Training Point: Practice!
Time Required: 20 minutes
Materials Needed: PowerPoint Practice! Worksheet page 34
Objective: You have to “practice” all the time in order to keep a positive attitude. You have to look for opportunities in adverse situations and practice a positive attitude literally anywhere… even when you don’t feel upbeat.
Ask your participants the following: Have you ever overreacted to a situation at work? Discuss this. Have everyone write down several examples of this and what precipitated the overreaction.
Ask them the following questions: What could you have done to practice avoiding emotional overreactions during adverse situations? How could you have kept the mood positive?
Be a role model---don’t overreact in a stressful situation. If you have made a mistake, learn how to handle the criticism. Try to avoid making the same mistakes and realize that everyone makes them. When you are feeling stressed, look for the humor in the situation or take a break to get it off your mind. Always be polite and have patience. Think through alternative options that could be explored to solve the problem. Listen without interruption or saying “Yes, but”. Ask questions to better understand what went wrong. Before reacting to a problem, take time to think about the situation and get back to your co-worker for further discussion.
If you disagree, stay positive in your response or simply say, “That’s interesting” or “I’ll get back to you”. Then prepare your thoughts and deliver them in a professional and constructive manner.
Overreacting wastes lots of energy and time. It’s counter-productive to a happy and healthy work environment. So “practice” being patient and positive.