Earn yourself a great reputation by having a positive attitude

Having lots of PA is vital in my role as a PA!  Yep, it's all about 'positive attitude' this week and it could be the key to your happiness at work.

It might sound a bit dramatic but without a positive attitude I simply wouldn't be able to do my job and get through the day.  For example, myself and a fellow PA spent an hour last week trying to book one meeting - yes, seriously!  You see, it's a bit like playing 'Kerplunk' (anyone else remember that game?!), you move one item in the diary and the whole thing comes crashing down and you lose ALL your marbles - quite literally in our case.  But we persevered with "what if we moved that", "what if we changed the time for that", "what if we shortened that meeting to fit it in there" and so the discussions continued until we'd sorted it.  Our positive attitude kept us going and exploring at all options.

That's the thing about having a positive attitude, it drives you forward and keeps you engaged in order to find the solution to that problem.  It's not easy, you have to work at it and there's plenty of times when I feel like I'm hitting my head against a brick wall, but that's not going to achieve anything is it?!

So how do you find and, more importantly, sustain a positive attitude?  Here's some tips to get you started:

Don't sweat the small stuff - it's the little things that often grate but try to stay focused on the bigger picture.  In my case, I'm often trying to making life easier for other people and supporting them in their quest to achieve a task.  

Think outside the box - starting thinking about possible solutions before you even hit a problem.  If you already have a Plan B forming in your mind, it will be much easier to deal with if you do come across a potential problem.

Keep yer gob shut! - be very careful about what you say to other people.  We all love a good moan and it can do us good sometimes to let it all out but do it within your own close knit peer group and not in a 121 with your boss.  You're trying to build a reputation as someone who has a 'positive attitude', not the 'office whinger'.

Always be kind and polite - yes, even to the most annoying of people.  We're all very different individuals and it's impossible to become best buddies with everyone we come across.  There will be people who upset you but be respectful because you don't know what's going on in their life and your positive attitude towards them could actually make their day.

If all else fails, laugh - sometimes the only thing you can do is laugh about the ridiculousness of a situation.  Thank god for humour, that's all I can say.  It pretty much gets me through everything in life!

Let's be honest, people with a negative attitude suck the very life force out of us but having a positive attitude can be the secret to our success, as well as our happiness.  Start with a smile and say "yes, I can do that for you" - go on, make someone's day and earn yourself a great reputation.

#2021