Did you know that elephants travel the same long journey every year?

They do. They do it because they know when the fruit will falls from the trees, so they can eat them when they are perfectly fermented and able to get a little tipsy. I forget the name of the kind of African elephant that does this, but believe me it’s true.

They only do this once a year because they have the discipline to appreciate the moment then move on.

Getting Unstuck

So many of us get stuck back in our habits and forget the power of gratitude. We forget that every moment there is a chance to appreciate where we are, what we are doing, and who we are with.

No career is perfect. No life is perfect. I’m prime example of that after discovering I have testicular cancer. I refuse to capitalize cancer because it doesn’t deserve it.

Every day there is a chance for me to see the “lousy” that is in my life, but I refuse to do this. I practice being the captain of my attitude.

Riding a Elephant

Your attitude can be like an unruly elephant, tossing you 10 feet in the air. It’s up to you to get back on, grab those reigns, and ride that beautiful beast until it gives in.

You have to practice gratitude at every chance you can remember.

> When you are stuck on an airplane that won’t take off due to weather.

> When the baby next to you is screaming its little red face off.

> When your Uncle is telling the worst Thanksgiving joke ever.

> When your back won’t stop aching.

> During the night when you can’t fall asleep and you have a huge day ahead of you.

> After your boss yells at you for messing up an account.

> When a client won’t call you back and you have no idea what you did wrong.

You have to practice when it’s the hardest because the more you practice the easier it gets. When you appreciate the moment you are making it easier to improve your situation.

No situation is perfect, but there is beauty always hidden within it if you try to find it.

When you are feelings down and there are hidden things to be grateful for. Remember that the elephant moves on and so should you. Focus back on those things that you enjoy.

Just like the elephant travels it’s journey so do you. Know that with every season is a new chance to improve your attitude and make it easier to be happier in your career and personal life.

The Takeaway

The best way to improve your attitude is to make gratitude a daily habit. At the end of each day think of all the great people, actions, and feelings you’ve had. It’s there somewhere. I promise.

Your Turn

I would love if you had 1 minute to share what you are grateful for today in the comment section. Remember it can be anything. We aren’t here to judge, just support.

Happy Thanksgiving!

* Need a boost to your work happiness? Then check out the Happy at Work Project and start one yourself.

* An amazing post on Gratitude over at Jeff Walker’s blog – The discipline of gratitude. Quality stuff. It encouraged me to post this piece.

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

> One Sentence Work Journal

> What Hidden Emotional Anchors are Holding You Back?

Image courtesy of vtveen

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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)

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

As I’m looking over January’s theme “Relaxing with my work”, I’m beginning to really see how hard I am on myself. I expect myself to master concepts that only great writers, CEO’s, and Zen masters fully understand.

Just because I tell myself to breathe all nice and deep and relaxed over the next week when I’m feeling stressed out doesn’t mean it will happen right away.

Maybe that should be a theme of the month. Stop being a big bully to myself.

I wanted to publish this review of my theme two weeks ago, but I felt like I was still processing my information. Now that I’m ready, let’s begin the review…

Week 1 – Breathing

The first week I wanted to focus just on my breathing. I found that I didn’t give myself goals that were well defined. Because of this I didn’t really get focused on my breathing until halfway into the week.

This is a weakness of mine that needs a little tending to.

When I did remember to take relaxed breaths I felt a lot better. My mood was serene and my mind was much more creative. For example, when I became tense, my breathing was shallow. When I relaxed I opened up my lungs and let buckets of air in. I became much happier.

It’s amazing how the breath is so closely tied to our happiness.

When I take the time to relax with my breath, it’s not hard to be happy. When I let my emotions carry me away, I lose track of my breath and happiness, constrict my breathing and creating a cycle of worry.

Week 2 – Muscles

The second week I wanted to focus on relaxing my muscles. Because last week’s goal of relaxing with my breath wasn’t very organized, I took a more disciplined approach.

I wrote down just one way that I could be more aware of my tense muscles.

So whenever I switched tasks, I focused on my muscles. I noticed if I was tensing them or just not paying attention to them.

By only focusing on one area of relaxing with my muscles, it was much easier to notice when I was straining and when I was relaxed.

Week 3 – Be Playful

The week 3 theme didn’t go as well as planned. It was too broad.

I tried to laugh quietly to myself when I noticed my breathing becoming shallow or my muscles tightening, but I had trouble connecting with this concept.

Maybe I should have been more imaginative. I’m not sure.

What do you think?

Week 4 – Watch the Changes

This was my favorite week. I noticed myself transitioning from one task to the next with a slight smile on my face.

The transition between working on reports then going to a meeting used to irritate me. My thoughts would stray to everything I didn’t like about this change. After relaxing with my work, my transitions were much smoother.

I had to attend an important meeting and instead of worrying about how boring it would be, I focused on enjoying the interactions. My muscles and thoughts were relaxed. I actually sat back in my chair and smiled. I couldn’t believe that I was privy to this cool little show.

Conclusion

I didn’t think that week 3 was a very good theme, but now looking back on it I wouldn’t have leaned back and smiled in that meeting during week 4. I was feeling playful. I was actually cracking jokes to boost the mood level in the room.

I enjoyed the concept of creating a theme of the month, but I felt a little too encumbered by the weekly process. I think I will move back to working on one concept each month without breaking it down into weeks. If I don’t see the progress that I expect from making habit changes then I’ll try another method.

What career or personal development theme would you create for yourself?

* Join over 600 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)

* Psychology today has an awesome piece about our inner voice and how to deal with the extremes within each of us. It’s called, The Wolf of Hate.

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

- January Theme of the Month – Relaxing With My Work
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Download the Free eBook Work Happy the Google Way * Post from: Work Happy Now!