The past few years have changed the world in ways that were unimaginable. The pandemic caused us to adapt into remote work, artificial intelligence is causing us to rethink how the future will look for multiple industries, overall there is an uneasy feeling across not just the tech world but multiple creative fields. Due to such changes maintaining a positive mindset is not just a luxury anymore. It now needs to be seen as a strategic advantage for leaders to overcome competitive landscapes and unforeseen rapid technological advances. In this article, I delve into the practical aspects of positive thinking and explore how it can empower you to navigate the complexities of the tech world.
Is there actual power in positive thinking?
I do not mean asking God to help you win the lottery or hoping for a global power outage that could take down AI so your writing job remains intact. I am specifically talking about the mental state of thinking positive even when everything else is falling apart. The ability to embrace challenges with optimism, seeing them not as roadblocks but as opportunities for growth. I believe that maintaining a positive outlook allows you the ability to approach problems with creativity, resilience, and a solution oriented mindset.
Everyone of us deals with challenges on a daily basis whether big or small. In the same way, companies run into challenges although in a bigger scope as they can affect not just the lives of the leaders but also those who they lead. I have been part of the tech industry for more than a decade and I have seen the tough decisions that leadership have had to make for the good of the many. It is hard to hear but there have been plenty of companies that have undergone mass layouts, developer burnout, brand defamation, unneeded micromanagement, and business failures even though we have had a bullish decade. But those dark times did not define those leaders. I saw them continue on and push the companies out of the darkness they fell into. They all did it in the same exact way. Their perseverance through the power of positive thinking allowed them to find creative ways to overcome challenges. They knew that one way or another working together through optimism was the only way to solve the issues at hand. Their positive mindset, trust, and faith allowed them to choose the best solution that opened the opportunity to survive.
A study led by Rohit Rastogi, an associate professor of computer science and engineering at ABES Engineering College, found that positive thinkers coped with stress better, which enabled them to work more effectively. Read More>>
Take A Look Inside First
As a leader, I personally have tried to maintain a positive outlook when dealing with tough situations. I have found that trust, optimism, and faith are key features necessary to solve a multi-facet set of challenges. Although I think such believes mainly come from my personality, I think reading “The Power Of Positive Thinking” by Norman Vincent Pealecemented that train of thought as a habit in my personal and professional life. I believe that everyone, not just leaders, will find this book useful and it will change the way they look at challenges in their day to day life.
I took sometime to get into the habit of finding ways to include the mindset of positive thinking in my day to day. I think the biggest change that I have made to practice the power of positive thinking is through gratitude right before I go to bed. I thank god for all the things he has given me in life and I go through all the events in my day while being grateful for being part of those events. Goor or bad, all life events are part of you, and it is on you to figure out how to react to them. You do not have the power to control what happens, but you have the power on how you react to those challenges. Keeping an optimistic mental state empowers you to figure out your next steps. Nothing will stop you if you believe that you can solve any challenge. You just have to figure out how.
Everyone has run into adversity in one way or another through out their lives. Go ahead and think back. How did you react? Do you think going back and looking at the challenges through a positive mindset lens could have changed the outcome? It is easy to blame others for the failures in our lives but taking responsibility for our mistakes is what eventually makes us grow. Tackle all challenges with a positive outlook and believe that even though you can make mistakes, you will learn from them, and you will find a new way to solve the problems at hand.
5 Learnings For Leaders
The 5 learnings that you are about to go over all sprouted from the power of positive thinking and how it can be applied within engineering teams. As you go through them, write down any ideas or notes that pop in your head as those will become the stepping stones of your journey into the power of positive thinking.
Cultivate a Positive Mental Attitude
Keep an innovative and open mindset when dealing with new challenges. Maintaining this constructive outlook will allow you to reach new heights of team work, find new opportunities, and discover potential in unexpected places.
Try to foster a positive environment when interacting with your team. It is important to be empathetic with the people you manage but do not let it stay in the dark for too long. Listen carefully, and come up with a plan on how you can cultivate a positive mental attitude, not just for you, but for those around you.
Visualize Success
Keep your goals in hand by writing them down on a personal notebook or on your computer where you can go over them consistently. As you take steps in the process of reaching those goals, visualize yourself achieving them and it will continue to foster self assurance and improve your resilience to challenges.
Visualization is a powerful tool as it allows you to get inspired by the future that could be. That future in which you achieve your goals and you can be proud of the success. It allows you to keep top of mind the reason why we are taking on the hardest challenges that no other person is sane enough to take on.
Have Faith in Yourself
The best cheerleader in your life is yourself. Believe in your abilities and the potential that you have to achieve your goals. Remind yourself that you can achieve anything that you put your mind into. All the hard work will be there to support you and it will not let you down.
You can also be the reason why you fail though. So, Trust yourself. Trust your gut. No one is there to tell you whether you are right or not. That is why leadership is so scary, lonely, and difficult. But don’t worry. You have yourself to support you. And you will definitely feel proud that the decisions you made were the ones that allowed you to succeed. You will finally learn to trust your positive thinking.
Turn Problems into Opportunities
View challenges as a chance to develop your personal and professional skills. Every challenge is an opportunity to improve your ability to adapt. It allows you to grow while reaching new heights that you could not have otherwise.
Keep an open mind as you find those new opportunities. Do not block yourself by having an ego. Throw it away. It does not belong at the table when looking for the best idea to solve the problem at hand. Listen to your team. The best ideas to solve problems could come from the most unexpected places. Turning problems into opportunities can only be done when you follow an idea meritocracy kind of mindset.
Cultivate Gratitude
Foster appreciation for all your achievements, no matter how small. Expressing such gratitude on your day to day will foster a positive work environment that will enhance both your teams and your morale.
Every person accepts gratude in many different ways. Do not assume that just giving shout outs in the company announcements meeting is enough. It has been my experience that although some engineers like public praise, there is another set of them that prefer private praise from their direct managers. Do not underestimate the power of gratitude during tough challenges.
More Literature On The Subject
Certainly Norman Vincent Peale is not the only author that thought to write a book on the subject. There are plenty of articles and books that share this mentality. It falls on you to grasp the literature and apply it in your day to day life.
If you are looking for more books, here are 5 recommendations that i have received from different sources. I have read plenty of leadership books that provide a bit of light on the subject, but I wanted to share not just my recommendations but those of other leaders that I have discussed this subject with. Funny enough, I have read 2 out of the 5 that I am about to share. Guess I have a lot more books to read 😂
Which of these 5 books have you read? Do you have any other recommendations?
“Mindset: The New Psychology of Success” by Carol S. Dweck Goes through the power of having a growth mindset versus a fixed mindset. It’s an essential read for understanding how one’s beliefs about their abilities shape their success.
Embracing positive thinking is a strategic tool for leaders in the pursuit of professional growth. As we navigate the complexity of our careers, let us foster a positive mental attitude, maintain faith in our abilities, transform shortcomings into opportunities, and cultivate gratitude. Remember, the power of positive thinking extends beyond our personal triumps. It shapes the very fabric of our leadership journey.
What are your thoughts on this?
Share your experiences or recommend additional reads in the comments. Let’s continue the conversation and empower each other on the path to success!
I started to think, what is it about me that was stopping me. Was I too scared to share the kind of person that I am? Maybe it had something to do with wanting to make sure things are...
