Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Kole McRae of Office Buddha

I used to be a door to door salesman. I would get up around 6am to spend a 10 hour day selling phone services to people who didn’t really need them. I hated the job and dreaded each morning (I got no days off) but for some strange reason I just kept on doing it.

The money was pretty good. It covered rent and food and it let me go out and have fun whenever I felt like it. I reasoned that I only had to do it for a few years and then I could take a 2 year break and just live off my savings. So things sucked right now, the future would rock.

In reality I was lying to myself. Every since I was a kid it had been beaten into me that you have to suffer if you want something good. You suffer through school to get a good job, suffer through 50 or more years of work to get a good retirement. You’re whole life would be suffering just so you could get maybe 20 years of fun.

This is completely wrong. You can be happy now AND in the future. All you have to do is get your priorities right.

Priorities

Chances are your priorities right now center around money. It’s understandable why they would be. Without money you can’t afford a place to stay, food to eat, nights out with the girls, etc. You think that if you work hard all this week you’ll have enough money to have a fun night out on Saturday.

This is an old way of thinking that used to work incredibly well. Back in the olden days you’d get paid every week for the labour you put in. Do manual labour for 40 hours and you’d be able to party all weekend.

Things have changed though, the work we do isn’t manual any more. Most of us work in an office doing what I like to call ‘high’ thinking. We come up with strategies, use creativity and make managerial decisions.

I have an alternative: prioritize based on happiness.

Right Now

What’s going to make you happy right this second? To tell your boss his haircut looks ugly and that he can take your job and stuff it?

Well, you probably shouldn’t do that.

What you can do is start work on making it so you can. Do you have a business idea burning at the back of your head? How about a novel that you know will be an instant best seller? Do you want to rock out on a stage, guitar in hand?

Why aren’t you working on that?

These days it’s become incredibly easy to make money doing what you love. Look at all the independent authors making millions. So start writing your business plan, start writing that novel. Go and take those guitar lessons you always wanted to do. You’re happiness is far more important than what your boss may want.

You’ll find as you do this that you are already feeling happier. Stress will melt away and you won’t worry about getting fired any more.

Now here is the fun part. Start having fun every day. Don’t worry about working late or doing your work at home. Instead go to a movie or out to the bar. Do something that makes you smile.

The value of money changes every day. One day an American dollar is worth its weight in gold, the next it could be worth nothing. Happiness on the other hand will always be valuable. Plus, to earn happiness, you don’t have to suffer. You just have to smile.

Full Circle

A few weeks after making this realization I was able to walk into my bosses office and tell him where to shove my job. I’d taken the time to apply to college, figure out all the financing (you know if you look hard enough you can go to college for free and make something of yourself).

Walking into his office with a huge grin on my face was the most exhilarating feeling of my life. I was literally shaking with excitement as I sat down and gave him the ‘bad’ news.

I’m a professional writer now and love every minute of my life. I don’t have to worry about dressing up nice or pretending to like someone I don’t. I now value my happiness above any other thing in existence.

How about your priorities? Is family more important than work? How about your health? You do know stress has been linked with heart disease right? That can’t be good for your health.

My Tip

The best advice I can give is to write down all of your priorities. Make a simple list that you can look at every day. Then when you have to make a decision take a look at the list and use it to help.

When you realign you’re priorities you’ll find life gets far better.

Your Turn

Are you living your priorities?

How can you tweak your career so you can live more of your values?

Kole of Office Buddha is a writer and all round nice guy. He was built by a mad scientist with the parts of lesser writers. He was made to destroy the world but ends up just eating ramen all day and writing. His work has been published in newspapers, national magazines, blogs around the world and even on the radio.

* Follow me on Twitter. Join over 3,700 people who get happiness tips, productivity tips, and thought provoking quotes each day.

* I’ve been doing a lot more audio recently and one of my favorite audio editing tutorials is from Pace Smith of the Connection Revolution.

If you found this post insightful, you will probably like these too:

• 7 Ways to Have a Good Relationship With Your Boss
• 6 Tips on How to Have a Productive Day at Work

Image courtesy of Refracted Moments

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

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Lisa of Lisa of Getting to Zen

Have you ever driven to work only to not remember how you got there? You know the route you took, however you cannot remember a single detail along the way. It was like your brain shut off and you went on autopilot-you were there, but you were not there. This happens to us when we are not present. Not being present can cause us to miss out on so much of what is going on in the moment. It puts us in a past or future time which either has already existed or not existed yet.

For example, if while you are taking a shower you are thinking about the next thing that you need to do, like making a cup of coffee or selecting what you are going to wear, you are not fully experiencing the shower. And if while you are drinking that cup of coffee, you are thinking about what you would like to accomplish at work, you are not experiencing the joy of each sip.

1. Slow down

Avoid rushing through your morning routine. That means not sleeping until you absolutely have to get up and then rushing around like mad to get ready for work. You could be stressing yourself out before you even get into the office.

Set your alarm clock so that you have enough time to get up and have a relaxing morning routine. If you need 8 or more hours of sleep, this may mean that you go to bed earlier. Trading night activities or entertainment for a relaxing morning routine is worth it.

2. Pack and go

I have heard many times over the years to pack my lunch and lay out my clothes the night before, yet I have only done it a handful of times. In the mornings I often find myself searching for something to wear (and a lot of the time it need to be ironed) or scavenging through the refrigerator for something to make for lunch. And although I always find something in either of these cases, I often don’t feel good about it. Maybe the shirt isn’t as ironed as well I would like, or the lunch is a bit bland.

Getting yourself ready the night before you go into work will make a bigger difference than you to your ability to stay present in the mornings.

3. Listen to the beat

There is nothing like walking into the office after having a good laugh. Everything just seems so much brighter. In fact, many times I have found myself sitting in the parking lot outside of the office, waiting to catch the last bit of a story that I was listening to. It amazing how such a small act like turning on the radio station can transform your attitude over the course of a commute.

Listening to your favorite radio stations or cd’s are good ways to prepare your mind to stay present for the day’s activities.

4. Ease into it

You begin an exercise program by first warming up your mind and body for the challenge ahead. This is also a good way to start your work day. Begin by following a routine that gently allows you ease into your daily tasks.

If that means drinking a hot cup of tea and performing a mini-mediation, then do that. If that means making small talk with a few of your coworkers, then do that. If you don’t have the luxury of warming up for work while in the office, begin to get your mind ready during your commute, or during one of your early breaks.

Practice

Being present isn’t difficult to achieve, however it does take discipline. It can be a challenge to break our habit of living in the past and future. So if you find yourself going backward or forward in time, try to stay present by reminding yourself gently that the only time is now and that the only place is here. The more you do it, the easier it will become and you will find yourself having more moments where you are completely aware of the details.

Your world will come alive and burst with vibrant color.

Your Turn

What do you do to stay more present in your work?

Do you meditate or take a walk break?

Lisa (aka RunningBear) is the founder of Getting to Zen which includes articles on personal development, enlightenment, consciousness and awareness. You can sign up for her RSS feed or follow her on Twitter. In addition to blogging, Lisa enjoys long distance running, cooking, and sewing.

* Need help leveraging your superpowers? Then check out my Superpower Coaching to see how I can help you become more productive and feel less stressed out.

If you found this post insightful, you will probably like these too:

• Your Attitude and How it Affects Your Career
• 9 Tips to Boost Your Motivation

Image courtesy of Torley

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

Your internal battery needs to be recharged on a regular basis. You can’t continue at break neck speed and expect to stay happy and keep reaching your goals.

The hard part is making your recharge a daily habit. If as many people meditated as much as they drank beer we would not be so stressed out and exhausted.

Drinking alcohol is fun. I enjoy a good dark beer every so often, but I stopped drinking every day because of the drag on my body.

I also stopped relying on vacations to recharge my battery. Needing a vacation is a myth that I want to crush right here. You don’t need a vacation. Yes, it may be nice, but you don’t really need one.

The Reality

In reality a vacation is nice, but I will say that vacations actually make you feel more tired. Think of the last vacation that you went on. How did you feel after you got home?

Tired?

You probably felt tired because taking a vacation takes you out of your element, which is fun but not usually refreshing. Dealing with the packing, double checking reservations, checking in to your flight online, getting to the airport, sleeping in a weird bed, new noises, more drinking than usual, staying up late, and all the other stuff that comes along with traveling it can be exhausting.

The real reason you go on vacation is for some extra excitement not to recharge your battery.

Your Help

I’m putting together an e-course to help you keep your energy at a high level so you can get more done and feel happier doing your work. I need your help. If you could fill out this online survey right here and let me know what you need in an e-course to help you with your energy at work I would be very appreciative. It should take less than a minute to fill out.

The thing is I don’t want to create something that none of you care about, so if this course doesn’t interest you then that’s cool. I’ll move on to a different project.

Your Need for Relaxation

It all comes done to creating habits that will support your energy level. You have to learn how to develop habits that fit into your day. Your body is giving you a lot of cues that you are probably ignoring. The human body isn’t meant to sit for 8 hours at a time.

You have to move around and keep that blood flowing.

Check in and notice how you feel throughout the day. Is your back getting tight or maybe you are feeling anxious. What are you doing to balance out these feelings?

Recharge Tip

You need to make time during the day to recharge your body without having to go for a quick fix like coffee. Drinking coffee at 4 in the afternoon so you can make it til 5 is not the healthiest choice. It’s better to have a routine during the day that helps you sustain your energy without too many spikes.

Every time you are done a project take 60 seconds to check in with yourself. Notice where the energy is trapped. My energy usually gets caught in my neck and lower back. Take 60 seconds to do a back twist, neck stretches or whatever else you need to slow down and release that tension.

By using this transition time to slow down and check in with your body you are more apt to make smarter choices.

Your Turn

What do you do to recharge your battery at work?

How do you check in with your body, so not to let irritability take over?

Side note: Party Time

I’m throwing a Twitter Party with Johnny B. Truant and Pace Smith this Wednesday 2-16 at 8pm ET. We are celebrating the launch of Profitable Idealism. You should join us and hopefully win some free prizes. Over $300 in prizes will be given away. Check out the details and sign up at Party Biz Connect.

* 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. Stop by and hang out.

If you found this post insightful, you will probably like these too:

• Holiday Stress Relief Tips that Last All Year Long
• How to Stop Interruptions and Be More Productive

Image courtesy of candrews

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

As my 1 Sentence Journal fills up I’m beginning to see my happiness patterns. For example when I start writing early in the day I can get my thoughts on this track that allows me to write in large quantities. I plant the seed early and I can’t let go. I almost always end up surprising myself with my productivity levels.

I never would have discovered this if I hadn’t taken the time to contemplate my workday. You don’t need to meditate in the typical sense to enjoy the benefits of contemplation. The idea is to find a way to relax your thoughts and be in the now, so you can improve just a little bit each day.

Habits

A big portion of my happiness felt anchored to how much I could write/create, especially on the weekends when I needed to get a bulk of my writing accomplished. Understanding my process allowed me to bring clarity to what made me happy.

Adding the one sentence journal helped me expose some hidden happiness that I hadn’t expected.

The older I get and the closer to death I get less likely I am to fool myself into sticking with the same old patterns. My fear just doesn’t have a strangle hold on my emotions like they used to. I’m much more willing to expose the lies that I hold on to, so I can make positive changes.

Excerpts from my one sentence journal:

3-20-10 – I had trouble staying focused, still need to work on relaxing with my work.

4-12-10 – My mind was scattered trying to focus my energy on how to reach my right people. I was grumpy and frustrated. My mind was focused on my mistakes instead of the possibilities that I could create.

5-25-10 – Planning my day each morning is very important. Helps me stay focused.

6-15-10 – Called out sick because I had Saturday hours, got some good work done. Nice to have the house to myself so I could stay focused.

10-19-10 – Got some little stuff done. Need to stay focused on big picture.

12-11-10 – I was a little disappointed in myself this Saturday. I need to get my work done so I can hang out with the family on Sunday. I putzed around and when I did work I wasn’t very focused. I don’t think the two beers and green helped very much.

This is only a small portion of my 1 Sentence Journal. There were many patterns that I found and improved. To help me keep my focus I’ve implemented the technique I talked about, Doing the Important Stuff Early.

I also implemented two other techniques:

• Review big picture each week and each month. This helps me get my focus back on track. I use my 1 Sentence Journal to do this as well. (Macro)
• When doing singular tasks I use an egg timer to stay on task. As long as my egg timer is counting down I refuse to check out my Twitter account or my email. (Micro)

I know myself. When I’m productive I’m happy. I love knocking out an ebook, e-course or interviewing someone. It makes me proud. That’s time well spent.

You

You probably hold back from happiness to placate others or because of your fear. It’s natural. I still do it. The thing is – what are you doing to expose these lies you are telling yourself?

If you love getting your creative work done early why are you putting it off until the afternoon? If you hate doing to Sunday Brunch with the Stewarts and their annoying kid then why do you do it? If you hate cold calling why do you do it?

We know what we need to do to be happy, but for some reason we don’t do it until we see the patterns for ourselves and feel enough pain to take action.

You have to find a way to stimulate yourself to ask yourself these tough questions. It’s the only way you will expose your willingness to accept the unhappiness. No one likes to ask and answer these tough questions. I understand that, but what is the alternative? You can’t go on living in unhappiness.

I couldn’t do it any longer. I had to expose the lies I was telling myself so I could open myself to changing my bad habits.

What things do you do now that makes you happy? (i.g. Eat fried food during lunch or cold calling customers.)

What changes have you made to improve your happiness? (i.g. You go to the gym during lunch or you only make warm calls to people who already know you.)

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

* I’m co-hosting the Book Yourself Solid Twitter Party this Thursday with Michael Port. Come check it out and win some cool prizes. Did I mention it’s free.

If you found this post insightful, you will probably like these too:

• Is Work Stress Hurting Your Family Life?
• What You and a Hermit Crab have in Common

Image courtesy of Policardo

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

Editor’s Note: Lisa H. (aka RunningBear) is the founder of Getting to Zen

I can’t count the number of times that I have heard someone say “I hate my job”– Day after day, begrudgingly going to work repeating this mantra. But, if this thing called a “job” was taken away from them they wouldn’t have the means to pay for the things that they needed on a day-to-day basis (food, shelter, clothing). So isn’t it ironic that something like a “job” would be hated by so many people when it can bring them so many benefits.

You have a choice

I have never been much for staying in a job that I didn’t like. I have a low tolerance for unhappiness and unhappiness at work is no exception. How you feel about your job is up to you. You have choices. You can choose to be miserable and stay in your current job or you can leave for one that you enjoy. A third option would be to stay in your current job and change how you feel about it. If your goal is to be a happy worker, then avoid making excuses for why your situation sucks and begin to create the kind of work environment that brings you joy.

People stay in jobs that are not satisfying for these common reasons:

> I have children (wouldn’t you be a good role model by showing your children how to enjoy work)

> I don’t know how to do anything else

> I don’t the education to do differently

> I won’t find something that pays as well as this (You may find something that pays better)

> I am scared

> This is my family’s company

> My father, mother, etc… worked here

> They have a good benefits plan

While these may seem like good reasons, and in some cases, they may temporarily be, they don’t have to keep you stuck in a situation that has the potential to give you stress induced ulcers. You can be happy at work.

Get a different perspective

If you choose to stay in your current job, then change how you feel about it. Begin by speaking positively about your work to others and most importantly to yourself. If you hate your job, that means that it is something that you are doing against your will—and there is no way that you can be happy while you are acting against your grain; And to add to that, anything that you resist becomes increasingly difficult. Have you ever noticed how difficult it is to swim upstream? It is even difficult for salmon, and swimming upstream is part of their nature. The longer you go against the flow, the more energy you will use and the more tired you will become. Similarly, if you were to swim downstream, you would use very little energy. You could practically float while the waters carried you along.

Equate this to your job. If you use positive terminology while speaking about your job, you will be going with the flow and it will become easier for you to carry out your duties. However, if you speak negatively about your job, the opposite will be true. Hating or loving your job has a lot to do with your perspective on it.

Tip for managers

If you are a manager, you can make positive changes around your workplace that will benefit your employees. Employees like to feel appreciated and like they are a part of a team. In the end, you will be the biggest beneficiary of this change. A happy worker is a productive worker.

For a team building activity, you may consider putting positive slogans up around the walls of the office. This small action can have a big effect. There is a lot of power in words. When I go to the local YMCA, there are slogans and banners everywhere with words such “honesty”, “respect” and “caring.” And every single time I read one these banners or slogans, I feel my attitude shift. They make me want to be an honest, respectful, and caring person.

Putting positive slogans up will also impress visitors to your company. So make them as meaningful as possible.

Next steps

One big thing to remember here is that no one is forcing you to go to work. It is something that you are choosing to do and you are not doing it for free. So when you think or speak about your job, take all of the benefits it is providing you into consideration. Either keep your job and enjoy it or move on. Tell yourself that hating it is not an option.

For more information on how to feel good about your job, read Reposition Your New Career and Your Attitude and How it Affects Your Career.

Lisa H. (aka RunningBear) is the founder of Getting to Zen, a personal development blog featuring articles on productivity, motivation, inspiration and organization. You can sign up for her RSS feed or follow her on Twitter.

-

* Follow me on Twitter. Join over 3,600 people who get happiness tips, productivity tips, and thought provoking quotes each day.

* Charlie over at productive flourishing has a post about prioritizing your core activities. Too often we worry and focus on stuff that doesn’t matter.

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

> How to Discover Your Career Bliss

> What do I do if I’m unhappy at Work?

Image courtesy of stevenvanwel

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

Zappos has been honored with many accolades these past few years, including Business Week Customer Service Champ of 2009. Tony Hsieh, Zappos’ CEO, has been asked to speak all over the world. Zappos was named one of Fortune’s top 100 companies to work for in 2009.

Many people love to talk about the wonderful success story of Zappos, but some people don’t realize how much work was put into the development of the company. We know that they get raving reviews from customers, but we don’t know what it took to develop the business model that has been so successful.


Tony is about to tell the world exactly how he did it.

Tony wrote the book on how to make employees so happy that they wow the pants off their customers. He admits that he isn’t the first person to do this and that he has learned from others, but he has taken work happiness to a new level. His book is called Delivering Happiness (Amazon affiliate link), and it explains explaining how the perfect storm of Zappos came together.
Here are 19 reasons why you should buy Tony’s book:

1. You own a business and you want to learn how to run a profitable company.

2. You want to learn how to create a business without selling your soul to the devil.

3. You are curious about Tony’s life story.

4. You want to apply some of Zappos’ concepts to your own business.

5. You are wondering why Tony cares so much about Zappos.

6. You want to know how Zappos is so successful.

7. You want to know how Tony came to realize that happiness is more important than money.

8. You want to create core values for your company.

9. You need to know why Zappos offers free shipping and if you can do the same at your company.

10. You would like to learn how to get your people engaged with the company’s product.

11. Tony wrote the book without a ghost writer. (You can see this and at times the writing isn’t polished, but I actually liked this because I felt more connected to the story.)

12. You learn why Zappos pays their trainees to leave.

13. You are curious about how Tony views happiness.

14. You want to know how Zappos’ culture book came about.

15. You know creating a business is a gamble and you want to know how many risks Tony faced throughout his career.

16. You know culture is the best way to build a great company and you want to know more about how Zappos created an amazing culture.

17. You want to understand the importance of Twitter in the Zappos culture.

18. Why it’s good to embrace the weird side of the company’s culture.

19. It’s more than just a business book, it’s a life book too.

I’ve met Tony, interviewed him, and hung out on the Zappos bus at sxsw and Tony is an amazing person. I’m not getting paid to write this review. I’m writing this review because the book is worth your time.

Go out and buy it and help Tony get on the Best Sellers list, so more companies develop an open and happy culture.

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

* I talk about reframing your perspective a lot on this blog and J.D. put up a post that gives a fresh view. It’s called Change Your Why or Change Your How. If you can reframe a problem it ceases to be a problem.

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

> Develop a Blog Business Funnel

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

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

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Michelle Stimpson

“Have you ever seen the movie, ‘Yes Man’ with Jim Carrey? Well, previously that was me,” said Lisa Schmidtke, owner of Able Deluxe and Able Deluxe Technologies. “In my business, I was feeling scattered and jumping on any opportunities that would come my way. I always said ‘yes’ to my customers and colleagues, out of fear—fear of the well running dry, fear of others not liking me, fear of another opportunity not showing up.”

As a Professional Coach, I work with women in business who are eager to invest in themselves and want to live a more balanced, joyful life. Lisa couldn’t have been in a more perfect spot for coaching! Thankfully, Lisa made a courageous move and sought out coaching, in service of being happier at work.

After our initial Discovery Session to get clear on the low-down of her life and her business, I realized that while Lisa enjoyed her role as a business owner and was passionate about the work she was doing, the bottom-line was that she was not happy. Lisa sensed that she needed a change when her self-proclaimed “crazy business practices” began to affect her family life.

Number One Priority

Once we dove in to our important work together, Lisa realized that her unhappiness at work was now leading to, and directly impacting, her number-one priority: The happiness of her family.

First item on the agenda: Address the “Yes Man” syndrome! We worked on the idea that when you say “no” to one thing, you’re actually saying a bigger, resounding “YES!” to something more important.

When I asked Lisa what she thought might be at the crux of her knee-jerk reaction to always say “yes,” she eloquently stated that she didn’t really understand what she wanted to do and what fulfilled her; she felt like she lacked direction. So when we started discussing her vision for her life and what fueled her, that’s when she began to light up. And what a thrill for me to see!

Clarity

One thing I know for sure. When you’re caught up in the busy-ness of life, the answers don’t come. They can’t. It’s only in that stillness—when we pause and connect with ourselves—that things begin to reveal themselves and become clear. Wanna know how to get to that stillness? Check out Karl’s post with his tips for 10 Ways to Unclutter Your Mind, along with his guest post by Tess Marshall: 9 Bold Tips to Work Place Happiness.

A homework assignment I gave Lisa involved writing down and highlighting business wins and challenges. “Any time I wrote down a win,” Lisa said, “it somehow related to helping people.” She continued, “Surprisingly it wasn’t about the big sale or the financial gain.”

Quieting down and getting to that ‘aha’ moment for Lisa encouraged her to shift her efforts toward helping people, particularly the senior market. And (I smile as I type this), the finances rightfully followed.

Define Your Happiness at Work

Lisa defines happiness at work as that “feeling of peace” that comes from knowing she’s focusing her time and energy on what fuels her, what makes her come alive.

It’s funny, in my years of coaching and leading workshops on time management and life purpose, one common thread always shows up. It’s the deep need people seem to have in identifying what it is that brings them joy…and how they can get more of that in their life. There’s a huge need out there for people to tap into what makes them come alive. Which is precisely why I write a blog called “Following Your Joy.” It’s also the reason I fully support and endorse Karl’s mission of helping people to Work Happy Now. It’s essential to our well-being, to our spirits.

Clear-cut Schedule

Lisa and I have worked together on helping her achieve a very clear-cut schedule, which is mega-focused on priorities and what’s most important. “I’m being more realistic with my time. I know that if I start signing-up for a volunteer event at my child’s school, something will have to ‘give’ with my work—and vice versa. That’s okay,” she said, “As long as I’m clear on what the priority is.” Lisa has a whiteboard posted in her office with her daily schedule listed, including all of her projects. She plans for interruptions and builds in extra time, knowing that interruptions are an everyday part of life.

“At the end of the day, I now leave with a bigger sense of accomplishment. I’m able to leave my ‘work’ in the afternoon and then go home and spend that time with my husband and my kids, and it feels great,” Lisa said. She is definitely working “happy” now, especially knowing that there are wins at both work and home that are worth celebrating.

How has coaching helped her to be happier at work? “I couldn’t have done it without coaching. I wouldn’t have even realized there was a problem…and you can’t solve a problem if you don’t know there is one!”

Michelle Stimpson is a Professional Coach at LifeShine, working with women in business who are eager to invest in themselves and want to live a more balanced, joyful life. She’s also Blogger and Chief Joy-Follower at Following Your Joy: Watch the magic unfold when you follow the things in life that make you come alive and bring you joy!

* 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)

* Havi of the Fluent Self wrote a delightful piece about The Myths of Biggification. If you are curious to what biggification is you’ll just have to go check out the article.

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

> My Arch Nemesis Dr. Oatzel Almost Stole My Superpowers

> How to Deal with Goals You Don’t Reach

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

Do you ever feel like you are swimming against the tide?

For the past few months I’ve been in transition. I didn’t know it, but the transition had really begun a while back.

I had been receiving great advice, but from the wrong perspective.

You may be in a similar position. Your best friend, mom or therapist sees the world from their perspective. They try their best to jump into your shoes, but they don’t quite fit.

I’ve decided to stop taking most of my friend’s advice and swim with my internal tide.

Small Changes

You may have noticed some of the small changes that I have been making. These changes will multiply as the months go by.

I’m aligning my energy with my flow. That cryptic mumbo jumbo means that I’m aligning my present needs with my goals (AKA swimming with the tide).

It’s surprising how hard it is to do this. We don’t listen to our hearts. We try to reason our way to success. This is the worst tactic you can take.

You’ve probably had a job that looked good on paper, but in reality you hated it. You either stuck it out (swimming against the tide) or found a better fit.

You can’t fake passion, just like you can’t fake skill. You either have it, practice at it (hopefully you develop it) or you do something else.

My questions to you are:

> Are you swimming against the tide?

> Are you meeting your own needs in your career?

> Are you passionate about your work?

Next week I’ll talk about passion because that’s the foundation of an amazing career. If you can’t master your core then you will always be swimming against the tide. It’s time to take control of which projects you put your sweat, thoughts, and skills into.

* Are you on Twitter? Then join over 3,000 people who get my stress relief tips, happiness ideas, and thought provoking quotes. @workhappynow

* Mark Silver wrote a brilliant piece about throwing your work out there, so you can start making money and not waiting until it’s perfect – Making a Living, Making Peace with 70 Percent. Not all of us can come right out of the box and do amazing work, we have to build our foundation and improve as we go along.

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

> How to Write a Career List

> Your 3 Careers – Are You Ready?

Image courtesy of -12°C

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

Every week I like to bring you a work happiness tip that can help improve your mood, relationships, productivity, or reduce your stress. The idea is to put you back in the driver’s seat. This week’s tip: Walk to the bathroom very very mindfully.

Our minds love to follow distractions. It makes sense.

We like to be distracted. So even when we are walking to use the bathroom, we notice a co-worker’s cough, which makes us think about our own throat, and this leads to a reminder to go to the doctor for a check-up, then we are done.

We finished in the bathroom and we are back at our desk. 99% of our focus is not about enjoying where we are, but rather random thoughts.

I advocate developing your mind at work because it will help you to become happier and more productive. The reason this works is because you are focusing your energy on the part of you that matters the most. Without developing your emotional intelligence, you are flatlining your ability to feel good.

It works like this…

You can be Stucky or you can be Snappy.

A typical day being Stucky at work:

Stucky walks in and lets his focus bounce from email, to a report, to going to the bathroom, to coffee, to answering the phone.

His mind is jumping from object, to noise, to task, never really taking time to focus on any one thing.

I know you know a person like this.

A typical day being Snappy at work:

Snappy focuses on one task at a time. When he is working on an email he sticks with it, finishes it then sends it off.

He then works on a report until his shoulders have that slight ache that encourages him to take a break.

He walks to the bathroom, taking his time to soak in the moment, allowing his muscles to release their tension.

After the bathroom he grabs himself a cold glass of water and heads back to work.

Enough of my cheezy parable.

You get my point.

How do you harness that Stucky mind and make it Snappy?

Start small. Take small steps toward doing small tasks. When going to use the bathroom focus on relaxing your muscles, feeling your thoughts, and keep bringing your focus back to the present moment. Use that small break as a way to release tension.

After thirty days of focusing your mind on present moment bathroom breaks you will see an improvement in your happiness and focus. The next step is to apply this same technique to your work.

What do you think?

Could you use a walk to the bathroom as a way to release tension?

See you in the comment section.

* It’s Spread-the-Love Day, when I encourage you to spread the word about Work Happy Now. You might:
- Forward the link to someone you think would be interested
-  Link to a post on Twitter (follow me @workhappynow)
- Sign up for my FREE 10 Week E-Course and join over 450 people who have already improved their happiness at work. You will also receive a bi-monthly newsletter that give you great tips and ideas on how to improve your career.
- Put a link to the blog in your Facebook status update
Thanks! I really appreciate any help. Word of mouth is the BEST.

* J.D. Roth of Folded Space wrote a cool post called Food Rules. It’s all the don’ts when it comes to eating food. Liked it’s simplicity.

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

- Work Happy Tip – Alarm Stretch

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

Every week I like to bring you a work happiness tip that can help improve your mood, relationships, productivity, or reduce your stress. The idea is to put you back in the driver’s seat. This week’s tip: Keep track of your mood.

For a whole month I kept track of my mood and recorded it every morning, afternoon, and night. I added it as a chapter in my soon to be released book.

For a month I rated my mood three times a day to discover how I actually felt. My rating was on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being severely sad and 10 being so amazingly happy that I could barely contain my joy.

I was surprised by the results.

Here is an example of one day:

I averaged a 6.73 over 30 days.

This somewhat low score didn’t surprise me. What did surprise me was my conclusion after the month was over. I realized that happiness is nice, but consistent happiness is unattainable. A smarter method is just to be with my emotions.

On August 5^th I woke up feeling awful. I wanted so desperately to go back to sleep. I couldn’t because I had to go to work. At this time my son had only been in the world for about a week. The adjustment was intense.

Upon looking back over the month, I realized that I felt a lot happier than the 6.73 indicated because all of my experiences were interesting. I may not have been dancing on table tops with a big grin on my face, but I was never bored.

I realized that I needed to reframe what being happy meant to me, especially at work.

Do you notice yourself wanting to feel happier at work?

Do you notice that if you take the time to look back on a situation and give it some space, that you were happier than you realized?

Let’s chat in the comments section.

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

* Naomi over at Ittybiz wrote a brilliant piece called The One Thing You Have To Know About Sales Pages. I don’t use brilliant very often, but this is a fantastic piece. If you write copy in any shape or form this is a great article to learn from.

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

- Creating A Project Ritual to Encourage Happiness

Image courtesy of coleypauline

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