Don’t Live in the Past at Work
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iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — At work, are you ruminator or a forward thinker?
As researchers from Florida State University and University of Arkansas point out, one is better than the other and it doesn’t really take much thought to guess the right answer.
In their survey of 600 white and blue collar workers, about two in ten could be considered ruminators while 40 percent fell in the other category. The rest of the respondents were a combination of both.
The drawbacks of being a ruminator, that is, someone who fixates on past transgressions, were pretty clear. Many complained of high stress levels, sleeping difficulties, strained relations with others and feeling isolated, alone or even depressed at work.
According to the researchers, ruminators need to let go of the past before they start thinking forward. Several suggested methods include allowing themselves a set amount of time to go over the day’s events while associating themselves with forward-thinkers. They’re also advised to take whatever positive thing they can from an interaction and build upon it.
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