How to Maintain a Positive Attitude for Your Contracting Business

Building a solid contracting business takes the right kind of attitude. If you’re generally upbeat, you may find it easier to solve problems and avoid stress. If you’re struggling to find reasons to look up, you might create more issues. And your attitude can also spread to the people around you. Here are a few ways that you can keep a positive attitude for yourself and everyone around you.

Start Work on a High Note
When you were a kid, your parents may have made references to waking up on the wrong side of the bed. This idiom describes what happens when you start the day in a negative way. There are lots of reasons that you might wake up in a bad mood, from a difficult night’s sleep to unfortunate news. On these occasions, it’s important to give yourself the time and the freedom to turn your mood around. Find a pleasant distraction or give yourself a small reward as a way to boost your outlook. That way, you’ll start the day happier and less likely to make mistakes.

Emphasize Qualities During Feedback
Throughout the day, you may have lots of opportunities to give feedback on the state of a particular situation. If you’re coping with a problem that isn’t easily solved, it’s tempting to get stuck in a negative thought pattern. Sometimes, all you can find is problems. But when you’re dealing with people, it’s important to find qualities as well. If you have to give negative feedback or criticism, take the time to come up with one or two genuine compliments that you can give as well. When you’re struggling to find something good to say, see if you can wait to give the feedback until later. People are more receptive to criticism if they feel like you’re not just unloading on them.

Learn Something New
If you watch a small child playing with other children, you’ll often see conflict that ends quickly. Children get frustrated at very small things, and then they completely lose interest once they are distracted by something else. This is a trick that you can use to fool yourself out of a bad mood as well. If you find that you’re getting stuck thinking about all the things that are going wrong, shift gears into a completely new way of thinking. One way that you can do this without compromising productivity is to learn something new. Read an article about a subject that interests you in your field. Test out a new piece of equipment, if you have the opportunity. You may discover a renewed sense of curiosity.

Focus on Solutions, Not Problems
Everyone is going to have to deal with problems on occasion. As a business owner, you may have issues that come up on a daily basis. It’s easy to lose sight of your path when you feel like the road is full of obstacles. Instead, set your sights on what you need to do to get to the other side. If the problem seems too big to solve, ask for help or break it up into smaller pieces. Focus on what you need to do to solve the problem in the most efficient and effective way possible. For chronic problems, write down changes that you can make to your processes to ensure that they are less likely to happen in the future.

Avoid Toxic Positivity
There’s a big difference between maintaining positivity for your business and promoting a culture of toxic positivity. Like a pervasive cloud of negativity, toxic positivity can be really damaging to you and your employees. Toxic positivity describes an environment in which people are discouraged from voicing concerns. You’ll know that a business culture leans in this direction if you hear people saying things like, “Just be positive!” or “Look on the bright side!” Having a positive attitude doesn’t mean that you sweep problems under the rug. Instead, it allows you to address issues as they come up, without letting them sink your day.

Creating a positive workplace is an important part of running a successful business. To find out how you can be your own boss as a licensed contractor, visit CSLS today!

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About CSLS

Contractors State License Service (CSLS) is the largest school in California devoted to the Construction professional. For over 23 years, CSLS has helped its students pass the exam to become licensed contractors in the State of California, licensing more students than any other school. From our main offices in Southern California, CSLS operates over 25 locations with full-service support and classrooms. We have grown to this extent by providing quality, professional services. In comparison, this provides 7 times the number of convenient locations than the second largest contractor school. Contractors State License Services is one of the only contractor schools in the state that is run by educators, not lawyers or people mostly interested in the bonding and insurance business. Contractors State License Services formerly operated under the oversight of the State of California's Bureau for Private Post Secondary and Vocational Education. As of January 1 2010, the new Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE) came into existence replacing the BPPVE. CSLS now operates under the provisions of the California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009 (CPPEA), Article 4 Section 94874(f). Our Mission is simple; We can help you pass your California Contractors License Exam. Celebrating our 25th year, CSLS has helped over 120,000 students pass the California contractor licensing exam to become licensed contractors in the State of California. Additionally, we offer complete home study and online contractor’s license programs to help you pass your California contractors license exam. CSLS offers licensing classes for all types of contractor licenses, including General Engineering Contractor, General Building Contractor, Specialty Contractor, Insulation and Acoustical Contractor, Framing and Rough Carpentry Contractor, Cabinet, Millwork and Finish Carpentry Contractor, Concrete Contractor, Drywall Contractor, Electrical Contractor, Elevator Contractor, Landscaping Contractor, Warm-Air Heating, Ventilating and Air-Conditioning Contractor, and many others. For a complete list of contractor licenses, visit www.MakeMeAContractor.com and tuned for more informative posts.