I’ve had coworkers acknowledge my positivity and a while ago a coworker asks me what is my secret to staying positive.

Before I share my thoughts on this I need to be honest about the environment in corporate design. There are many frustrations a designer deals with in this bureaucratic environment. Fortune 500 companies are massive in terms of size, and it takes a lot of effort for things to progress even for a little progression. There are many processes and procedures in place that slow down not only your work efforts but also your entire department’s efforts. In a large company things can change. These changes can come out of nowhere, and change your department drastically. These changes can also be known and take forever. There’s nothing that can be done, which can feel like a burden. Dealing with the corporate structure and inefficiencies of the corporate processes can demotivate many individuals.

These can be a lot of frustrations, but to cope with this it’s all about being positive. These are the things I do that keep me smiling throughout the day.

1. Write down what I’m grateful for everyday
2. Quantify how a day will be successful
3. At the end of the day I list three amazing things that happened
4. Proactively help others
5. Work on passion projects outside of work
6. Share those passion projects with friends at work

All of these give me that good feeling on the inside, and helps me maintain the greater perspective of my life.