I vividly remember my first day at work. Two coworkers radiated happiness and enthusiasm, while the other two displayed negativity. As a new employee and young adult, I found myself asking, “Why do they behave so differently, despite all of us doing the same job in the same environment?” I concluded that the reason they behaved differently was their attitudes.
Back then, I believed that attitudes were like mirrors: the attitude you give is the attitude you receive in return from others. While this theory may be reasonable in school, I quickly realized that it didn’t work the same way at work. Classmates and coworkers are very different, and so are the environments.
After my attitude mirror theory fell apart, I started thinking that people’s attitudes were more like lenses through which people view their surroundings, paired with a translator that interprets what their eyes and ears perceive. During the first few months of work, I concluded that while people with negative attitudes may have good lenses, they have a broken translator.
However, now I am convinced that the real issue with people who have negative attitudes isn’t a faulty translator; it’s where they focus their attention. Attention works like a magnifying glass, amplifying and making everything seem larger, allowing you to find what you’re looking for while ignoring the rest—much like how you can consciously decide to hear only one instrument in a song while ignoring the others. If you direct your attention toward finding reasons to like or dislike something or someone at work, you will undoubtedly find them.
It is common knowledge that for people with a negative attitude, everything seems like a problem. If they can’t find one, they keep searching until they do, giving themselves a reason to feel unhappy. For this reason, people with negative attitudes have developed the ability to find reasons to be unhappy and they never miss an opportunity to feel discontented.
If you find yourself constantly unhappy at work, it’s likely that you’re directing your attention in the wrong direction. Always remember that organizations cannot afford to have supervisors with negative attitudes, as they can easily create a toxic work environment and diminish employee motivation.
Always keep in mind that the first step in addressing any problem is recognizing that it exists. The second and third steps are identifying what causes it and what fuels it. In most cases, negative attitudes at work are driven by where you direct your attention, especially toward things you dislike. If you notice this pattern in yourself, try shifting your attention toward identifying and solving problems. By changing your focus, you can turn challenges into opportunities, gain respect from your team, and increase your value to the organization. Remember, everyone who searches finds something, so ask yourself: What are you looking for?
By Miguel Gonzalez
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