Have you ever enjoyed mind numbing work?

You need work that’s not going to weigh down your brain. A heavy brain gets tired. On the other hand, a slightly distracted brain is a light brain that can work on other problems.

Personal story

I was recently working on gathering all my receipts and entering them into my accounting software. As I was entering, I had the quick thought that I hated doing this stuff. I put on some Mozart to ease my mood.

My thoughts relaxed and I stopped worrying about the other things that I could be doing. I entered the numbers and accessed my subconscious. I was working in the moment and my brain found a solution to a problem that I had been struggling with before.

I used to hate mind numbing work until I began to see the importance of doing a little bit each day. It opens an access pipeline that allows me to find solutions to problems that I barely knew existed. I thought that once I came to this realization, I would have my hatred of mind-numbing work under control. Nope.

The negative thoughts kept coming until I exposed my weakness for what it was – excuses for not wanting to try too hard because I was afraid of failure. If I procrastinated on doing my work then I didn’t have to face my possible lack of success. Once I knew what was wrong, I could find the solution. It has taken some practice, but the mind numbing work has become a vital part of my happiness.

Shower Technique

Have you ever had a brilliant idea in the shower?

It’s because your mind is relaxed and a little distracted.

See, the problem is that when you focus so hard on a solution, your mind gets filled with anxiety and it clouds up.

Your mind needs numbing work so that the clouds don’t roll in and take over.

1. What is your best mind numbing work?

I thought that I could do some mind numbing work and let my brain relax. I started writing emails to potential clients. They were all very similar with a few tweaks.

I ended up sending out one email with the wrong name at the top. I didn’t even notice my mistake until the person emailed me back pointing this out to me. I learned to do a quick review of my mind numbing work before I turned it over to someone else.

Your mind numbing work must distract you, but not be so intensive that it takes all of your focus. Repetitive work is often the best type of work that lets your mind zone out, but still allows you to do your task.

2. When is the best time to do this mind numbing work?

You also have to know your hot spots. If you know when you do your best work, you shouldn’t be doing mind numbing work during this time. You can do the mind numbing work when your energy is lower and your mind isn’t in top form.

I like to do mind numbing work early and late in the day. I’ll do my thought intensive work between 10 – 3.

I never come up with any brilliant ideas during this time. My 10 – 3 hot spot is my time to work on those brilliant ideas to make them come to life.

3. How can you make time to do a little mind numbing work every single day?

People will tell you that you should only do work that plays to your strengths.

Nonsense!

If all you did was work that was intensive and built around your strengths you would be exhausted. Mind numbing work can actually be relaxing.

Some of my favorite mind numbing tasks:

> Organizing my files

> Reviewing finances

> Finding a cool quote for Twitter and Facebook

> Making a “To Do” List for a upcoming project

> Reviewing my outstanding invoices

> Uploading files to my website

> Backing up old data so I don’t lose it

This is the type of work that allows me to think. These tasks keep me involved in my work, but they don’t take up every ounce of my energy, which allows me to think creatively.

Your Turn

Your showering, your teeth brushing, and your organizing allow you to be in the work physically without having to mentally be there. That’s something you can’t give up.

You know the value of letting your brain relax so that it can come up with those cool ideas. So take advantage of that mind numbing work.

See that mind numbing work as an opportunity to relax your thoughts.

It has done wonders for my productivity.

How about you?

What type of things do you do to relax your brain?

How do you find a way to make these things a habit?

* Join over 1,000 people who have already subscribed to the FREE 10 Part E-Course on Superpower Development. Learn how to discover and leverage your superpowers so you can do amazing work. (Sign up is in the top left corner)

* As we grow our reputations online we need to know how to use social proof to keep people wanting more. When people realize that you are an expert in a topic that they are interested in then they still around longer and be more willing to be won over by your brilliance. Social Media Examiner talks about the nuances of social proof and how to leverage it’s powers.

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> Why You Must Learn to Accelerate Emotional Space

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Image courtesy of  The Advocacy Project

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

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Estela M. L. Go of My Dog Ate My Blog

Want to improve both your productivity and happiness level? It’s time to feng shui your workplace. Feng shui is a practice that will help you design your environment so that it brings the best of you out. By following the 10 practical feng shui tips listed below, you can increase your productivity, your positive energy, and your working experience.

10. Practical Tips

1. Position your desk so that you are facing the entrance of your office or cubicle.

Since business and people are coming in through that entrance, it is important for you to not have your back towards them. Placing your desk this way will allow you to be less stressed out because you are not surprised at what is lurking behind you and are well prepared to attend to whatever comes through the opening. Worst case scenario that you cannot move your desk, place a mirror so you can still see the entrance.

2. While facing the entrance is good, do not place your desk in line with the door but either towards the left or right of it.

Sitting in the pathway of the entrance does not give off positive energy. You become the thing right behind the door that instantly receives whatever comes in, both good and bad. Just by positioning yourself off to the side of that entrance way, you are increasing your prosperity. The absence of a desk in this pathway allows people to enter the office space with a welcoming feeling of spaciousness.

3. For irregularly shaped rooms, jutting pillars, and boring walls, consider placing mirrors, plants, or paintings.

Making the environment more pleasing through these tactics will increase the positive energy and good fortune of the workspace. You will feel more relaxed in an area filled with beautifully arranged decorations.

4. Glass walls can help with your productivity but too many can create privacy issues.

One of the main benefits of having glass walls is that you are approachable to your office mates. You are also held more accountable for your work and are more aware of what is going on in the office. But glass walls gives a vulnerability that is only corrected by the protection of blinds. Even when blinds are not used, their presence gives you the option of privacy.

5. Design your office space with a balance of yin and yang in mind.

What this means is that there should be a balance of colors, shapes, and textures in the room. Too much of one thing makes the room too strong and hence a balance of different things creates a welcoming and peaceful environment for you and your visitors.

6. Make sure you have proper lighting.

Fluorescent lights may do their job but can make your eyes sour, so if you are stuck with these lights in your office, think about replacing them with full-spectrum lights or table lamps that are healthier for your eyes. Lighting will improve your productivity by making your eyes less tired and stressed out.

7. Increase the air quality in your workspace by adding air-purifying plants to the setting.

Your brain desires more oxygen and what better way to satisfy this need than to decorate your office with plants that not only make the air better but also create a more refreshing work environment. Good plants for the office that bring good luck are fortune plants.

Top 10 Plants for Cleaner Air

> Areca palm

> Reed palm

> Dwarf date palm

> Boston fern

> Janet Craig dracaena

> English ivy

> Australian sword fern

> Peace Lily

> Rubber plant

> Weeping fig

8. Decorate your office with some water, such as a miniature fountain or fish tank.

According to feng shui, water is associated with bringing in money. The rushing of water will also soothe your mind as you work. Amazon has a nice assortment of waterfalls. (yes, this is an affiliate link.)

9. Eliminate any clutter in your office.

Hide cords, organize your papers, and make sure there is a place for everything. A cluttered workspace will drain your energy while a spotless place welcomes a clean mind ready to take on any task.

10. Have your office reflect the kind of energy you desire by choosing the right colors for its interior design.

Each colors represents one of the five feng shui elements–fire, earth, metal, water, and wood–and with each element, a quality that you may desire for your work. To find out what each colors means, check this Feng Shui color guide.

Estela M. L. Go is a guest blogger for My Dog Ate My Blog and a writer on getting a bachelor’s degree for Guide to Online Schools.

* 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.

* Lori of the Tiny Buddha has a guest post that caught my attention. My favorite is #21. “Fears – So you know your opportunities for growth.” I’m coming out with a product soon (Announcing it quietly right here. Shhh don’t tell anyone yet, but it will be about using fears to fuel your passions. I’m excited. It’s going to knock your boots off. That is if you are wearing boots.)

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

I’ve talked a lot about developing your superpowers over these past few months. It’s because I believe we all have powers that we don’t use that could make a significant impact on other people.

It’s why I’m a big fan of starting a small business. Too often we get caught in a position within our careers that doesn’t allow us to optimize our superpowers. By starting your own business you can use the superpowers that you have been neglecting.

Small Business isn’t for Everyone

My wife would rather chop off a finger than start her own business. She doesn’t want the volatile nature of cash flow that every business has. Some months are great while others just suck. I can understand why she would be worried, but if the business owner is a good saver then this is a small barrier to overcome. There will be slow months without any business, but that just gives a person time to ramp up for the busy season.

I also know that my wife would hate to do sales. I’m actually working with a client whose kryptonite is sales. He is a great people person, but he doesn’t want to push people into buying his service.

He believes in the myth that all salespeople are pushy. He doesn’t want to be perceived as pushy, so he stays away from trying to sell himself. He thinks he needs a little more time to develop his sales tactics, but he is really just stalling because he doesn’t want to do sales.

He hasn’t figured out an emotional connection to sales that will allow him to pursue it. I’ve talked before about creating emotional connections, so we won’t get into it here.

There are myths to every endeavor, and starting your own business has plenty of them. You must educate yourself before you give up on the idea. It just might be the career move that fits your needs.

It comes down to the concept of getting your creative needs met. Are you creating solutions that makes yourself and other people happy? If so then you are probably in a great career. If not then you should think about starting your own small business. You may want big bucks so you can do this thing you love full time, or maybe you’d just like some nice side money to supplement your income. Starting your own business is as flexible as you can make it.

Every small business owner defines success differently. Some feel successful because they are allowed to live a nomadic life and others just like the challenge that their market provides. If you have the urge to start your own business, you’ll have to figure out what you want from the small biz.

Reasons to Start a Small Business

There are a lot of reasons not to start a business, but I believe that there are more reasons to start a business. Click here to read a PDF of researchers who tested individuals who worked for themselves and people who worked for a company to see who was happier. Researche’s at Dartmouth College believe that most Americans want to start their own business.

Let’s look at a few of the reasons I believe having a small business is an awesome idea for you:

1. You can control where your income is coming from

When you work for another company you have one source of income and if you piss off your boss then that one source of income could drop to none.

When you have your own business, even if it’s just a small online business, you have multiple streams of revenue. If your company ever cuts back hours or lays you off then you have income to support you.

2. Freedom to use your superpowers

Many companies care about keeping up with the status quo. If you are stuck in such a company then you probably can’t fully unleash your superpowers. You might have to suppress them so you fit in with the company culture. This is a dangerous scenario because superpowers can go dormant if they aren’t used on a regular basis.

By starting your own business you are creating the freedom to use your passions, focus and strengths on work that you want to do. I know that you can’t always use your superpowers 100% of the time, but believe me, if you start the right small business you’ll be using them often.

3. Expansion is up to you

You can take a business to any level you want. If you want to keep it a one person show, so be it. If you want to grow it into an international company then it’s there for the taking.

A career is far more limited.  This can be a good thing if you have one superpower and that’s all you enjoy doing. You can focus on this superpower and not have to worry about all the other jobs that inevitably come along with running a business. I loved working for other companies because each one helped me build my superpowers. As I learned about myself, I grew more confident. This confidence allowed me to develop the business that I have now.

4. Personal knowledge will make you stronger

The flexibility of owning a business can multiply your personal knowledge. You’ll discover things that you  never thought were possible.

The human body is an amazing vessel. I knew that I could start a business while I was working full-time, but I didn’t realize how much energy I would need. After working all day I would hang out with my family, eat dinner, then do an interview with another blogger, post a new article, interact on social media and set my itinerary for the next day to do it all over again.

I’ve learned how to do the most important things first, regulate my stress, and still have a good time while being super busy.

Starting a business is a great way to see what you really care about. You’ll have to make sacrifices, but every career has sacrifices. When you have to be at work from 8am to 5pm that’s a huge sacrifice.

5. You can fire a client

One of the best parts about starting your own business is the multiple income streams. You can make money in many ways. I have a friend who is a designer and is currently juggling 10 clients. If one client drops off she has 9 other clients who pay her for her talents.

If she doesn’t like one of those clients she can also fire them. Because she has a thriving business it means she can be more picky about who she works with.

6. A small biz can be started on the side

Like I talked about earlier – a small business can be built on the side. If you enjoy making jewelry or teaching guitar there are dozens of ways to start a business on the side.

A friend of mine recently hired a piano teacher to help him improve his playing. My friend lives in Texas and his teacher lives in New York. They use Skype video. The teacher watches and listens then gives tips.

The teacher has a full time job as an English teacher. It’s possible to create almost any kind of small business on the internet. We are lucky to be living in this time period.

7. Creativity on your terms

Many people quit their jobs because they can’t use their superpowers at their work. Maybe the boss has different plans. This happens all the time.

Creativity is stifled within a corporation because they don’t listen to the employee’s needs. This doesn’t apply to Zappos, Google, and many other companies, but there are exceptions in every circumstance.

As a small business owner you can develop projects that use your superpowers. I only work on projects that excite me. This creativity allows me to focus on high energy projects, which allows me to create great results.

Sometimes your passion isn’t strong enough. This happens. I find the opposite if true for most people though. The passion is there, but the fear is screaming for them to sit down, shut up and keep doing their boring job. They listen.

If you want to push outside your comfort zone, you have to believe that doing the action is more important than avoiding failure. Once you believe that creating this small business is more important than your fear, you’ll find the time.

What about you?

Do you want to start your own business?

Are you afraid of starting your own business?

What are you doing to overcome this fear?

* Join the Work Happy Now Facebook Page and interact with other people who are trying to improve their superpowers. It’s very basic right now, but it’s a fun place to visit. We ask good questions, support each other, and laugh. I’m going to improve the design some time soon, but until then stop by and hang out.

* Stacey over at Mom Renewal Project has a wonderful guest post about a volunteering at a charitable organization to boost happiness.

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

> Take Back Control of Your Business – Series

> How to Discover Your Career Bliss

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

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Nicole Joy Leibman of Little Purple Cow

“There’s only going to be one first, one opening” I hear my mother say as she finishes preparing dinner.  It had been about a year since I was let go from my job as an attorney, and decided to pursue my dream of starting my own business.  I was at my parent’s house having my weekly existential crises – It’s so hard and lonely working for myself. Why isn’t anything happening yet?  How long is it going to take to get this off the ground? Will my business even succeed? Will I be able to fund my business and my personal life?

The story

I mention some of these fears to my mother and this was her response:

“It was the winter of 1987,” she continued, “and I was working as the Director of Sales for the [then-under-construction] Hilton at Short Hills.  It was cold, I was working out of trailer, and I was very frustrated.  My colleague gave me this advice: There’s only one grand opening.”

My mom went on to explain that all the grueling work they did, every day for over a year, all lead up to that one big opening day.  But it wasn’t about cutting the red ribbon of a plush new hotel.  That would just be one small moment in time.  It was about enjoying the fact that every day she was building a small piece of something so much bigger.  What she was saying was that I was so focused on the end result, I was missing out on enjoying all of the excitement in what I was doing every day in building my business.

I drove home reflecting on her advice and realized, as usual, that mothers know best.  Her advice had me pegged.   Anyone who knows me knows I thrive on challenges.  Law school?  Great! What do I need to do to get there? A solid legal career?  How do I achieve that?  All these milestones were mountains that I had always been climbing.   I would arrive at the peak, stop, admire the view, and then look for the next mountain.    I never took the time to realize the value and joy in all those grueling summer days I spent studying for the bar, or the gallons of midnight oil I burned doing legal research.   And now, here I was, climbing an entrepreneurial “mountain”.

But, sometimes you have to hear advice from someone not related to you, before you actually take it.    And so it was a few weeks later, when I met two close friends after work for a drink, that I received the same advice.  They both came from toiling away in midtown offices, while I had come from working in the comfort of my living room.  The conversation turned to my business and how things were going.  Having had a tough week, I mentioned some of my frustrations “I just don’t know how much longer I can struggle along before my business gets there.”  They both looked at me with a blank stare.  “Get there? Do you know how much you’ve accomplished in less then a year? It is there!”    They were right.   I had been neglecting the journey this whole time.   So what if my business has yet to be a smashing success? It was about all the small building blocks I had been working on the last year, right?

Considering I was pursing my dreams, how could I not be at least a little happy everyday?  I wanted to feel the same happiness about my relationship with my work that the character Charlotte, from Sex and the City, felt about her romantic relationship:  “not all day every day but yes, every day.”  I needed to shift my focus.

And once I did, I came up with three things that help me find some sense of happy, not all day everyday, but everyday.

1.  One small victory a day.

At the end of each day, I now list one positive thing that happened to move my business forward.  Even if it’s the smallest thing.  For example:

> We had three sales today.  It’s not 100 sales, but it is two more then yesterday.

> I made a cold call to someone important who took time to speak to me.  Maybe they don’t want to work with me today, but I’ve made a small step forward.

Neither of these things is earth shattering in the bigger picture, but they offer that glimmer of happiness that makes me wake up the next day and keep forging ahead.  One day not far from now, three sales in one day may be totally insignificant.  But I want to remember the small feeling of satisfaction that just three sales could bring.

2. Find joy in every interaction.

One of my typical feelings about being an entrepreneur is a sense of loneliness and isolation.  I now try to really appreciate even the smallest interactions.  Recently, I spent a full day working solo and went to drop off some photos for printing.  The clerk at Kinkos raved about my products.  Instead of just saying thanks and leaving, I spent a few minutes with her to find out what she liked and why.  I walked out knowing more about my customers, and maybe having even gained one.

Or even having a midday cup of coffee with a former legal colleague is a welcome reprieve as it helps me appreciate how much happier I am now compared to where I could be.

3.  Take Time for Yourself.

While finding happiness in my work is important, as an entrepreneur I’ve learned that there has to be a separation between my business and me.   This is no small feat.  Especially if “leaving the office” means walking 5 paces to your bedroom.  So I make a point to take an hour (ok sometimes just 30 minutes) to myself each day.  Maybe it’s going to a yoga class, or for a run, or indulging in a trashy weekly tabloid. Whatever it is, it’s something I do just for my own happiness that has nothing to do with my work.

In a few years from now when my business is more established, there won’t be any more “openings.”   And when that happens, I’m certain I will find another mountain, another challenge.  But I’m also certain I’ll enjoy every step of that next uphill climb.

Nicole Joy Leibman is the Founder & Designer of Little Purple Cow, a new brand of sterling silver jewelry inspired by antique designs.  Prior to starting Little Purple Cow with her father, Nicole was a practicing attorney in New York City.  Nicole and her business will be featured this month in a series of eight webisodes on building a new business that will air on Fox New’s online imagazine.

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

* I’ve talked about working in the moment, it’s not an easy thing to do. Staying mindful takes a lot of practice. Lance of the Jungle of Life talks about being in the moment while on a steep hike. Beautiful thoughts.

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

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

There are days when you will struggle to do even the easiest task. A short email can feel like an hour long torture session. These days can really test your will.

These rough days also give you a great opportunity to achieve significant personal growth at work. When you are struggling the most, you should rely on every resource you have.

I put together a list of 9 things you can do to shake off your blues and boost your motivation:

1. Make Someone Laugh

Enticing a laugh out of a friend is one of my favorite energy boosters. I’m not a comedian, but I do like to be goofy and let go of my serious side. A little silliness can make most people laugh. If you not a silly person then just strike up a light hearted conversation about family, sports, or movies. The laughs should come naturally and if they don’t, at least you got to know your co-worker a little better.

2. Drink Coffee/Tea

I’m not much of a coffee drinker; I like to drink iced or warm tea as a pick-me-up. However, when I’m at work and my energy is low there are times when I go for a cup of coffee.

Whatever your drink of choice may be, sometimes you just need an extra boost to bring that energy level up.

3. Find Purpose in Your Work

I’ve had plenty of terrible projects to work on at various jobs. One of my most dreaded was stuffing marketing bags by the 1,000s for an event. One year I had to stuff 3,000 bags with our newsletter, small flashlight, and a coupon. My neck, back and wrists were throbbing after it was all over. This tension caused a splitting headache for the drive home.

I vowed to find a mental hack so that this type of task did not feel so torturous.

I almost gave up after trying various techniques that didn’t work, but then I tried the most obvious hack of them all. I looked for the reason why I chose to stay with the work. Whether I thought about the fact that I was making my boss happy, keeping my job so I could pay my rent, and developing my internal happiness during tough situations. I realized that it kept coming back to purpose. By finding a reason to stay engaged with my work, I was able to relax and not wish that I was doing something else.

4. Picture a Positive Outcome

Your motivation may be low because you can’t envision the outcome. Or maybe you see a finished product that looks terrible.

I have a friend who loves to draw, but every time he is asked to do a drawing he hesitates. He told me that the first thing that pops in his head is a disappointed face when he hands over the drawing to his client.

My friend is an amazing artist and yet he can’t envision the value that other people see in his talents.

Next time your motivation is low, try picturing the person who receives the finished project as being so happy that s/he can’t help but give you a big bear hug.

5. Ask for Positive Feedback

Many of us are too shy to encourage a compliment out of someone. It’s a shame because even a compliment that we fish for can boost us.

So give this a try:

Don’t ask a boss or co-worker for an outright compliment, but talk about how you see yourself and ask them how they see you. 99.99% of people will start listing your strengths. If they start listing your weaknesses don’t cut them off. Just listen with an open mind and know that you can focus on the positive aspects after the conversation is over.

6. Apply an Eight Hour Habit Fix

Let’s say you procrastinate when it comes to writing certain emails. Today, just for today, you won’t procrastinate. No matter what type of email that you have to write, you will just do it.

You need to stop letting habits get in the way of accomplishing your goals. I would suggest a 30 day “habit fix” to make it permanent, but that requires a lot of work. Many of you don’t have time to focus 30 days on such a fix. So try 8 hours and see how you feel. Take one work day to focus on breaking a habit that you think is holding you back. Every time your attention slips away and you fall back into old habits, gently remind yourself to stay focused.

After your 8 hours is up, check in to see how you feel. Did you get more accomplished? Do you feel more relaxed, or are you more stressed? If it felt good then try a 30 day habit fix and see if you can’t make this positive habit a regular habit.

7. Clean Your Work Space

A clean workplace helps clear the mind. It’s hard to focus when you’re surrounded by clutter. There are more distractions to get lost in.

Try cleaning up your desk. Put away any extraneous papers, dust off your monitor, and clean up the files on your computer. Once you have a clear external area, it’s easier to deal with your internal decision making process.

8. Make a Short and Easy “To Do” List

Too many of us try to make a list that we can’t accomplish, then at the end of the day we feel depressed and unproductive. The reality is that we still got a lot done. Yes, we probably could have been 10% more efficient, but that doesn’t mean we should beat ourselves up. We need a little day dreaming to keep our creative juices flowing.

Try making a short and easy list that you know you will be able to accomplish. I know those of you who are “go getters” will try to push yourself to get more done, but try with all your might to refrain from doing this. A short and easy list makes the work seem possible

9. Reward Yourself for a Completed Task

You need to take time to feel good about the work that you do. If you are too busy rushing to the next thing then you aren’t soaking in the feelings that keep you motivated.

If you are reading this post and you got this far, I bet that you are a self motivated person. This goes double for you.

You need to thank yourself for all your hard work because it’s the only way you know you will get rewarded. You can’t always rely on someone else, so…

-        Take five minutes and look back on your good work

-        Go for a short walk (Out in nature. It’s the best place to rejuvenate yourself)

-        Buy a healthy lunch that won’t weigh you down

You know the type of rewards you like best, so make sure to give yourself the time and attention that keeps you feeling good.

What about you?

What would your #10 be? How do you keep your motivation pumping along?

* Join over 1,000 people who have already subscribed to the FREE Happy at Work 10 Week eCourse. Learn how to discover and leverage your superpowers so you can do amazing work. (Sign up is in the top left corner)

* Doing work you love doesn’t always mean you will make more money. Over at Get Rich Slowly, Bon wrote a guest post about quitting his job and joining the Peace Core.

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

> Life Without Passion is No Life at All (Great interview)

> 7 Tips to Overcome the Monday Blues

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

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Art Decker of New York self storage

“When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.” This occurred to me during a recent move, but I was skeptical. I was moving from Chicago, where all my friends and family lived, where all my work contacts were located, to San Francisco. San Francisco is a beautiful city, but I did not know anyone and my cost of living was about to skyrocket.

All my thoughts were consumed with discouraging statistics: Groceries in San Francisco are 14 percent more than in Chicago, health care was going to cost me 8 percent more, and my housing was slated to increase roughly 108 percent. Not only was I going to have to adjust to a new city and find new friends, but I was confronting the reality of a significant downsize. I was not thrilled and even the lemonade in San Francisco seemed expensive!

Though I wasn’t in the mood for making lemonade out of my lemons, it seemed more refreshing than sipping lemon juice at a pity party.  Here’s what I did to embrace my new adventure.

1. I wrote affirmations to uplift my spirits.

I told myself that this move was going to be the best thing that ever happened to me. I told myself it would be an adventure. I told myself that downsizing meant a simple, uncluttered life, and more time to focus on what really mattered in life. In a way, I was applying advice that is often given to parents of spirited children. Parents are constantly told to change their terminology. Their children are not stubborn, they are persistent. They are not hyper, they are full of energy. They are not finding ways to get into trouble — they are creative, resourceful problem-solvers.

At the same time that I was going through the process of planning my move, a lawyer friend had to leave his office because he could no longer afford the rent. He moved to a different part of town and rented a plain vanilla office from a large corporation. He was heartbroken over leaving his unique office, in a small building in a wealthy part of town. Did he tell his clients that he had just become another victim of the recession? Nope. Instead he told them he was moving up in the world and needed a more central location where people could find him more easily. Being downtown was especially important, he told them, because he so many new clients were from that area. Not only had he come up with a great affirmation to keep his spirits up (“hey, I’m really moving up in the world”), but he had redefined his own terms and come up with something positive he could tell his clients — and now he’s doing fine in the new location.

2. I focused on the benefits.

When I moved, I was focused on the high cost of the housing market. I wondered what kind of home we would be able to afford. When I investigated more closely, though, I found out the situation wasn’t as bad as I had feared. Though housing and grocery costs were higher than in Chicago, utility costs were less – 19 percent less. I also found one of the few cities in the country with a better public transportation than Chicago. San Francisco’s public transportation network, with its BART rail system, cable cars, and ferries, is world famous. I wouldn’t have to do as much driving. I hate sitting in traffic, so that did cheer me up.

Not only that, but I realized that I could commute by bicycle in San Francisco a lot of the time, as long as I didn’t mind going up and down hills. I bicycled in Chicago too, but in Chicago, several months of the year are not terribly pleasant for bicycling. It gets cold and snowy and the roads are icy. San Francisco has a mild, cool climate which is perfect for bicycling. I went back to my affirmation idea and told myself, “I’m going to end up in the best shape of my life because of this move!”

The benefits I focused on may not be the same ones that will matter to you. Think about how your move will affect your daily life and your routine. Will your commute to work be easier? Will you be closer to family? Will you be in an area that puts you far from local issues that used to drive you crazy — either in terms of the weather in your former community, or in terms of office politics? Even if you can’t think of anything, and your new job requires you to get up an hour earlier, try to focus on how this will help you to develop personally. Think, “I’ve always wanted to be an early riser,” or “Now I’ll have plenty of time in the evenings to pursue my own interests.” If you will have many new job duties, think about it in terms of the added responsibility and how it shows off your potential.

3. I researched my industry so I could reposition myself for success.

When I researched the self-storage industry in San Francisco, I realized that my move might be just what my career needed. The self-storage industry is thriving in San Francisco (probably because so many people are having to downsize, like me). I realized that I was moving to an area where there were plenty of job opportunities, whether I wanted to move up within my own company or horizontally, to a different company, or even strike out on my own and become an entrepreneur.

It’s always useful to research how a move will affect your career and your future. If you have a choice about where you will move, find out which cities present the best opportunities in your industry, or within your company. Could moving provide an opportunity to work toward a promotion? If you own your own business, what are the best new markets? Try doing a Google search on “best cities” and your industry or market area. You’ll find many magazines periodically feature lists of the best cities in which to relocate. Try Money, Forbes, Kiplinger’s, Business Week, and even U.S. News & World Report. Find those lists, and think about how they relate to your own career. You may even find a list that caters to your situation. Forbes, for example, puts out an annual list of the best cities for working mothers. So do several major newspapers. Then make your own short list of the cities you’d like to go to, talk it over with your family, and make the best choice you can to reposition yourself for success.

Make Lemonade

I didn’t want to make lemonade out of my lemons in the beginning. I mostly wanted to hand those lemons to anyone I could blame for my move! But I like to keep a positive attitude, so I gave it a try — and now I love San Francisco, I am in the best shape of my life, and I couldn’t imagine a better place to drink my lemonade!

Art Decker is a division manager with Self Storage Company, which operates a group of websites, including a New York self storage locator. Art leads a busy life and often travels between sites, like from Texas to the Virginia self storage site. As a result, Art has had the opportunity to witness many people amidst relocation and has paid attention to how and why some people have an easier time adjusting to a relocation than others do.

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

* One of my favorites posts in the past week was by Marc of Marc and Angel Hack Life. He writes about the 18 most influential pieces of writing in his life. Very well thought out.

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

> Negotiate Your Way to Great Work

> Time Management is a Waste of Time (Love the comments on this article)

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

So I’ve been putting off these small projects that I know will help my business. I keep finding something better to do. I’ll send off an email or check my Google RSS reader or come up with a plan for some new product or grab myself a snack.

The good news is that I realize it’s not my fault. How could it be?

It must be my arch nemesis, the evil Dr. Oatzel. I believe he has been putting drugs in my tea, making me groggy and unable to focus.

Okay, I’m giving too much credit to Dr. Oatzel. I can’t let my arch nemesis run rampant all over my life. So yes, I’ve finally accepted the fact that my arch nemesis wants me to fail, but some of my issues are my fault. He is trying to wreck my confidence so I never gain the power to not need him. I’m letting him wreck my confidence.

Invite your arch nemesis to “coffee”

My plan is to have some coffee with Dr. Oatzel next week. We need to have a sit down and figure out why he hates me. Why doesn’t he want me to do these small projects to help people become more productive and happier in their careers and businesses?

The best part is that I know he will show up because wherever I go, he is there. How can I escape such a fiendish being?

A fellow blogging friend and I are creating a new product about overcoming fear so people can start doing the work they love. Too often we hold back because we are afraid of failing, rejection and judgments.

I was afraid of being rejected by people I admire. I held off on asking them to do interviews so I could get my emotions in line. This lack of confidence opened a window to the “core me.”

Instead of looking like a weirdo and sitting at a coffee table talking to my imaginary arch nemesis, I decided to make myself some iced tea and take a walk with my sidekick (my dog). I just had to ask myself the right questions to get to the heart of my issues.

The painful questions

What was I really afraid of?

Yes, I was afraid of rejection, but why?

I began to dig. It always comes back to the why.

I began to see my need for social acceptance. I don’t want people to think that I’m stupid. Wow, that’s hard to admit. Yes, I have a lot of superpowers, but I also have a ton of weaknesses. I can be thick headed in many situations.

I realized that this fear was self-created, as most fears are. Most of my responses that I have gotten back from past interviews and meetings were very positive. I started telling my sidekick about all my great interactions with people I admire. Just sharing these fears with my sidekick helped me gain confidence and motivation. I understand where my fears were coming from, so now I could do something about it.

Swift Action

I went home and reached out to two popular bloggers that night. Both of them said they would love to do an interview.

By taking time to listen to my arch nemesis, talk to my sidekick, and take action on my answers, I found out what was holding me back.

When coaching a client, I have to listen to the emotions underneath the words. Too often we lie to ourselves because we want to believe that we are something that we aren’t.

Where chili comes into play

I used to think that I hated chili and I refused to eat it. Then one day I saw a pot of something that smelled amazing. I scooped a little tried it and loved it. I asked the hostess what it was and she told me it was her mom’s chili.

For years I had avoided something that I loved. I thought I knew that I hated chili when secretly I loved it.

Listening isn’t passive

Too often we think of listening as a passive activity.

A good listener asks the right questions. That takes full engagement. When I began to ask great questions I became more interested in what the other person was saying.

I wasn’t always a very good listener because I used to be afraid of fully engaging with the person. I was too worried about what the other person thought of me. I let my arch nemesis’ voice prey on my insecurities. When I let go of this fear I was able to engage and connect with more people.

As my listening skills have blossomed for others, my listening skills have also bloomed for my inner voice. Listening to this voice has helped me grow. My inner voice may come in the form of my arch nemesis or a sweet angel. Whatever the voice is saying, I’m listening.

How this mess all ties together

So I hated chili, but once I chose to engage with it and enjoy the taste, I found love in the food. I also hated listening to certain people, but once I opened up to asking questions while listening, the conversations were much more interesting. My arch nemesis was always there to destroy me that was until I began to open to his ideas and use them to fuel my actions.

Do you have clients with whom you can’t connect?

Do you have co-workers who just don’t float your happiness boat?

So start asking better questions and see how your productivity, happiness, and communication all improve.

* Join the Work Happy Now Facebook Page and interact with other people who are trying to improve their superpowers. It’s very basic right now, but it’s a fun place to visit. We ask good questions, support each other, and laugh. I’m going to improve the design some time soon, but until then stop by and hang out.

* Seth Godin wrote an interesting piece about working funny. We can’t let bad habits seep into our day unnoticed or they will start seeping into the good days as well.

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

> How to Discover Your Superpowers

> A Simple Guide to Overcoming Project Resistance

Image courtesy of flyzipper

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

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Susan Chambers of SAGE Editing and Research Services.

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unjustified, unreasoning terror which paralyzes needed effort…”  (Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1^st Inaugural Address, 1933)

Did you know that 12% of Canadians (source: Canadian Mental Health Association) and 18% of American adults ages 18 and older are diagnosed with an anxiety disorder in a given year (source: National Institute of Mental Health)  When you convert the abstract numbers to real people, these findings translate as a distressingly large number of individuals suffering the often debilitating impacts of fear and anxiety; health concerns, a sense of being overwhelmed and helpless, an inability to take action or make changes, and a reduced quality of life.  My guess is that it was in fact the side effects of overpowering fear, the “…nameless, unjustified, unreasoning terror which paralyzes needed effort…” rather than the emotion of fear itself that concerned Roosevelt, back in 1933.

According to an article in Psychology Today by Gordon Livingston (2009), a psychiatrist, the inaction that stems from excessive, irrational fears or fear-based thinking often shows up as a decision to live life from a “safe” position and not take risks, even if that means forsaking opportunities that might provide greater joy and expansiveness to one’s life.  But what are these fears—or perhaps more accurately, anxieties—that keep so many of us immobilized to some degree or another?  How are they triggered? And how do we overcome our fears or at least control them so they don’t take over and imprison our spirits and minds, leaving us depressed and further discouraged (a loss of heart)? Let’s start with human nature and the nature of fear.

Fear, what is it good for?

Fear is defined as the emotional response to an actual or perceived threat of immediate or imminent danger or pain.  The capacity to experience fear is part of human nature that has been hard-wired into us.  From an evolutionary perspective, fear served a valuable purpose in assuring our survival as a species.  When confronted with a threat to our survival, we did what was needed to avert or avoid the danger; we either ran (flight) or defended ourselves (fight) if there was a chance of overcoming our attacker. When it’s functioning normally, our friend fear serves us well when it comes to ensuring our continued survival.  An appropriate “dose” of fear stops most of us from taking fool-hardy chances that would endanger ourselves or others.  Used constructively, a little bit of fear or caution can help us to assess and manage any risks before going into a situation we’re not sure about.  (It’s called a calculated risk for good reason.) A sense of wariness or our good old “gut feelings” can give us a heads up about an impending threat or problem so we have time to either avert or minimize a potentially challenging situation—if we’re tuned into that quiet little voice and treat it with respect.

Where our memory recall of emotions is concerned, our brains don’t bother with linear time, nor do they distinguish between real and imaginary events.  This means we can endlessly replay past incidents that scared us and elicit the exact same feelings and physiological response two or twenty years later if we do not find a healthy way to process or neutralize the emotional charge attached to the episode. It means we can also take those same memories and start generalizing them to similar or future situations, with the unhappy result that we become increasingly fearful and avoid events, people or activities we perceive as threatening to our emotional well-being.

It turns out that fear and anxiety can also be learned and passed on to future generations.  According to Livingston (2009), children who grow up with parents who show a lot of anxiety or apprehensiveness, or who convey an exaggerated sense of the world as a dangerous place, are themselves more likely to develop unreasonable fears as they grow up.  T is easy to see how quickly successive generations within a family could experience generalized anxieties and fears but might not make the link as to how they came to be more anxious than their peers.  Yet knowing and understanding this information could potentially liberate any number of individuals from resigning themselves to a narrow life constrained by fear.

Livingston states that an overly fearful view of the world is also fueled in large measure by our media and how 24 hour news shows report both local and global events, and he points specifically to the emotional impact of news stories which “seem designed more to alarm than inform.”  The overall effect is that our news media seem to be infecting our society with anxiety and conditioning us to accept fear, and I would add helplessness, as normal emotional states.  We have, in essence, become a culture of fear—one in which, Livingston points out, we scare ourselves silly over phantom worries rather than using those fears to galvanize us into facing and resolving the real threats to our well-being.

If we can’t be fearless, we can always be courageous

We tend to equate bravery and courage with being fearless, but this is both unhelpful and inaccurate.  It’s unhelpful because it asks us to deny part of our emotional make-up and hardwiring, and achieve something that is not possible or even advisable.  It is an incorrect equation.  The very individuals we look to as exemplary role models of bravery or courage openly admit that they were not free of fear when they faced grave threats.  They simply kept going with their plan of action, in spite of feeling scared, because they were generally resolute in their decisions, knew the risks attached to what they were doing and in many cases (e.g., Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela) believed that their actions served a larger cause for a greater good.  Here’s what General George S. Patton had to say about equating bravery with a lack of fear: “If we take the generally accepted definition of bravery as a quality which knows no fear, I have never seen a brave man.  All men are frightened.  The more intelligent they are, the more they are frightened.”  Both Nelson Mandela and Mark Twain also observed that courage is about mastering or resisting fear, not the absence of fear.

But not all philosophers agree with the idea that we need to conquer or resist our fear.  According to J. Krishnamurti,

What is needed, rather than running away or controlling or suppressing

or any other resistance, is understanding fear; that means watch it, learn

about it, come directly into contact with it. We are to learn about fear, not

how to escape from it.”

Krishnamurti’s advice seems both counter-productive and counter-intuitive at first glance, yet it makes a lot of sense on further reflection.  What happens when we try to run away from something?  It usually follows us.  What happens if we try to resist or control something by force?  We exhaust ourselves or create conflict when we go into control mode.

We can decide that it’s okay to have fear—after all it is a part of the human condition—it doesn’t mean we have to define ourselves by our fear.  Who knows, maybe if we choose to just let our fear be and have compassion for it rather than revile it, if we sit with it, experience it, and learn from it, it may just lessen its hold on us more gracefully than if we struggle to conquer or vanquish our fears.  In any case, sitting quietly, observing and learning causes us considerably less suffering than the energy required for fight or flight and perhaps we will learn something valuable in the process.

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with five strategies and short quotes for working with and through fear.  I’ve used these strategies at various times in my life and found them to be incredibly helpful.  May they inspire and encourage you to find the courage within yourself.

Five strategies for working with and through fear

1.  “Let the fear of a danger be a spur to prevent it; [s]he that fears not, gives the advantage to danger.” (Benjamin Disraeli)

Are you feeling wary about a situation or an individual that you interact with?  Or do you have a vague sense that something has changed ever so slightly, but not in a good way? Honour the little tugs of fear and the subtle perceptions you’re receiving.  Listen to them and what they say they’re based on.  Thank them for the heads up, figure out your plan to prevent or minimize the danger you’ve been warned of and proceed with appropriate caution. Talk them through with a trusted confidant or two; don’t dismiss your feelings just because others are maybe not as sensitive to subtle shifts, but consider their input as helpful information or facts that add to a balanced picture before you make a decision. Be observant to the subtleties in your interactions and your life and learn to appreciate your built in early warning system.  It’s there for a reason.

2.  “Listen to what you know instead of what you fear.” (Richard Bach)

If the fears are being driven by self-doubts about your abilities to succeed in realizing a dearly held dream (starting a business, expressing your creativity) and yet you know objectively that you have the skills or talent to follow through, talk to your doubts or self criticisms, ask them what purpose they think they are serving by holding you back through the use of fear.  If they can’t tell you anything helpful, ignore them and find another place within yourself that supports you, reminds you of your competencies, and encourages you to persist in your dreams.

3.  “The media… bear some responsibility for stoking our worry. …many stories seem designed more to alarm than inform.”(Gordon Livingston, 2009)

If you find your fears are being shaped by mass media and the news, go on a news fast (Yes, that means online sources of news, too.).  Use the time to learn or relearn how to think critically and independently.  Learning to ask tough questions about the information we read or hear will strengthen your intellectual and emotional immunity to being manipulated, getting caught up in group-think or getting swept up by mass media produced moral panics.

4.  “There are very few monsters who warrant the fear we have of them (Andre Gide)

Do your fears and anxieties feel like they are monster sized and just as scary? Yes? We often give our fears far too much power by perceiving them to be much bigger than they really are, so shrink them down to size.  Draw your fears on a piece of paper, but keep them on the small side, and have fun making your fears seem as ridiculous and non-threatening as possible in your drawing.  Draw yourself standing tall—much taller than your fears—confident and empowered.  Keep the piece of paper where you can see it to remind you that you are bigger than your fears.

5.  “When I hear music, I fear no danger. I am invulnerable….” (Henry David Thoreau)

Make up a chant or song and sing it when you start feeling afraid.  Use the song to en-courage you—to awaken the courage that does exist within you.  I personally enjoy listening to Deva Premal’s version of a Sanskrit mantra for surrendering fear, but go with whatever works best for your spiritual path, appeals to you and fills you with inner strength and calm.

Sue Chambers writes about empowering the clarity of your message, social issues and the environment at sdc-sage-editing.com/sdc-sagewit.  If you enjoyed this article, you may also like to subscribe to her blog.

* 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.

* Kelly Parkinson wrote an awesome post about the importance of making your people feel special. If you don’t make your people feel loved they won’t come back. She uses the Ponderosa restaurant chain as an example. I used to love going to Ponderosa for the all you can eat ice cream. Where are they now?

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

> A Simple Guide to Overcoming Project Resistance

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

Have you ever been so caught up in your anger that you can’t let it go?

Your anger, if unmanaged, ages you faster, slows the healing process, and gives you trouble developing friendships.

Most of us have some anger issues, especially when we are around people that annoy us. I have a friend who can’t stand a client that he works for. He tells me about his annoying voice and all his stupid requests. When he retells his stories we laugh about his client’s personality.

It made me think about how my friend uses our conversations to create emotional space. Emotional and physical space are really all about perception.

Back in 1910, people thought New York was so very far from Paris. It takes 5 days to travel by boat in 2010. In 1910 it must have taken over a week. Now it’s a little over seven hour plane ride. That’s 1/24^th of the time.

I used to think that the day was so long when I had to work side by side with an annoying co-worker; now an annoying person can actually be fun. You will learn a few techniques that will help you accelerate your emotional space, teaching you how to improve friendships and your happiness.

Processing your emotions

In order to accelerate your emotional space, you must learn to process your feelings so lightning fast that it takes very little time to get yourself feeling good again.

This is very important at work because we often have to deal with difficult people and projects that wreak havoc on our emotions and health.

If you can’t process your emotions quickly you are more prone to stress.

“75%-90% of all doctor visits, medical and psychological, are now recognized as stress related.”
- Washington Athletic Club

Last year I went to the doctor because my left arm was going numb. I was stressed out because of a big project I was working on. I was letting worry get the best of me.

Think of all the headaches, backpain, and colds you’ve had, many of these symptoms are caused by stress. Stress can suppress the immune system if you don’t figure out a way to work through your emotions.

W.L.E.

Watch, laugh and enjoy.

I worked for a small company a few years back. There was one woman who scratched my nerves every time she talked. She never had a kind word to say; just complaining came out of her. Those first few months were hard, but it became a part of the story.

I actually wrote a novel about her. It was a fictional love story, but it forced me to look at my life as a narrative. I wrote a story of us falling in love. It was a blast to write. I’m still waiting on a publisher. Know anyone?

By thinking of myself as a character in a story, I stopped attaching myself to the situation in my life. I created this emotional distance so I could process the feelings.  It’s why I call my fear/resistance my arch nemesis. I have an easier time processing my feelings.

When she would annoy me by cutting me off in mid-sentence to tell me another tale about drinking with her sister at the bar, I watched my feelings. The anger would rise. In my head I complained about every little detail – from her lack of social skills to the ugly puke green outfits that she loved to wear.

I was taking this situation too seriously, so I created a plan to help me create emotional space. I would imagine myself hovering twenty yards (20 meters) above watching myself as I stewed in my anger every time she bothered me. After doing this a few times I began to see the same pattern repeat. I watched how my co-workers dealt with her. They didn’t have any better luck, but I noticed that I actually had fun watching them interact with her. She would walk up to them with a question and I sat back as I watched the exchange. They would usually walk away shaking their head.

I chuckled to myself because I felt the same way. I realized that if I can laugh at them then I can laugh at myself. The next time she came to ask for help I was there, but not there. It was like I was floating above watching someone else.

Over the next few years I developed my superpower of floating above myself and laughing at my reactions. I watched how I got upset then I reminded myself to laugh. Before she left I ultimately found my key to enjoying her for who she was not who I wanted her to be. She became a one person show in my story.

Now I use this method to create emotional space in almost every difficult situation I’m caught in.

The Right Questions

The most important part of learning to create space from the pain, so you can process it, is to ask the right questions. The right questions are key. If you keep asking yourself, “Why does (insert annoying person’s name) keep making me so upset?” Your only looking for more problems.

You must create questions that will help steer your brain in a more positive direction.

Let’s try this mini relaxation. I like to call it “Floating Laughter.”

Imagine watching yourself floating twenty yards (or meters) above the difficult situation. How do you feel? (i.e. I felt angry when she talked).

Why do you feel this way? (i.e. She is selfish).

Now add a “but.” (i.e. but she is probably lonely and just wants attention).

By finding compassion for the other person as well as yourself, you create even more space.

So now that you have a little emotional space look back at your anger and say or think to yourself, “When I was (insert feeling here) I didn’t create enough space. It was actually funny when I (insert reaction).”

Ahhh, space

When you are able to separate from the pain, you can reflect on the situation. Once you’re in reflection mode, that’s when you have a choice. You can choose to focus on the pain or you can choose to focus on what is funny about your response.

When you choose to focus on what is funny about the situation, you will create a stronger and happier you.

It sounds simple, but it’s takes some practice. I don’t want you to think this is easy because working with your emotions is tricky. They are sneaky and they will often try to redirect you.

Try to make it a game. Every time you get upset over someone else’s reactions, make a little notch on a piece of paper. If this happens three times, just smile big. So big it hurts. Chuckle at yourself for letting someone else dictate your happiness.

You must practice this for at least thirty straight days before it becomes a skill, and a couple of years before it becomes a superpower. But once you harness this power, you will find it much easier to enjoy the present moment, even when you have an annoying client bugging you about every little problem.

Remember

Watch your emotions

Laugh at your response

Enjoy the feelings for what they are

Your emotions can either push you around or you can use them to slingshot yourself into a better place.

You choose.

* 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)

* Marelisa of the Abundance Blog has an article about igniting your creativity. Learn how to use mystery in your business/career and you’ll learn how to keep people wanting more.

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

> How to Discover Your Career Bliss

> 9 Ways to Overcome Work Annoyances

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

I had an awesome chat with Catherine Cain of Be Awesome Online. She woke up at 7am on a Sunday morning to talk to me. She was happy, funny, and questioning. That’s not easy to do after just rolling out of bed. She forced me dig deeper into my own business.

In our short conversation she helped me be more awesome online. She used her superpowers because she couldn’t help it. Really it was just supposed to be a conversation, but she couldn’t hold her superpowers back.

I’m not writing this post to gush about Catherine, even though she is amazing. I’m here to tell you about a really cool nugget of awesome that I got from our conversation.

Right People

She told me about her lack of being able to find her right people back when she first started her business. She couldn’t find people that were easy to work with. They weren’t delightful and weird. That’s what she wanted, but didn’t tell her audience that. So the boring people showed up, you know the ones that make you feel like you getting your tooth pulled.

You’re glad that you are getting rid of that tooth, but you would rather be doing something else.

That’s where Catherine was. She wanted delightful and weird, but didn’t attract these people. It was only after she took the time to drill down into her business that she began to find the people that she wanted to help.

Fresh Air

That’s when she changed her tagline to “website advice for delightful weirdos” and everything changed. She was reaching out to her “right people.” It wasn’t like pulling a tooth. It was like leaning back and breathing in fresh air. The tedium stopped and the fun ensued.

When she embraced what she really wanted out of her business the law of attraction answered her.

If you aren’t hanging out with your “right people” in your career you must ask yourself, “Why not?” You must drill down and find out if you are telling the world the kind of people you want to help.

Clarity

I started this blog to help employees because I know how hard it is to work through bureaucratic tape, but a lot of employees are content with where they are at. That’s good. These aren’t the passionate people I’m after. The people I really want to help people who want to do work that excites them. No one should settle for boring work, but I can’t force people to want heart pumping awesome work. I want to help people who want to start their own business or have a small business. It’s these people who are quick to adapt ideas that will help them succeed.

I have to be more clear in who I want to help, otherwise I’m not doing work that’s easy and fun.

How About You?

Are you clear on who you want to work with?

Are your co-workers fun and easy?

Are your clients smart and cool?

If not, start digging, ask yourself the question that Catherine asked me. “What are your people’s sense of humor?”

My people can laugh at their mistakes because each experience improves their superpowers.

When your understand your perfect client’s (co-worker’s) personality then and only then can you truly connect with people that make work feel easy and fun.

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

* Todd Smith over at Dumb Little Man has a wonderful article about productivity. We all let time slip away. He suggests creating a work journal to see what you spend time on. Click here to check out the productivity article.

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

> Take Back Control of Your Business – Series

> Chunk Your Way to Success

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