No, you’re not a dummy. I was talking about the guy behind you. But if you’re like most people in the world, you think your workplace, in one way or a hundred ways, is broken.
But here’s a question for you: Just who exactly is gonna fix it?
Okay, let’s back up a square. If you’re like an awful lot of folks, you walk into work on a random workday and are gobsmacked by The Five Things You Really Hate About This Place. Debbie Downer is already here – you know because you can hear That Voice, whining about how long it took to find a parking space. And there’s the copier, your daily wrestling partner. Mr. Bossenheimer is in his office, no doubt planning another way to squeeze your lunch break to ten seconds. The lighting hurts your eyes, and your phone, already ringing, is apparently set on stun.
Back up. I mean it, go, go, back up, out the door, shoo. Walk back to the parking lot. Find your car. (No, I don’t remember. Use the little keychain thing.) Okay, there’s your car. Get in. Put on your seat belt.
Now we’re going to do this again.
Unbuckle your seat belt, and get out of the car. Not with a middle-aged grunt! Get out with the kind of spring in your step you had on the first day. You are going to work, after all, not slouched jobless on the sofa watching Divorce Court while unpaid creditors ring the phone off the hook.
As you walk toward the building, start thinking about all the things that make your workplace GOOD. Can’t think of any? Don’t you make me walk you through the sweatshops of Southeast Asia like some sort of Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. There are countless good things about your workplace. You’ve simply stopped seeing them. Time to start feeling grateful for them again.
Okay, we’re inside. Hear Debbie’s voice? Think of three ways it could be worse. See the copier? If you’re old enough, think back to carbon paper and mimeograph machines. And if you’re not old enough, be grateful for THAT.
You get the idea. But am I saying you have to simply accept things as they are? Not on your life. But the first step in making your workplace (or the world) a better place is realizing that it’s already better than we often think.
The next step is recognizing that you have the power to change many of the things you don’t like. Once you’ve found reasons to be happy, spread that joy. Once you’ve identified things that need fixing, step out of your comfort zone and get them fixed. Address issues. Submit work orders. Be unexpectedly nice or generous to a colleague who might be hard to love.
Life is an inside-out job. Happiness and unhappiness begin with the way you perceive things around you. And don’t forget that it all starts with gratitude, the shining core of all enlightened and happy people.
Wake up every day and make a mental list of what you’re grateful for. Then get going NOW on changing the rest.