Your attitude impacts everyone around you, and it can actually affect things that you might not expect, such as your ability to get job promotions or your phone voice and email etiquette. On days when the going gets tough, you may find it difficult to keep a sunny smile on your face. Studies indicate, however, that if you can do this successfully your professional life will benefit.
So how can you sincerely turn that frown upside down when the entire world seems to be conspiring against your productivity? Should you just grin and bear it? Absolutely not. While grinning and bearing it may be better than hurling things at your boss's head, for example, ultimately toughing it out will not have the desired impact on your attitude and can make you even more negative and discouraged in the long run.
Instead, take several deep, calming breaths. The first time that you do this, it may be quite hard. You may be angry, depressed and feel hopeless. However, you must not only leave those feelings behind, but actually talk yourself into changing your outlook on the situation. Once you have taken a few moments to distance yourself from the problem, try to minimize any hurt or slight. Our attitudes are largely impacted not by actual events, but by the way that our emotions affect our perception of those events. As a result, it is a much bigger deal when an employer appears to be taking our work for granted than when our work actually turns out to have been ignored or unproductive. Try to look at the situation objectively, focusing on the actual good that you accomplished rather than how you feel about how your efforts were received. Remember, you cannot change how other people behave, but you can change the ways in which you react to their behavior.
Once you have achieved a more objective, less emotionally tangled viewpoint on whatever may be bringing you down; you will likely find that your attitude has lightened up as well. Call a friend for a minute or two to see if they can detect trouble in your voice. If not, then you have likely accomplished your attitude adjustment and are ready to continue with your day in a productive, professional manner.