You must find a way to do what excites you. That means understanding what makes you feel engaged, upset and happy.

Gretchen Rubin of the Happiness Project gave me the idea of keeping a one sentence journal. I think this habit will help you understand more about who you are and what you need to be happy within your business.

I usually write two sentences instead of just one because I like to write about what happened in my day and how I felt about it. I focus on the most emotionally powerful event. This helps me stay focused and not let the journal get too jumbled.

Download the One Sentence Work Journal PDF

Here are some of my entries:

> 12-3-09 Thursday – I berated myself with negative thoughts because I forgot to send out an email. I wished I had a cold so I could use it as an excuse not to work. (This was eyes opening. I couldn’t believe I wished illness on myself. It was at this point that I began to really develop a more positive mindset.)

> 1-15-10 Friday – I spilled tea all over my keyboard, reminding me to laugh at myself. At first I felt stupid, but then I smiled and actually enjoyed the clean up because I made a song out of it. (When I was finally able to stop taking myself so seriously and laugh at my mistakes that’s when my career happiness finally blossomed.)

> 3-16-10 Tuesday – I stared at my apple for 10 seconds to calm myself down after a client emailed me back listing all my supposed faults. The apple reminded me of a cool Monet painting. This self calming method helped me regain control of my emotions and realize the value in the email. (It’s amazing how many tools I’ve learned to bring back emotional balance when I need it the most.)

Take a moment to write down your first entry in your 1 sentence journal.

You can write about something that you loved, hated or something that bored you to death. Whatever it is, you’ll be able to look back and notice what things irked you or lit a fire underneath your butt. This journal will help you keep things in perspective.

Make it easy

The idea is to make this habit so simple that you want to do it every day. That’s why I suggest only 1 sentence a day.  We resist tasks that feel like work, but feel pulled to work that is easy and fun. You need to make this daily reflection a chance to uncover your superpowers and leverage them to do more great work.

So at the end of each work day, write down one experience, thought, or feeling that you had. That’s it. I also like to summarize my week and my month, but that’s just because I’m a bit of an over reflector.

Try this 1 sentence journal for thirty days and see how it works for you. I don’t think you’ll be able to stop. If you notice at the end of 30 days that all you do is complain then it’s time to drop this awesome habit.

Now if you notice that you are happy, more productive, and more in tuned with your emotions then don’t stop. Keep on watching your thoughts, feelings, and actions so you can use them to improve your amazingness.

Hey, if you aren’t learning anything new about yourself then it’s time to push yourself outside of your comfort zone and dig a little deeper. Because the deeper you dig the more you uncover that resistance and happiness and when you know what’s working well you can keep doing more of this great stuff.

Download the One Sentence Work Journal PDF

View the complete Take Back Control of Your Business series right here:

> Retrain Your Brain

> Chunk Your Way to Success

* Join over 1,000 people who have already subscribed to the FREE Happy at Work 10 Week eCourse. It will arrive in your inbox every Monday morning, when you need it the most. (Sign up is in the top left corner)

* Catherine of Be Awesome Online wrote a cool piece called Unexpected Strengths. We all have superpowers that we don’t realize that we have, but can help our careers feel joyful. Check it out and leave a comment if it pings your soul.

If you enjoyed this post then you will probably like these too:

> Pay Close Attention to Who You Really Are

> 10 Ways to Simplify Your Work Day

Download the Free eBook Work Happy the Google Way * Post from: Work Happy Now!

You may have heard of the idea of chunking. If not, the idea is simple. Let’s say you want to create a website for your business, but you don’t know where to start. All you see is this giant pile content, programming, and designing before you, so instead of getting to work you decide to watch an episode of your favorite TV show.

The day goes by and you accomplish nothing. The week goes by and still nothing.

Now your motivation is dwindling. That website that would have helped so many people is becoming an after thought.

You blew up your motivation into tiny pieces because you didn’t create a strategy that felt achievable.

Download the Chunk Your Way to Success PDF

Tiny Chunks

Because my ADD likes to kick in when the work gets difficult, I use my egg timer to keep me focused. I set the timer to work for 25 minutes and then I take a short break when the timer goes off. I lean back and relax for 1 minute. I literally do nothing but daydream or focus on my breath for 60 seconds.

Using the egg timer keeps me focused for short bursts. I feel like I can enjoy any type of work for 25 minutes. You too can set aside 25 minutes for your most important task in order to reach your goals.

Reward Your Chunking Successes

After using this tiny chunking method for a few hours, it’s time to get up and move. Your body and mind need a break from the intense focus that you have just applied.

-          Take a short 15 minute walk

-          Listen to a few of your favorite songs

-          Make a cup of coffee/tea

Daily Happiness Chunks

I like to try to improve my happiness by 1% every single day. I find one way to improve my business every single day by building my skill set, practicing a better stress relief technique, or connecting with people who motivate me.

Every day can be a chance for you to work on your happiness. By the end of 1 year, you can have 365 days of foundation on which to build a business of your dreams.

Some of the ways you can build your foundation:

1. Email someone you admire (refuse to give in to fear).

2. Share a story with the world via Facebook, Youtube, blog, or email (connect with others).

3. Apply stress relief techniques (connect with your inner joy).

4. Take time to be crazy creative (make a list of impossible things to accomplish that would fulfill a big dream)

5. Increase levity level (I like to take time to laugh at my mistakes, forgiving myself for every misstep).

How can you apply the 1% method to your business?

What can you work on today, tomorrow and the next day?

Let’s start slowly. It’s all about chunking baby.

What can you work on today to improve your business?

Try to set a goal every morning: One super small thing to help your business. Don’t get caught up in trying to overhaul your business in one week. Pick one small thing you can do for one tiny chunk of each day. Then review your progress at the end of the month. You’ll be impressed by your results.

Download the Chunk Your Way to Success PDF

Check out the first post in this series:

> Retrain Your Brain

* Are you on Twitter? Then join over 3,400 people who get my stress relief tips, happiness ideas, and thought provoking quotes. @workhappynow

* Creating hype around things you create isn’t easy in this information overload society. A great way to separate yourself is to create webinars. Chris Garrett wrote a cool post about using webinars to separate yourself from the crowd.

If you enjoyed this post then you will probably like this one too:

> Take Back Control of Your Business – Series

> Retrain Your Brain

Download the Free eBook Work Happy the Google Way * Post from: Work Happy Now!

You may be happy some of the time, but you just can’t stop daydreaming about the good ol’ days. When you first started your business you were excited and happy to wake up each day. Now your business is owning you. You’re afraid to make any changes because of the consequences.

Many of us get stuck in this cycle. We are afraid to create systems that will make us happier.

If so then what is stopping you?

Download the Retrain Your Brain PDF

Internal Demons

I used to be very afraid. I was afraid that people might hate what I created. I was afraid that my family and friends would laugh at me.

My fear was so intense that I had trouble sleeping at night. I remember lying in bed at 3am and dreaming of my business thriving. I envisioned myself working with amazing clients and not worrying about money.

What a mistake!

I was so consumed with perfection that I didn’t take little steps to make my business work for me. I always wanted to create products, but I kept putting it off. Creating products fit my superpowers, but for some reason I resisted. I was afraid that my clients would buy my products and hate them.

When I finally let go of my fear and went for what would make me happy, no one was laughing. Most of my clients were encouraging. My problems were within me, not with anything external. When I stopped giving in to my fears, I began to attract like-minded people.

I found people who were launching products and they taught me how to improve my business. I also researched websites and books, and I talked to local business owners. I found coaches to help direct my business. I built my confidence back up from almost nothing.

Letting Go

You need to let go of the idea of your perfect business. There is no such thing as a perfect business. There are always jerks at every level. There are problems at every level. Rich people actually complain about being rich.

I had a friend who actually said he wished he was poor, so he wouldn’t feel obligated to pay to repair his in-laws’ car. He was half joking, but it’s true. I’ve found that rich people are more likely to complain about their lives. They often don’t appreciate the people, resources, and time that they have.

Money is not the answer to your problems. The answer lies in meeting your own needs within your business.

You need to let go of perfection by letting go of your fears. Building a business that brings you a lot of joy will take time and small steps.

Retrain Your Brain

Learning to let go of the fear and focus on the positive aspects of your business is the hardest step to making your business happiness a reality. It will take self-discipline, which may be one of the most under appreciated habits.

For the next thirty days, try to be hyper aware of your thoughts and feelings. Every time you have a self defeating thought, go through the following steps:

1. Acknowledge this thought.

2. Know that you created this idea and you get to choose how to use it.

3. Picture the thought floating into a black hole (or any image that allows you to imagine this thing disappearing).

4. Focus on a positive aspect of the present moment (i.e. a cup of good coffee, an amazing skill that you have, or the connection to friends who support you).

Take time to try this right now:

1. What is the last self defeating thought that you had? (The PDF gives space to actually write out your response)

2. Know that you created this idea and you get to choose how to use it.

3. Sit back, close your eyes and imagine this thought disappearing to never disturb your confidence again. Write down what you imagined.

4. What is one positive aspect of your present situation? (Visualize the actions and results that you get from this part of your business.)

Applying these techniques helped me stop bullying myself. I stopped wrecking my confidence and I created a more positive perspective.

Some of you may not believe in positive psychology and that’s fine, but know that your beliefs influence your actions. If you believe you can write an amazing book or build a successful business that is the first step toward making it happen.

You must learn to be your greatest fan. Once you have trust in yourself, people around you will have trust in you as well.

Next week we’ll talk about chunking your goals into small in order to that make your dream business feasible.

Download the Retrain Your Brain PDF

* Don’t miss out on any more great articles. Sign up for my RSS feed or email feed and you’ll stay updated on the latest tips and ideas to bring more happiness to your working life.

* Mark Silver a wonderful man helping small business gain confidence to follow their hearts talks about using the silence to master your mind.

If you enjoyed this post then you will probably like this one too:

> A Simple Guide to Overcoming Project Resistance

> My Arch Nemesis Dr. Oatzel Almost Stole My Superpowers

Download the Free eBook Work Happy the Google Way * Post from: Work Happy Now!

Over the past two and a half years I’ve learned a ton about developing a business.

I’ve learned how to:

> Network the “right way”

> Write in a way that attracts my desired audience

> Create happiness systems that maximize my productivity

Over the next few posts, I want to share a few of these things that I’ve learned.

The most important part of developing my business has been working with my emotional core. Too often we discount the importance of having a foundation built on happiness. A person can do great work if they bully themselves into producing results, but this is impossible to sustain.

Starting tomorrow I’m going to explore how I’ve created a small business that has allowed me to maximize my happiness. It’s a 3 part series, so stay tuned for all three installments.

1. Retrain Your Brain

2. Chunk Your Way to Success

3. Keep a One Sentence Journal

A small business owner who only worries about money and neglects happiness is missing the point of being an entrepreneur. We need to develop a core that allows us to always come back to our emotional center. It’s important to connect with our work in a balanced way.

Most entrepreneurs strive to find that sweet spot. They want to be productive, but not stressed. They want to be creative, but not pressed for ideas. Many entrepreneurs are happy, but they are still not satisfied.

It all starts at the core, and this is where our superpowers lie.

Over the next 3 posts we are going to discuss how you can take back control of your business. These concepts can also be applied to a career, so don’t be afraid to dive in if you work for a corporation.

I will also provide PDFs of these posts so you can print them out and work through the exercises that are provided.

Remember, part of your success is measured by how much fun you have in the process.

* Join the Work Happy Now Facebook Page and interact with other people who are trying to improve their superpowers. (Needs a little work, but still has good stuff.)

* Daniel over at Daily Blog Tips wrote a cool post about helping people create a website for their passions. It’s a must read if your ready to share your superpowers with the world.

If you enjoyed this post then you will probably like this one too:

> How to Discover Your Superpowers

> The Ultimate Guide to Releasing Your Career Frustrations

Download the Free eBook Work Happy the Google Way * Post from: Work Happy Now!

The Law of Attraction (LoA) gets a bad rep because of cheesy YouTube Videos and terrible books. They want to make the concept simple and enticing, but in doing so they lose much of the life changing impact that the practice can have. I didn’t believe until I started believing. Imagine that.

We are who we think we are and that’s how we accomplish our goals. If we don’t believe we can write a great book, hike the Appalachian trail, or create a career that will make us so happy that we can’t believe our luck then it won’t happen.

Let’s break the LoA down. First, we have to understand confidence.

What is confidence?

Confidence is our belief in our abilities. When we believe we can accomplish a goal, our minds set to work to make our goals a reality.

I’m working with a client who is afraid to reach out to old customers. He has enough steady work right now, but he knows his slow time is coming soon. He is afraid of the responses that he will receive. There is a reason why they are no longer customers. Right?

My client doesn’t want to face this reality. So he continues to do the same things he always does – wait for business to come to him.

He may have confidence in many areas, but in his business he lacks the confidence to learn from past mistakes.

Creating a Positive Mindset

Happy people have a resilience that unhappy people don’t have. They believe that good things will come into their lives. Even when faced with a terrible tragedy, they find a way to create a positive spin.

They may not call it LoA, but that’s exactly what they are doing. They are sending out intentions and expecting them to come back.

When you believe in positive outcomes, you train the brain to expect positive results.

My Thick Skull

I never believed that I deserved a wonderful career that made me happy. I thought it was something that might happen, but I was more concerned with making money. So my first job out of college was for money, but the work didn’t resonate with me. I wrote poetry on my breaks and during lunches.

My thick skull wouldn’t comprehend the possibility that my job was all wrong for me.

I worked because I had to. I never thought to align my strengths, focus, and passions into a career. I had yet to discover my superpowers.(create “what are career superpowers?” post).

The layers of my skill finally eroded away to open my eyes to my error. I could build a business on the side as I discovered my superpowers.

Once I believed in my superpowers, the LoA finally began to work for me. People began to seek me out because I put out intentions to the world that I could help other people. I trusted my powers offered them to the world.

Using the LoA on Your Career

You have to believe that you have dormant superpowers that need to be discovered and harnessed. If you don’t, there isn’t much career leverage that you can create. If you do believe that you have “the spark” inside of you then you will take yourself to amazing places.

1. Believe in Your Skills

I’m not talking about blind belief, but honest belief that allows you to understand your superpowers. By recognizing your kryptonite and understanding how to maximize your superpowers, you’ll build the confidence you need to offer your skills to the world.

2. Create a Vision

So many of my clients don’t know what type of work will make them happy because they don’t visualize their perfect workday. They see what other people have and think that they want that same thing. Then when they are doing that thing they realize it is all wrong for them.

The more you work on projects that make you happy, the clearer your visions will become.

3. Find Work You are Passionate about

You can’t force yourself to enjoy work that sucks. You may apply all the engagement tools in the book, but if you don’t have any intrinsic motivation will never spark a fire. You must do work that makes you feel energized. It’s easy to offer up your skills when you are doing work that energizes you.

4. Find Work that Captures Your Interest

Focus has been a weakness of mine. I have always liked so many things that I never took the time to master my skills. After realizing this I began to practice the art of focused attention.

I set an egg timer for 25 minutes and made sure that I did not become distracted from the task at hand. I rewarded myself with 15 minutes of Yoga after completing a task. I realized that my most productive times were the times between 1pm – 5pm, so I made sure to do my hardest tasks during this time.

The more I practiced the art of staying focused, the better I got at it. Now I can write for an hour straight, take a quick stretch break and then write for another hour without a problem.

You need to find out what helps you stay focused on your important work. Have fun experimenting with different ideas and eventually a few will work for you.

5. Chunk Your Tasks

Many tasks aren’t just straight forward. There needs to be some planning in order to make the tasks feel feasible. A short email doesn’t need much planning, but an email proposal does. So you must divide your work into small chunks in order to stay on task and avoid feeling overwhelmed. Five minutes of planning before I start a small project can save me an hour of procrastinating.

6. Improve Your Emotional I.Q.

Every career has its difficult moments. Whether we are working with difficult people or stuck for a solution, it’s natural to get upset. We can’t avoid our emotions, so we need to work on these issues on a regular basis. Whenever I’m feeling upset, overwhelmed, or just plain stressed out I go for a walk. I get away from my work and let my mind relax.

You need to find ways to work with your emotions. You may want to keep a one-sentence journal about what upsets you and why. By doing this every day for even just a month, you’ll begin to see a pattern. Once you recognize a pattern you can focus your energy on processing these emotions quickly so you can get back to doing work that makes you happy.

7. Develop a Flexible Mindset

You career is constantly fluctuating. The people you meet in your business, at work, or online will bring new opportunities. You need to be able to adjust your plans quickly to adapt to your changing environment. I’ve met people who have turned down work because it didn’t fit their perception of themselves. It’s important to be open to the idea of taking your career in the direction that your clients or company push you toward. As long as you can still get excited about the work.

Being too fixated on what you want your career to look like will create a lot of heartache. By being flexible, you will be more likely to become happy and successful.

Infusing the Law of Attraction into Your Career

Successful people are successful because they expect to be. When they fail, they find ways to adjust their plans.

You must believe that you deserve good things to happen in your career. If you don’t, it’s harder to attract the right clients to support your business. It’s difficult to connect with the right co-workers who are willing to help you build your career.

I’ve read that most personal development information works because people want to create positive change in their lives. They use all kind of resources to learn.

You can have the career of your dreams, but you have to put in the hard work to attract the right people and projects into your life. Once you build your superpowers and network, your career happiness will multiply.

How have you used the LoA to improve your career?

* Are you on Twitter? Then join over 3,400 people who get my stress relief tips, happiness ideas, and thought provoking quotes. @workhappynow

* Catherine Caine of Be Awesome Online write a post about looking professional online. In the old days we could were a fancy suit to impress, now we have the internet barrier. We need to appear professional, but it’s harder to do since people need more than a picture and a nice sales page to see how good you are. Check out Catherine’s post, very much worth your time.

If you enjoyed this post then you will probably like this one too:

> How to Discover Your Career Bliss

> 7 Ways to Bring More Positivity to Your Career

Download the Free eBook Work Happy the Google Way * Post from: Work Happy Now!

A lot of people have been asking me, “What exactly is a superpower?” It’s time I gave you an answer.

So, over the past couple months I’ve talked a lot about developing your superpowers, but I never explained how to figure out what your superpowers are in the first place. The best way for me to do this is to start by asking you a few questions.

What do people come to you for?

Why do they come to you for this thing?

Do you enjoy helping people solve this problem?

The thing that people approach you about the most is a superpower. People love coming to you for this thing because they know you will do an amazing job. The most important aspect though is that you enjoy helping people with this thing.

Career superpowers are actions that come easily to you, are fun and you can do them for a long period of time. As you build your career, you should become more in tune with what your superpowers are. If you don’t, you will miss out on the opportunity to create leverage.

Your superpowers depend on three factors:

> Passion

> Focus

> Strengths

Without all of these factors you will have a missing link in your success chain.

I had a friend who was an amazing writer. I floundered in college while he excelled.

My friend could write about submarines, water polo, and weather patterns and make each paper fascinating. The only problem was that he didn’t care. He had great skill and focus, but no passion.

After he completed each article he experienced no excitement and no happiness. He just moved on to the next thing on his list.

I consider writing to be a superpower of mine now because I stuck with it. I had the passion and focus to make my writing interesting.

I’m going to compare two skills that I have (writing and editing) and explain why one is a superpower and one is just a skill.

Passion

The intrinsic motivation behind your actions is passion. If you find yourself constantly forcing yourself to take action, then this isn’t passion; it’s fake. Doing work you’re passionate about should easily put you into motion.

I love to write and the action comes easily. I actually need to write in order to get the thoughts out instead of spinning around my head. It’s a therapeutic action that became a daily habit.

On the other hand, I have difficulty editing because by that point the creation process is already over for me. I want to move on to the next idea. You’ve probably noticed how certain work won’t motivate you for very long. You may be passionate about it for a few hours or days, but eventually the energy wanes and you’re back to doing things that bring you happiness.

Focus

The amount of time you can spend focusing on a project will determine how much you get accomplished. If you can’t stay focused for very long, you’ll never develop the skill to be successful.

I can write for many hours a day. This allows me to write articles for my site as well as many guest posts. I rarely feel like I can’t write. There are always fresh angles that I can tap into if I do some research or Yoga.

I can edit for many hours, but it doesn’t make me feel energized. I do it because it’s a part of my job.

Strengths

Each skill that you have must produce quality results, otherwise it’s not a strength.

For example, almost anyone can write. In order for it to be considered a strength it must be something that other people notice because your skill stands out.

I write to change the world. That’s exactly how I look at it. I’m good at it and I expect to produce great results.

Editing is not a skill that I’ve mastered yet, so it’s tough for me to consider this a strength. It’s more like an ability that I’m trying to mold into a superpower.

Review

So how do you find your superpowers? You have to figure out if the action in question meets all the criteria: passion, focus, and strength.

Your passions come from your subconscious, your focus is all about your ability to stay in the present moment, and your strengths are determined by the results you produce and the way others perceive those results.

If you don’t have all three when performing an action…

> Passion

> Focus

> Strength

…then you aren’t creating great results and feeling happy while doing it.

You are just passing the time doing work that you aren’t really connected with.

This is why I started my Superpower Coaching sessions. People came to me for advice because I could see through the fog to help them develop a clear picture. I couldn’t avoid this superpower, so I decided to leverage it.

You must learn to leverage your career superpowers or you will be missing out on major success.

What are you doing to leverage your superpowers in your business/career?

* Join the Work Happy Now Facebook Page and interact with other people who are trying to improve their superpowers.

* Turning fear into Fuel is the entrepreneur’s secret to success. We all are scared and procrastinate, but the ones that use this fear to make themselves smarter, stronger and happier are the ones that win. Check out Jonathan Field’s post right here. He and Chris Guillebeau give two excellent talks on fear.

If you enjoyed this post then you will probably like this one too:

> How to Harness Your Superpowers

> My Arch Nemesis Dr. Oatzel Almost Stole My Superpowers

Download the Free eBook Work Happy the Google Way * Post from: Work Happy Now!

Why do you choose to get out of bed in the morning?

You may do it because of:

> Love
> Habit
> Fear
> Excitement
> Obligation
> Dedication

Whatever gets you out of bed, it’s enough to keep you moving forward. At what point do you ask yourself…

Am I happy with my career?

This is the question that we all ask ourselves, but we often don’t take the time to figure out the answer. It’s just easier to keep doing the same boring stuff. Why put pressure on ourselves to change when we aren’t sure what will make us happy?

This is the type of thinking that prevents a person from moving forward.

You have an opportunity to create the career that will make you happy if you start right now.

1. Develop Your Superpowers

You may have been writing a while or photographing since you were little, but you haven’t been able to use these skills at your job. No more. You have to find a way to use the skills that you’ve developed over the past years.

These skills will help you shine at work. If you are too busy with mind numbing work – stop it. You must cut out that stuff because it’s not getting you any closer to your goals. If you really want to tread water and wait for someone to save you, go right ahead. But if you want to improve your career and find more engaging work, you have to use your superpowers every single day.

2. Understand Your Needs

If you aren’t happy at work then you aren’t getting your needs met. This can be tricky because our needs are always changing and sometimes the needs we think will make us happy won’t. The idea is to make the best guess of what makes you happy and figure out how to get these needs met at work.

3. Match Your Strengths with Your Passions

Your strength may be writing, but you don’t love to write. This happens all the time. You have to blend your strengths with your passions so you can do great work that gets you motivated.

Maybe you like to speak to get your point across. Then use this strength to help you do more of the work that matters to you.

4. Start Today

Instead of waiting around expecting someone to notice, take charge and do the work. If you do a great job, your clients/co-workers/boss will want you to do more of this amazing work because they see great results.

5. Fail Fast

If you think you are great at planning meetings but something always seems to go wrong, then maybe it’s time to accept that this is a passion of yours but not a superpower.

6. Adjust Course

You can’t be good at everything. You can’t be passionate about everything. When you fail at something, leave it behind and adjust. Figure out what makes you a Linchpin (Amazon affiliate link) within your work. When you do great work, it gives you more leverage to do work that excites you.

7. Work Through the Dip

Every job has its grind. We can’t all jump into the CEO seat and run things. We need to put in our time and work on our skills. Just because you have a string of bad days, don’t let this throw you off course. Keep working hard and you will develop skills that you never realized you had. These skills will bring new possibilities into your career.

* Don’t miss out on any more great articles. Sign up for my RSS feed or email feed and you’ll stay updated on the latest tips and ideas to bring more happiness to your working life.

* Tim Brownson had a guest post that talked about confidence and fear. Click here to check it out. The guest author went crazy overboard giving a ton of value in his responses.

If you enjoyed this post then you will probably like this one too:

> 5 Ways to Conquer Your Fears

> How to Use the 5 Whys to Discover Your True Needs

Image courtesy of Korso87

Download the Free eBook Work Happy the Google Way * Post from: Work Happy Now!

When you work with someone who annoys you, they can seem devastatingly awful. So awful that it can send you into a depression. Trust me – - it has happened to me.

Maybe it’s an annoying client who won’t stop emailing you, a co-worker who loves to click his pen all day long, or a boss who puts way too much work on your desk.

But as soon as you take away the annoyance, you miss parts of the experience. You miss the challenge that this annoying person created. It’s very much like a horror movie. You watch it to scare the living heck out of yourself because once it’s over, life seems so much better. This relief can be addicting.

My new friend Tammy left a great comment about this concept:

Running my own business means I don’t have the day-to-day contact with an office full of work colleagues, so my friends do get all the work chatter too! I think being an entrepreneur, your life gets a lot less compartmentalized anyway.

I know there’s a lot of problems with office politics and the like within office environments, but honestly, now and then I do think I’m missing out on a chunk of popular culture by not having an over-enthusiastic stationery cupboard manager in my life; or a particularly zealous health and safety warden confiscating my scissors!

She misses the crazy people because they add spice to the workday. After reading her blog I would say she is happier not having to deal with the “over-enthusiastic stationery cupboard manager,” but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t miss him.

When you notice something annoying you today, try to step back and feel the uniqueness of the situation. What type of sensations are happening? Are you letting your anger get the best of you? These overwhelming emotions can teach you so much about yourself.

So remember to watch, listen, and learn from what irks you because when it’s all gone you’ll want to bring back the pain. Because at least they challenged you to work on your emotional development.

* Join over 800 people who have already subscribed to the FREE Happy at Work 10 Week eCourse. It will arrive in your inbox every Monday morning, when you need it the most. (Sign up is in the top left corner)

* Social media can be a tricky beast that’s why I read Christine’s blog. One of her latest articles was how to make friend request. It’s a must read for Facebook and LinkedIn users.

If you enjoyed this post then you will probably like this one too:

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Download the Free eBook Work Happy the Google Way * Post from: Work Happy Now!

If you are anything like me, frustration can put a heavy damper on your career. Your frustration comes at you from external and internal issues.

Externally you may have to deal with…

> Coworkers
> Clients/Customers
> Technology

Internally you may have to deal with…

> Tissue pain (i.e. a bad back)
> Depression
> Creativity issues

I can make these two lists very long, but you understand all the elements that a worker must deal with. Heck, you deal with your own issues every day.

Dealing with Frustrations

I let frustration whoop my butt up and down my career on a daily basis. There were many times when I questioned my intelligence, my sanity and my life in general. Here are some of the various ways that I’ve used in the past to deal with my frustration:

1. Make Up a Song
2. Make an Emotional Dump List
3. Laugh
4. Vent to a Friend
5. Dance to a Favorite Song
6. Unleash Your Inner Kid
7. Pray for Relief
8. Say No
9. Make Time for More Sleep

1. Make Up a Song

When I’m frustrated and my head feels like it will explode, I make up a song. The song usually has no musical value for anyone else, but I don’t care. All that matters is that it helps me release my frustrations.

The last song I made up was about a meeting that was canceled by the other party. I had become attached to the potential doors that this meeting could open.

It went something like this…

The spasm of my brain,

ringing my cells.

What can I say,

but freak’in,

f’in,

f yah!

I don’t need them.

I don’t need the help of forgetful minders,

tearing down my emotional balance.

All I need is me

and this song of frustration.

So let me be,

let me beeeeeeeee.

Yeah, you wouldn’t want to hear that on the radio.

The song went on like that for 10 minutes; that was just a small clip. This creativity allows me to release my pain and bring myself back into emotional balance.

By releasing your emotions through a made up song, you can deal with your emotions more easily. Give it a try next time you have trouble letting go of your emotions.

2. Make an Emotional Dump List

Frustration is really just an emotional buildup that we can’t release. So we need to figure out a way to clear out these thoughts and emotions and bring happiness back in.

I created an emotional dumping list and focused on the “5 whys”:

1. Why do I feel this way?
2. Why can’t I let go?
3. Why am I so attached to my frustration?
4. Why do I love my emotions?
5. Why is there brilliance in every action?

The key to the whys is making sure that they keep getting more and more positive.

When you can dump out the negative and fill your brain with positive thoughts, you will have a better chance of letting go of the frustration and feeling relaxed.

3. Laugh

When you laugh, you are releasing beta-endorphins (the family of chemicals that alleviates depression) and human growth hormone (HGH; which helps with immunity) from Science Daily. This stress relief will help you release your frustrations.

One of the easiest ways to laugh is to go out to lunch with a friend. If you don’t have any friends available, then watch something funny on YouTube.

As long as you are laughing, your frustration doesn’t have a chance.

4. Vent to a Friend

A close friend can often help you release pent up energy if you vent to them. The problem is that venting can quickly turn into complaining, which only magnifies the pain.

You need to make a plan when you make time to vent to a friend. Try to put a limit on how much and for how long you can vent.

You’ll notice that you are much more economical with your venting when you set boundaries. It won’t take as long to clear out your frustration.

After the venting is all out then try to steer the conversation in a positive direction. Leaving on a positive note ensures that both parties will want to meet again in the near future.

5. Dance to a Favorite Song

Lately I’ve been dancing to ABBA, Justin Timberlake, and Michael Jackson. They always put me in a good mood. It’s hard for me to stay frustrated when I’m dancing like a crazy man on my bed, office floor, or the kitchen.

It’s probably the fastest frustration relief idea in this article.

Next time you are frustrated, take out your iPod or turn on the radio. You can probably feel the frustration oozing out of you just thinking about it.

Take 2 minutes to write your 5 favorite songs on your computer or a piece of paper. By having the list ready, you won’t have to think about what songs will ease your frustration. All you need to do is decide which one will work the best.

6. Unleash Your Inner Kid

We need to let out the kid within us by doing something fun. I find that swinging on a swing is a great way to make me feel like a kid again.

I like doing this when I’m a hard time releasing my frustration.

I’ll take my dog for a walk to the local elementary school, take a lap around the field and then stop at the swings and just swing away my frustration. A few memories of when I was a kid always pop into my head, telling my dad to push me higher or when I was in 5^th grade and I impressed everyone by jumping off, looking like superman. I’m too old to jump off now, but as long as my frustration loosens its grip, that’s all that matters.

7. Pray for Relief

Frustration stems from our constant tendency to expect a certain outcome and not receive. So when a project doesn’t go as smoothly as we would have hoped, we freak out a little bit. The blood boils and we need relief.

I will literally kneel at the edge of my bed and ask for God to take on some of my problems.

When we accept that we can’t control all of our circumstances, that’s when we can reduce our frustration.

Next time you need a little relief let God, The Energy, The Universe or whatever you believe in take some of your worries off of your hands. I know when I give God a little of my frustration I feel relieved.

8. Say No

You can say no to anyone that ask you to do something. Really you can. A client that asks you to meet an almost impossible deadline isn’t extending the courtesy you deserve.

If you aren’t willing to say “no” more often then you can’t blame anyone, but yourself for your frustration.

9. Make Time for More Sleep

I recently clenched my fists and growled because of a project that I couldn’t get quite right. I wanted to freak out and destroy my computer, but luckily I used my frustration releasing techniques.

I was putting together an article about fear and it all sounded terrible. It was late and I kept banging my head against my keyboard.

I gave up, went to sleep, and woke up with the right angle on the article. It was like someone clicked a switch inside of me.

If you aren’t getting enough sleep you are more prone to frustration, anger, depression, and malaise. The effects on your body are also alarming. You are more prone to disease, so take the time to rest and you’ll reduce the intensity of your triggers that induce frustration.

Making Your Reactions Work for You

Your frustrations are really a result of the way you react to your internal and external worlds. If you believe that only you can frustrate yourself then you have an advantage over most other people.

Even if a client keeps asking for small favors that they don’t expect to be charged for, it may be frustrating, but you are really the one creating those feelings. There are plenty of ways to say “no”.

Take the time to work with your frustration and you’ll notice a regular pattern that occurs. I know certain people are going to trigger my frustration. Use this short 4 step process to help you through your feelings of frustration.

You need to find a way to…

> Accept
> Release
> Take Action
> Enjoy

Your feelings are up to you.

When you accept that you are creating your own frustration, figure out how to adjust, so you feel relaxed and balanced, you are taking your emotional power back.

What do you do to release your career/work frustrations?

* Join the Work Happy Now Facebook Page and interact with other people who are trying to improve their superpowers.

* Johnny B. Truant wrote a post about using work as a way to grow. It’s a must read for entrepreneurs. Click here to read it.

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Download the Free eBook Work Happy the Google Way * Post from: Work Happy Now!

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Wendy Graham of online colleges.

If you work from home or attend online college, you know the importance of keeping productive; while working from the comfort of your house may seem like the best of all possible work environments, it can have its drawbacks. For one, you must have strong reserves of self-discipline and treat your work life as it were… a job. This can be difficult if one uses the same home computer for work and leisure. If this applies to you, consider the following programs.

Organize and color-code your notes and tasks with Notekeeper

I have tried many free and shareware PIMs (personal information managers) but I use Notekeeper the most. It is simple and is designed for maximum efficiency not only for documentation but for finding information quickly. You can organize your notes into groups, and the ability to add tags to each ensures the ability to cross-references anything from the fruits of online research to a simple to-do list. I find being able to add a color bar to each note particularly useful. You can track your information at a glance.

Watch your time with WatchMe

WatchMe is a simple, free program that sets a timer in the background and will alert you at a defined time. What makes this program so effective is its small footprint and how well it does what it is designed to do: no extra bells or whistles are included that you don’t want or need. You can define multiple tasks, each with its own timer, and set it up to add the total time. Timestamps can be exported into XML or CSV format or simply cut and paste into another program or document. I particularly like that it runs as a standalone .exe on the desktop with no installation required. If you are looking for a robust, but pared down time program, WatchMe is worth trying.

Manage your projects by task and time with Slimtimer

Slimtimer is an efficient and surprisingly feature-packed tool that will allow you to break your various projects into individual categories of tasks- both personal and business. You can set a timer for each task to see how long it takes you. You can also run reports to keep track of your projects and overall use of time when working. This tool is a godsend for collaborative projects or to keep track of billing.

Keep your eyes on the prize with k9webprotection

It happens to the best of us. We begin work with the best of intentions, but decide we will take ‘just a quick peek’ at our Twitter feed, etc. Before you know it, hours have passed, even if you feel like you have “worked.” If you can’t stay away from the social network sites during work hours, let k9webprotection.com be your ‘bad cop.’ Designed to filter web content, it can also be used to block access to certain sites during pre-defined times.

It took some time, but I am now more efficient working out of my home office than I ever was working in a cubicle!

This guest post was written by Wendy Graham, a stay at home mother and freelancer who often writes about education for Online College Guru, a directory of online colleges.

* Are you on Twitter? Then join over 3,300 people who get my stress relief tips, happiness ideas, and thought provoking quotes. @workhappynow

* Jason over at Escape Adulthood wrote a cool piece about living in the present moment. Click here to read the whole article.

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Image courtesy of Rev. Xanatos Satanicos Bombasticos

Download the Free eBook Work Happy the Google Way * Post from: Work Happy Now!