Positive Thinking: How Much Is It a Key to the Success of Your Business?
Entrepreneurship will teach you to look at positive side in every situation otherwise it is difficult to survive this roller-coaster ride.. Good times and bad times go hand in hand and often one comes right after another when seen from a businesses’ perspective, much like it happens in life in general. With news of economy slowdown and such other threatening concepts going around, it is but natural for business entrepreneurs to feel at a loss and be overburdened with a sense of failure. However, at the risk of sounding a bit of metaphysically or spiritually driven, I can vouch for the fact that positivity and positive thinking even in the worst of times can create magic and let you stay on track.
On browsing the internet, you will find a number of interviews of successful business leaders and sure, these interviews make for great reading while infusing a hope in you that some of their good fortune and knowledge might rub off on you as well.
Well, the truth is that, in most situations, you are over thinking and blowing a not so favorable situation out of proportion. Instead of looking at what the so-called successful, giant entrepreneurs do, you might take some time out to unfold how they do it. Every single of them have one thing in common and that is an approach to their professional goals with nothing but a ‘can do’ attitude.
And this should make us believe that positive thinking, is indeed, a fundamental key to the success of businesses at all times.
Positive Thinking Helps Solve a Lot of Problems
Positivity alone has the potential to solve a number of problems right from their roots and this is not just a saying for the sake of it. A renowned psychology professor, Barbara Fredrickson, had conducted extensive research about positivity and she was strongly of the view that people who think positively have a greater capacity to absorb new information. This ability to take on board new ideas, concepts and information, in turn, helps the person to develop the perspective, connect the dots and tackle the obstacles that rise in the process.
Positive Thinking Releases More Energy
Your inherent way of seeing things positively or negatively is referred to as the dispositional effect. This is basically indicative of your personality trait and scientists believe that those with a positive dispositional effect have more energy. With a high level of energy, which is quite expected of an entrepreneur, you have greater enthusiasm.
However, this is also where a balance needs to be struck. A very high level of enthusiasm will usually not let you relax and stay calm, which, at times, is of utter necessity. So, in a way, it is good to keep your over enthusiasm in check without of course, developing a negative affectivity.
Positivity Accompanies Resilience & Improves Decision Making
Very few entrepreneurs make it big with their first idea or business venture. There are often many failures and mistakes behind a prosperous business. The good news is that studies have shown that positivity can help you become more resilient.
It is somewhat logical that if you’re in a negative frame of mind, you’re less likely to make decisions that have a positive impact. This is highlighted in the book Rethinking Positive Thinking, which states that “negative thinking from entrepreneurs in a negative mood could lead to decisions which are more likely to be poor for their venture“.
Positivity is Infectious in the Workplace Too
The same book also highlights that positive-thinking entrepreneurs who have direct contact with their customers are more likely to persuade a (potential) customer to try a new product. That is because positivity is contagious.
Some say it’s because the act of being positive towards another person releases the chemical oxytocin in the recipient’s bloodstream and others state that it’s to do with our ‘mirror neurons’ which cause us to replicate the actions of those who interact with us. In the case of the latter, it’s worth remembering if you’re a manager or team leader that this will also mean negative words and actions can be just as infectious too.
Positive Thinking Should Be Coupled with Positive Actions
Much of the above may be old news to you, but more recent research found that just thinking positively about possible positive outcomes can actually be so energy-consuming that it prevents the person from actually achieving their goals, or indeed anything else.
In other words, positive thinking on its own is going to be ineffective, so it’s time to start acting positively as well as thinking positive thoughts.