1 00:00:05,160 --> 00:00:09,800 Speaker 1: Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the New Corner Office, 2 00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:13,520 Speaker 1: the podcast where we share strategies for thriving in the 3 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:17,160 Speaker 1: new world of work where location and ours are more 4 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:22,320 Speaker 1: flexible than in the past. Today's tip is that optimism 5 00:00:22,360 --> 00:00:27,319 Speaker 1: pays literally, believing the best about people can lead to 6 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:32,440 Speaker 1: new opportunities and that can increase your income. So what's 7 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:35,680 Speaker 1: your general view of human nature? Do you think your 8 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:38,959 Speaker 1: colleagues and collaborators are, for the most part, on your 9 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:42,720 Speaker 1: side when you go to job interviews? Do you assume 10 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:46,239 Speaker 1: the interview panel wants you to succeed? These seem like 11 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:51,199 Speaker 1: abstract questions, but they might not be. Some interesting research, 12 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:54,080 Speaker 1: including one study published in the Journal of Personality and 13 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:58,840 Speaker 1: Social Psychology in looking at income over time, suggests that 14 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:03,480 Speaker 1: holding cynical leiefs about others can negatively affect financial well being. 15 00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:07,080 Speaker 1: The exact mechanism for this is unclear, but there are 16 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:11,160 Speaker 1: a few different possibilities. Maybe people who are less optimistic 17 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:14,120 Speaker 1: about human nature are less willing to rely on or 18 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:18,240 Speaker 1: trust others, and therefore have a harder time finding economic 19 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:22,720 Speaker 1: and occupational success in our highly social world. More cynical 20 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:26,680 Speaker 1: workers also tend to assume that others have hidden negative motives. 21 00:01:26,959 --> 00:01:29,520 Speaker 1: When they reach out with job offers or with offers 22 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:32,720 Speaker 1: to collaborate, they may be less likely to ask for 23 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:36,280 Speaker 1: help when they need it, which can undermine their career success. 24 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:40,000 Speaker 1: Of course, where we all fall on the spectrum between 25 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:44,600 Speaker 1: optimism and pessimism may be situational. It's also affected by 26 00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:49,840 Speaker 1: our genetics and our life experiences. In particular, negative experiences 27 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:54,120 Speaker 1: in past economic hardship can strengthen cynical beliefs and make 28 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:56,880 Speaker 1: us less likely to reach out to others, creating a 29 00:01:56,960 --> 00:02:01,800 Speaker 1: vicious cycle. And let's not be naive. There are some 30 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:04,520 Speaker 1: work situations where it may not make sense to have 31 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:08,560 Speaker 1: an optimistic and trusting view of those around you. But 32 00:02:08,760 --> 00:02:11,720 Speaker 1: keeping all of this in mind, there are still upsides 33 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:16,720 Speaker 1: to optimism. It's pretty exhausting to assume that everyone is 34 00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:20,359 Speaker 1: out to get you. Believing good things can happen makes 35 00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:24,480 Speaker 1: you willing to take risks and follow up on potential opportunities, 36 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:29,560 Speaker 1: even if they don't all work out, some will. There 37 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:31,800 Speaker 1: are a few things we can do to become more 38 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:35,000 Speaker 1: optimistic and less cynical on a day to day basis. 39 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:39,200 Speaker 1: One idea is to try building trusting relationships with at 40 00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:43,200 Speaker 1: least one or two people, not the whole world, but 41 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:46,160 Speaker 1: I'm guessing you can find a small number of trustworthy 42 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:49,480 Speaker 1: souls if you're used to flying solo and don't have 43 00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:53,240 Speaker 1: any built in coworkers. Think about your professional network and 44 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:55,240 Speaker 1: try to find one or two people in your field 45 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:57,639 Speaker 1: that you'd like to get to know better. This could 46 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:00,000 Speaker 1: be a junior person you'd like to serve as a mentor, 47 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:03,000 Speaker 1: here for a more senior person whose career you'd like 48 00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:07,240 Speaker 1: to copy, or someone who's in a similar position to you. 49 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:10,240 Speaker 1: You don't have to become best friends, but you two 50 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:13,440 Speaker 1: want someone whose advice you can trust. You want to 51 00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:16,320 Speaker 1: believe that this person has your best interests in mind. 52 00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:20,400 Speaker 1: These efforts can lead to a positive feedback loop where 53 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:23,760 Speaker 1: you see that people can be trusted, and this can 54 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:25,600 Speaker 1: go a long way in helping you to have an 55 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:29,239 Speaker 1: overall more positive view of human nature and the working world. 56 00:03:30,280 --> 00:03:34,840 Speaker 1: And second, remind yourself of situations where things turned out okay. 57 00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:40,680 Speaker 1: Your neighbor walked over your misdirected packages, a contractor voluntarily 58 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:44,560 Speaker 1: gave you a discount. Your aunt had a good experience 59 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 1: buying a used car. I am not saying that these 60 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:52,160 Speaker 1: things always happen. But when you find yourself saying people 61 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:55,160 Speaker 1: can't be trusted or everyone is just out for themselves, 62 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:58,120 Speaker 1: you want to hear a little voice saying, but what 63 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:03,720 Speaker 1: about Over time, This little contrarian voice can help you 64 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 1: look at an email from an old colleague about his 65 00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:11,000 Speaker 1: new company and think, well, maybe he's not hiring someone 66 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:15,080 Speaker 1: just so he can jump ship. Maybe it's worth checking out. 67 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:20,520 Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura, Thanks for listening, and 68 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:27,240 Speaker 1: here's to succeeding in the New Corner Office. The New 69 00:04:27,279 --> 00:04:30,440 Speaker 1: Corner Office is a production of I Heart Radio. For 70 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:34,360 Speaker 1: more podcasts, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 71 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:36,080 Speaker 1: or wherever you get your favorite shows.