As I sit here and write this blog while I watch my boyfriend play his Sunday night hockey game, I realize I’m not the best at balancing all that goes on in my life. Instead of bringing my laptop, I should have written this post a while ago and enjoyed watching the game.
More often than not, I feel guilty that I let myself work too late on weeknights and sometimes on the weekends and I don’t spend enough time doing what makes me happy…. which basically boils down to not spending enough time with the important people in my life.
Because I’m working really hard to move up the corporate ladder and make a positive name for myself, I’m quickly learning that I don’t have a lot of time for unnecessary drama and crap that is often associated with the “Negative Nancys” of the world. When I have free time, I’d rather spend it with people who make me happy, encourage me to face my fears, and support me when I’m up against a new challenge. Not with people who, as soon as they open their mouths, you know a complaint is on the way.
A few years back, I read an article about how you’ll be much more successful in your career and life in general if you chose to remove the negative people from your everyday surroundings. I instantly thought, “Well, I don’t have any negative people in my life. I guess I just know how to pick ‘em!” But after really thinking about it, I realized that I too often catch myself being stressed out and losing sleep over something that is completely avoidable.
Removing the negative influences in your life can be difficult and can take time. Sometimes you’re forced to spend all day with an ever-complaining coworker and other times it takes you a while to realize that a friend really just isn’t being a friend anymore. You’re right, it sucks. But it’s worth it.
Seeking positive influence and being a positive influence in another person’s life is essential to your career for two main reasons:
- For starters, you have a strong support system, giving you more confidence to do the things you may be hesitant to take on or are afraid of failing.
- More importantly, you’ll learn from them how to be a better friend, a supportive coworker, and eventually a great mentor.
Seeing that I’ve got about 45 years until retirement, it’s not going to be easy to keep away from the Negative Nancys. Sometimes you have a terrible day and it’s hard to see the positives, but just remember that the next day you can start all over again. Don’t become a Nancy yourself. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to look back at my career and know that while I was (hopefully) awesome at what I chose to do, I established great friendships, helped my colleagues when I could, and built a career that others aspire to have.
Let’s continue to work hard and cheers to all the Positive Pollys!
