risk management

Why negative thinking can be bad for business

28 February 2023

Even when things are going great, negative thoughts can still intrude. And because negativity can limit your potential, make you anxious and steal your focus away from important issues, that can be a problem for both you and your business.

Imagine the following scenario:

There’s a large contract up for tender and you’re considering putting in a proposal.

Your first thoughts are all positive, especially that big boost to your revenue. You start thinking about how you could use all that extra money – hire much needed staff, invest in new technology and software, and all the other things you could buy to help your business thrive.

But it’s not too long before that negative thinking starts to creep in.

At first, it’s pretty standard stuff. What if you invest too much time and money in the tendering process only to fail? Are you really as good as you think? What if the rest of the industry laughs at you for even daring to presume you’re good enough to handle such a big project?

Slowly but surely, the negative thoughts pile up until you’re convinced it’s not worth the effort. That negativity urges you forget about submitting a tender for an important project and just stick to what you’re already doing -- because why rock the boat?

In the end, you don’t bother to tender and nothing changes one way or another. You’re still exactly where you were before you’d even heard of the tender and your business will never see all the amazing benefits the job could offer. Financial or otherwise.

Now just consider for a moment how things might have been had you not given into those negative thoughts. Instead, you were more objective, positive even. You thought about how the investment in time and money would be repaid a thousand-fold. You knew you were exactly as good as you think you are. And this project may have put you on the map, with the rest of the industry seeing you in a whole new light.

We’re not suggesting you’re not honest with yourself about what you and your business can offer. But when you think objectively, when you thoughtfully weigh up the real pros and cons, you’ll make more informed decisions.

After all, if you always start by thinking you’ll lose, you’ve already lost.

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AAI Limited ABN 48 005 297 807 trading as GIO. The information is intended to be of a general nature only. We do not accept any legal responsibility for any loss incurred as a result of reliance upon it – please make your own enquiries.