Letting Go of Negativity

How much negativity surrounds you?  If you are like me, you may find yourself surrounded by negativity at work, home, and in your personal relationships.  Simply put, negativity is a mood buster.  It affects the way we look at and react to situations.  Ultimately, it eats at us.

How do we deal with the negativity in our lives?  Do you allow yourself to be drawn into the drama or do you walk away? 

I work at a small long term acute care hospital which is part of a larger University medical center.  Recently, staffing has been short and, in turn, the attitudes of the staff have been affected.  We are a cohesive team which prides itself on working together to care for our patients.  Lately, however, the talk invariably turns to how short-staffed the unit is, how this or that staff member isn’t being a team player, and to any number of other negative types of conversations. 

Management is doing what they can to alter this negative environment but they cannot change it themselves.  It has to start with each individual. 

One of the managers sent an email this week stating we are the BEST team ever and we need to walk the walk, discard the negativity in ALL of us, and see the great in what we do.  This email went on to note management cannot change the culture of negativity by themselves.  They need all of us to stay true to a positive culture. 

We were asked, going forward, to remember we are special people who have chosen the healthcare field where people need our care.  Those people are moms, dads, sisters, brothers, children, and friends lying in those hospital beds.  They could be our family members.  Each team member was asked to work together to stop the negativity. 

Now, how do we go about stopping the negativity?  First, we refuse to participate in negative conversations.  There will always be a few people with negative attitudes.  Don’t let those numbers grow by joining those groups. 

Foster a positive attitude by looking on the bright side of things.  There is ALWAYS a bright side.  One of the hospital director’s most frequently uttered statements is “when you are having a tough day, stop and think for a moment about how you get to go home after  your shift.  Your patients don’t.”  This is a simple but profound way to think about a tough day (or night).

What do you do to turn off the negativity?  Please share your thoughts with us!

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Topic: Letting Go of Negativity