at night as a result.

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Then in 2017, I was initially introduced and then converted to The Secret by Rhonda Byrne and to this day I remain a big fan.? For those not aware The Secret is about the law of attraction.? To use the law of attraction, you must think about what you want, not what you want to avoid.? The three key steps are – Asking, Believing, and Receiving.

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It focuses on daily affirmations, visualising the things you want in your life and believing that they are already yours – trust the universe, and if you believe you will receive (I know it sounds a bit crazy, but I truly believe it works).? I stopped focusing on the negatives and the things I didn’t want and just focused on what I did.? I also became more aware of my negative thoughts and as soon as they started, I would refocus on my affirmations to get me back on track.? I still do this to this day, and I feel so much better for it, much more in control and I have benefitted from many positive outcomes since.

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I get reminded of the power of positivity regularly in relation to recruitment, in fact, I think I am reminded of it almost daily.

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For example, I recently worked with a candidate – I approached them due to their strong profile – that I believed was a great fit for a role I was working on at the time.? They took a lot of convincing to even consider the job and this was due to feeling quite negative regarding their job search/bad experiences etc, which had led them to question whether it was worth investing the time into new opportunities.? I stressed to them that EVERY opportunity is different, and they shouldn’t let past experience taint their view.? I managed to persuade them to meet the client and they were still quite cool, but the client really liked their profile so was keen to get them in for second stage.

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In the meantime, a less experienced candidate came into the mix, who was also taken to second stage – one of the over-arching reasons being their massive enthusiasm and positivity for the business.? Funnily enough, the client ended up offering the less experienced candidate and the original candidate turned out to be very disappointed at the decision.? By this point, even though you wouldn’t know it by their actions they had become very keen on the opportunity – to be fair to them, on paper – they should have probably got the job… but candidate selection isn’t just about skill.? More and more clients hire on behavioural traits than specifically on past experience, particularly in the current market as invariably it leads to better longevity if the candidate has a positive attitude about the business they are joining from the off – no surprises here!

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The above example can be likened to many situations in day-to-day life.? So, my advice would be that if you are finding that you are not getting the outcome you want on a regular basis, I would encourage you to read The Secret. ?

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If you believe you can and you will!

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But it’s also important to remember that if you want to succeed at something you will also fail along the way in your quest to win – it’s a two-sided coin, you cannot truly win without losing some of the time, it’s how you get good at something.? I mean, we learn to walk by falling over – so don’t let the odd fall knock you off track.

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“Most people fail at something, not because they aim too high and miss, but because they aim too low and hit” Quote: Les Brown

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