How to stay positive at work

Responding to challenges in a positive way often produces the greatest results. You have to think about things differently in order to overcome setbacks. There’s no better feeling than finding a way to make something happen when you thought you couldn’t.

Top tips to take away

• Accept you are going to face setbacks - keep your long-term goal in mind and don’t get disheartened
• Create a vision board - this can be as visual and colourful as you want. Some people use photos of different goals and aims so they can picture what they want to achieve
• If you’re struggling, whether for ideas or motivation, have a look back on completed work that you’re proud of, or goals you that have achieved. It can put you in a positive headspace to tackle the new challenge head on
• Don’t kick yourself when you’re down. If you miss an opportunity, or something goes wrong, learn from it and use your past experiences to improve in the future
• Ask for feedback - if something doesn’t go your way, identifying why is crucial to learning from it. People will love that you want to learn and improve
• Try to not to take feedback personally! It’s not a criticism - it’s a way to help you progress in the future.

If you need support

You should always tell someone about the things you’re worried about. You can tell a friend, parent, guardian, teacher, or another trusted adult. If you're struggling with your mental health, going to your GP can be a good place to start to find help. Your GP can let you know what support is available to you, suggest different types of treatment and offer regular check-ups to see how you’re doing.

If you’re in need of in-the-moment support you can contact Childline, where you can speak to a counsellor. Their lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

There are more links to helpful organisations on the BBC Bitesize Action Line page for young people.