Posts Tagged ‘Personal Transformation’

Get Rid of Stress by Choosing Joy

Monday, June 10th, 2019

According to the American Psychological Association, 62 percent of Americans say that work significantly increases their stress. Imagine that—almost two out of three working Americans spend a third of their lives in an environment they consider stressful!

This is crazy! Life’s too short to live like that! So change things!

Now I’m not suggesting that you quit your job and go relax on the beach for the rest of your life. You’ll get a whole new kind of stress when the money runs out.

Instead, keep your job and choose to live happy. Choose against stress! Stress is your interpretation of events. You can be relaxed or crazed as you choose.

So you get a task that seems impossible. Why stress? It’s an opportunity to step up and knock it out of the park!

You have 20 phone calls to make in 30 minutes…why not do it with joy? It’s time to blow them away. How accomplished will you feel after the fact?

Attitude is a choice. Stress is a choice. Choose to live happily.

The Not-So-Innocent Bystander

Monday, May 27th, 2019

Back in college, my closest friends and I would joke around continuously. We’d laugh and we’d laugh. But sometimes, the joking would go just a little bit too far. We’d joke about someone in a way we wouldn’t do if they were there with us.

In those moments, I’d sit back and tell myself that if I weren’t the one overstepping the invisible boundary, well then, I was innocent. I was wrong about that.

You see, I could have stepped in. I could have voiced my opinion with saying “this is not okay!”

But I didn’t.

How often do you passively watch things occur that are inconsistent with your standard of ethics? Imagine just how easy it would be to step in.

Focus on orchestrating only ‘good things around you. Diligently intervene when you see otherwise.

Standing passively by is not the same as standing innocently by.

Show Appreciation This Thanksgiving Week

Thursday, November 17th, 2016

It’s Thanksgiving week—a week where we show appreciation. And it’s a good time to remember that the people we work with are not perfect.

Our bosses? Not perfect. Our companies? Not perfect.

But, what an opportunity to appreciate the perfection within them, the wonderful things they do, and the caring they give.

Let me ask you this—if you were to sit down and ask yourself every morning, “What are three things I’m really appreciative of?” I suspect that you’ll find—if you force yourself to say something new every day—that the list would be UNLIMITED.

So today, go around to the people you appreciate, thank them for what they do. Thank your boss for the fact that you have a job. Thank your company for making sure you get a pay check every week. And be in that gracious spirit because the spirit of Thanksgiving is alive and well.

Who You Are When No One is Looking?

Monday, November 10th, 2014

Imagine that your boss goes away for a few days. You’ve been working soooo hard, and now, finally, you’re free from the pressure of your employers.

You still come into work, of course. You still sit at the same desk. You still drink the same coffee and eat at the same time. But how have you changed?

Do you still bring the same energy, seize the same opportunities, work just as hard as before? Or do you find ways to cut corners and slack off because, you know, who’s gonna know?

Only you can truthfully answer these questions.

At the end of each day, you can convince yourself that you worked soooo hard, can convince yourself that you’ve contributed soooo much. And maybe you have. Only you know.

And the best indicator of who you are for real is who you are when no one is looking. Character is revealed when no one is watching.

Don’t Wear Exhaustion Like a Badge of Honor

Monday, November 3rd, 2014

You might think the boss will be mighty impressed to see you dragging your tired feet around the office. Obviously you’ve been working hard, right?

Think again.

The only signal you’re sending is that you are out of control of your physical and emotional health.

Make a pledge to become a well-oiled machine, NOT an overheated engine. Only the well-oiled machine is of any use in the long run. Get rest, eat right, and exercise.

If you see a frazzled face in the mirror, it’s not a badge of honor—it’s a failure to maximize your abilities by taking proper care of yourself and not focusing on affective and efficient work.

This is easier said than done. We’re conditioned to brag about our exhaustion. But once you make the change and see your productivity and quality of life go through the roof, you’ll never go back to that tired old illusion again.