Anchoring your own attitude

- Customer service professionals are expected to maintain a positive attitude. That's easy to do if you feel great but it's a lot more difficult if you find yourself in a bad mood. It's during these moments that you can use a technique called the attitude anchor to start feeling positive once again. This video will help you identify your own attitude anchors and when you can use them. Start by making a list of things that can negatively impact your attitude. Here are a few examples that might be on your list. Negative customers, difficult coworkers, frustrating problems, feeling tired or ill, and demanding bosses. Think about other examples that you might add to your list. What gets you down or makes you frustrated at work? It's possible to catch someone else's bad mood and not even know it. It can show up in your body language and tone of voice and signals others that you're not feeling well before you're even aware of it. Of course, once you are aware that you aren't in a positive, customer-focused mood, you need to do something about it. This is where the attitude anchor technique comes in. An attitude anchor is something that helps you anchor your attitude in a positive place. It can help you become more resilient when you encounter something that causes a bad mood. There are two kinds, maintenance anchors and repair anchors. Let's talk about maintenance anchors first. Maintenance anchors are things that help you maintain a positive, upbeat, and customer-friendly attitude. What are some things you can do on a regular basis to ensure you're in a good mood? This list is personal, so it's different for everyone but I can give you a few examples. Exercise, getting plenty of sleep, spending time having fun with friends and family, playing with pets, and reading a good book. The list of possibilities is endless but it should be personal to you. For example, I enjoy hiking. It always leaves me feeling mentally refreshed and in a good mood. But if you don't like the outdoors, then hiking wouldn't be a great attitude anchor for your list. Only include things that make you happy. The next type of attitude anchor is a repair anchor. This is something that can help you get back into a positive mood when you start feeling a little grumpy. Make a list of things you can do to fix a bad attitude. Like maintenance anchors, this list is also personal, but here are a few examples. Take a walk, have a cup of coffee, spend a moment talking to a coworker, listen to music or look at pictures of your children or friends. I've created an attitude anchor worksheet that you can use to list your own maintenance and repair anchors. Take a moment to create your list and then keep it nearby so you can use your anchors whenever you need them. You can have a positive, customer-focused attitude when you make the commitment to consistently anchor yourself in the right place.