Mind Management Tips For Better Performance At Work
How does your state of mind impact your performance at work or in your business? If you are in a poor state of mind you will find that your performance suffers, whereas when you are in a good state of mind your performance will be much better.
Your state of mind is a reflection of the quality of your thinking at any given time. How you think impacts how you feel and in turn this impacts your performance. You often blame how you feel on outside circumstances or other people but actually how you feel is a result of what you think about what is happening and your reaction to other people. Hence different people react to the same circumstances in different ways. Your mood and behaviour is a direct result of what you are thinking. This can explain in a business context why the performance of individuals can vary dramatically depending on their state of mind and in a sporting context how even the best at their sport can lose a match when they are not in the best state of mind.
So what can you do to manage your state of mind to improve your performance at work:
Notice your state of mind and be aware of your thoughts. When things are not going well at work or in your business you don't often consider your state of mind as a possible cause. You may be looking for external causes such as technology problems, other people, market conditions or lack of resources. However in these circumstances notice your state of mind and become aware of your thoughts and understand how these may be impacting your performance.
Take a break and understand why you are feeling like you do. If things are not going according to plan or nothing seems to be going right take a break from what you are doing. This may mean moving out of your environment or just stopping what you are doing. Focus on what you are thinking, how you are feeling and how this may be impacting your performance.
Remember you have a choice. Many people think that they cannot change how they are thinking at any given time and that it is just the way they are. However you have a choice how you think and by choosing to change how you are thinking you can improve how you are feeling and your performance.
Identify unhelpful ways of thinking. How you think impacts how you feel, so if you are feeling bad and your performance is suffering, you have probably been thinking in an unhelpful way. The way you think can cause you to make inaccurate assessments of your experiences, to get the wrong end of the stick, to jump to conclusions, to think the worst, to distort the facts and it can get in the way of your decision making, goal achievement and performance. For ideas as to how to change unhelpful ways of thinking read our article Considering the way you think.
Consider how to improve your state of mind. Once you understand your state of mind and why you are feeling like you are consider different options as to how you can improve your state of mind e.g. You may be frustrated with a colleague so it may help your state of mind if you chat things through with them.
Focus on what is within your control and accept things as they are. Focus on what is within your control as you can't control those things that are outside of your control. Our article Don't try and control the uncontrollable may help you with this. Accepting things as they are can also improve your state of mind and your performance.
Think positively and adopt a positive attitude. Thinking positively will help you feel positive which will in turn improve your performance. Adopting a positive attitude will be infectious and customers and those around you will pick up on your positive energy which will lead to you maximising your performance and the performance of your business. With a positive approach you will feel in control and confident and you will perform at your best, whereas a negative approach will damage confidence, harm performance and paralyse your mental skills. For more tips in this area read our article The importance of a positive attitude in business.
Take action and keep focused. Thinking too much and over analysing can result in you getting caught up in your thinking which can negatively impact your state of mind and hence your performance. Try taking action and keeping focused on what you are trying to achieve. This will help to control mind chatter, improve your state of mind and is critical for improving your performance and that of your business.
Take control of worrying. Worrying and anxiety can negatively impact your state of mind and your performance at work. To improve your performance take control of worrying using the tips in our article Take control of worrying.
Talk to someone. You may not be able to improve your state of mind and hence your performance without support from someone else. Discussing your situation and how you are thinking and feeling with a third party may help you, whether this be a friend, colleague, mentor, coach or a counsellor.
Hopefully the above will have given you some food for thought as to how your state of mind can impact your performance and how you can manage your mind for better performance at work or in your business.
If you want support with improving your performance at work or in your business please call Liz Makin on 01780 765270 or email Liz at Liz@makinithappen.co.uk to arrange a free consultation session.
You can also read other business and stress management tips articles that may help you be more effective at work or in your business.
Author: Liz Makin
Published: March 2014
Makin It Happen has a range of personal development online courses to purchase, created by Liz Makin, including anxiety management, communication, resilience, soft skills, stress management, time management and coaching. Liz Makin also provides personalised business coaching, business mentoring and stress management services to business owners, directors, managers and professionals.
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