We can’t always be feeling great, smiling at every customer and co-worker as we tackle every job with robot-like efficiency. We are human and our emotions fluctuate. Right now I don’t feel like writing, but my fingers and mind keep on going, so I continue for my future, to help you, and because tomorrow I will be glad that I pushed another good article out. That’s right I’m not working happy, but I’m doing my best with what I’ve got.

Now you know the truth. I’m not always working happy. Please don’t tell your friends.

We all have bad days and sometimes we need to fake it. Seth Godin is a blogging wunderkind. Okay, I guess he isn’t that young but he’s a great blogger at any rate. He wrote an article Pretending that you care that has some great insight.

No, you can’t always hire exceptional people for these jobs. No, you can’t always invest enough time to train them sufficiently. But yes, you can make, “pretending you care,” a barely acceptable alternative.

It doesn’t take much to take the edge off an encounter.

[Boy does this sound cynical. How inauthentic! How manipulative! Isn’t it better to just hire people who actually care? Of course it is. But as far as I can tell, that’s a lot harder than it looks–because so many organizations are organized around policies, not caring, and because so many employees have been trained not to care.

So, the essence of the lesson here is this: if people start out pretending to care, next thing you know, they actually do care. They like the positive feedback and they like the way being kind makes them feel. It spreads. It sticks.]

Read the whole article here.

Sometimes we need to fake it to get to where we need to be. I know that you don’t always feel like working on that boring project, writing that last email of the day, or calling one more sales lead, but no one wants you to pack it in because you don’t feel like doing it. Your company wants you to fake it like any good professional.

What was the last thing you faked? I’m not talking about what goes on in your bedroom. I’m wondering when was the last time you faked your happiness on the job and eventually became happy.

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Wouldn’t we all like to see what our boss looks like naked? Even the ones that aren’t that beautiful would still be intriguing. I’m not talking about seeing them in their birthday suit. I’m talking about seeing them emotionally naked. I know that I would love to be a fly on the wall when my boss is talking to her best friend.

You will probably never get your boss to talk to you like she talks to her best friend, but you can create a relationship that’s based on trust. This trust will create appreciation for you, and the more your boss appreciates you the more enjoyable your work experience will be.

Times have changed from thirty years ago when everyone wanted to keep their emotions out of the work place. Back then employees were paid to do a job while keeping their mouth shut. It was before my time, but I’ve heard plenty of stories. Employees used to trust the company to take care of them, but as our culture changes we need to take a more active role in making sure that we are cared for.

Creating a more intimate relationship with your boss will encourage your boss to be honest with you. You could find out privileged information that might let you know that you need to start looking for a new job because of layoffs, or information that might help you get a promotion. On the other hand, if you have a cold relationship with your boss you will most likely get the short end of the promotion.

I’m not condoning politicking your way to the top, but I am saying you should create a genuine relationship with your boss. Some people call it brown nosing, but I think we need to redefine it. There are different levels of brown nosing and the authentic kind is the one we need to embrace. I don’t think it’s sucking up if you are honest and smart with your compliments, questions, and conversations.

Talk to your boss or manager without being intimidated by their stature. They are human like you and me. They have their weaknesses and strengths. The more you understand this the easier it will be to create a solid relationship.

Some bosses don’t like a lot of talk about family, but maybe he enjoys car racing. Just because you don’t understand your boss’s interests doesn’t mean you can’t talk about him. So poke around with questions and comments and see how he reacts. Maybe you’ll find common ground between the two of you. Once you do you’ll make your relationship more open and naked, right where you need it to be to get the most out of your job.

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I’ve stumbled across an emotional tool that I’ve grown to love. It’s renewing on a scheduled basis. I’ve read about it in a few magazine articles, but never took the time to try it out. Once I did, it changed my life.

We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise we harden.
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Many psychiatrists believe that you need to find out what happened in your past to figure out the present. The method can help, but it can also damage the person’s ability to forgive and forget. It has taken me years to forgive myself for the thousands of mistakes I’ve made. I was very tough on myself and felt that it was the only way I would learn not to make a mistake again.

The Internal Struggle

I used to struggle to wake up and see the enjoyment in the upcoming day or a task at my job. When my old habits of negativity arise I stop, let out my breath, and renew my thoughts. Now I visualize myself getting out of bed and walking to the bathroom with a smile on my face and then I physically make myself do it even when I don’t want any part of smiling. The thoughts start to turn positive. They move toward the things that are easy to enjoy, such as the feel of the soft rug, then toward brushing my teeth. All of these enjoyable thoughts surface and feed off of each other, and before I know it I’m excited to be taking a shower or eating breakfast.

Schedule It In

Renewing my life on a schedule has been easier than doing it on a moment to moment basis. I make sure that I do it first thing in the morning, once before lunch, and one time at bed. One day I hope to reach the level of working happy in every moment, but as of right now I have to work with what I’ve got.

What do you struggle to enjoy?

• A specific part of your job?

• A pain in the butt co-worker?

• Your commute to work?

Practice renewing your feelings by letting go of your dislike toward that annoying co-worker and stay in the moment. You’ll notice things that make you feel happy instead of that co-worker that brings you down.

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