You may notice that it’s easier to enjoy a certain situation when in a good mood. You aren’t affected by problems as easily. This occurs because your focus is on something that keeps you happy.

Standing in line behind two young women, probably in their early twenties, at the grocery store and they were complaining about their boyfriends. Their groceries were on the conveyer belt waiting to be wrung up. They had bananas, a mango, strawberries, two types of cheeses and crackers. It looked like they were going to eat an amazing snack. They weren’t excited about this wonderful meal they were soon to make, but only worried about their awful boyfriends.

I was so focused on their conversation that I forgot about myself. I was judging them. I felt like they were whining too much. I was doing the same thing they were. I was judging them for only looking for the negative. I had glorious food about to be purchased too. This made me think about my focus at work. Some days my focus is about knocking the work out, so I can get home. This defeats the purpose of work. We aren’t meant to be robots. We were created to feel and be aware of our experiences.

Losing Focus

Last Sunday… I was so caught up in finishing my drawing of a flower with a human face on it talking to a dog about proper mouth hygiene that I missed the point of the exercise – fun, stress relief, and relaxation. Drawing is an enjoyable hobby, but sometimes I lose focus. I need to remind myself why I’m doing it.

As I was finishing my drawing I slowed down and let the moment sink in, the pure joy of creating a white sheet into a story. That’s when I had a mini revelation. I needed to relax my drive and use my focus to experience the moment and the feeling of being productive.

Relationships, Tasks and Emotions

When we’re mad at a co-worker or family member it’s all we can feel. We are so caught up in the hurricane of emotions that we forget that there are other emotions to be felt. By acknowledging the main emotion that is dominating at the moment we can learn to allow it to only suck so much of our energy. Moving the focus toward other parts of the experience we can process through the emotions faster.

Working on tasks is similar to relationships. A certain task may frustrate us, but it’s because we get too caught up in accomplishing instead of experiencing.

When we push ourselves to finish our task we are losing sight of the larger picture. We make more mistakes because we just want to be done with it. The people who allow themselves to experience the fun in the moment as well as knocking the job out will have an easier time being productive. They understand that they choose how to process the task.

Your Perspective

Most of us have seen two opposite types of people working side by side in a retail store. One is smiling and willing to go the extra mile while the other one wonders why she is tortured by life. They are really not that different, but one learned how to divide her time between finding the joy in the work, while the other one sees and endless sea of people who need, need, need.

Your career happiness will depend on your focus. You can choose to find ways to make the experience enhance your career or you can keep complaining that whatever you try only blows up in your face. Your career is all yours, keep your focus on enjoying the moment for what is, nothing more and nothing less, as well as the joy of being productive. You’ll take your work happiness to a level that will astound you and your co-workers.

Your Turn

When working on an email or finishing a report where is your focus? (i.e. finishing the email or getting to the next project)

How do you make time to enjoy the moment?

* Karl Staib is addicted to throwing Twitter Parties. If you want to learn how Twitter Parties can help your business grow click here. You can also follow Karl on Twitter and learn how to build your business by standing on other people’s shoulders.

* I loved this post, A Dick Tracy lunchbox gave me some decent advice, from Havi Brooks of the Fluent Self. The bonus part is it fits nicely with the theme of my post.

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

• Coworker Trust – Sometimes It’s Better to Give AND Receive
• What Elephants Have in Common with Gratitude

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

Your road rage can build trying to get to and from work. It’s a double edged pain. Even those of you who work from home you still have to fight through traffic to get to meetings, dropping your kids off or catching a plane. You can’t escape the car culture that we live in. We are dependent on cars. Maybe one day we can sit in hydrogen powered pods that take us to our destination as we play with our iPhones, but for now we are stuck with driving our cars.

I’m writing about road rage because of my own issues with my commute. I used to get really pissed off at anyone who didn’t match my style of driving. It was pretty sad really. The rage can come on fast. Sometimes I don’t even notice it and all of a sudden I’m screaming. This doesn’t happen very often anymore because I can offset these feelings quickly, but it took one particular reframe to make it happen.

I researched some statistics and found some cool ones. This one is a bit old, but one of my favorites:

“A 1995 study performed by the Road Safety Unit of the Automobile Association of Great Britain found that 90 percent of the drivers surveyed had experienced “road rage” incidents during the preceding 12 months. In this study, 60 percent of drivers admitted to losing their tempers behind the wheel during the previous year, and one percent claimed they had been physically assaulted by another motorist.” from AAA Foundation for Driver’s Safety

You face this rage probably every time you get in the car. Just think of how many people you pass to and from work each week. If you live in a city like I do, it’s easily in the thousands. There are plenty of different kinds of drivers to spark your rage.

My Story

I finally had enough with my anger when I lashed out screaming obscenities at an older lady. As I stared down and passed by this older lady, I realized I was way out of line.

I couldn’t believe that I let my anger take over like that. All she was doing was driving 5 miles below the speed limit. She wasn’t kicking puppies for fun, she was just driving the way she felt safe.

After I got home I realized that the older lady was probably someone’s grandmother. How would I feel if my grandmother was yelled at by some guy because he was late to work?

I vowed to change my ways.

How

To change your perspective takes practice. You can’t just turn off the little anger switch every time you are commuting to work. You’ve got to work with these feelings, slowly massaging your way to a more gentle and happier driver.

What you can do is use a simple technique that encourages you to let go of your anger and bring yourself back to an emotional center.

Grandmothers

As you know my anger had me lashing out at an old lady, which I realized could have been my grandmother. So I used this information to keep my anger in check.

I realized that thinking of each person as my grandmother I could relax my anger and keep myself emotionally grounded.

Next time I felt anxious to get to work, a meeting or the airport and I was about to lash out I imagined my grandmother behind the wheel. It nipped my anger in the bud. I stopped letting my anger take over.

Even if it’s not an old lady, I realize that every person is just trying to do what they feel is right. They all have friends and family that care for them. Even if it’s some crazy dude with a long beard, he might be the coolest dad to his two son’s. Each person has an inner grandmother (AKA their caring side). I just try to visualize the person as a caring old grandmother who fusses over her grandchildren when I’m feeling road rage come on.

Your Rage

Your road rage usually comes from a place of frustration. You don’t want to deal with your boss or you don’t want to work on a certain project. The issue is not some jerk of a guy. It’s how you let yourself feel about this guy. This issue is for another post but know that you can only deal with the situation in that moment.

Your stress can hold you back from enjoying your co-workers or even send you to the emergency ward, so it’s your job to set up your commute so you are optimally happy when you walk in the door. It’s a lot easier to impress a coaching client when I show up calm, happy and centered.

Your Turn

Who can you imagine the other drive who is pushing your anger over the edge? (e.g. grandmother, 2^nd grade teacher, old neighbor down the street)

How can you remind yourself to practice this concept before you commute to work? (i.e. write yourself a note and stick it to your radio.)

* Join us at Party Biz Connect. We throw these awesome Twitter parties (click here to find out what a Twitter party is) to help people launch their cool stuff that they’re putting out into the world. You can win cool prizes at every party. One person won a 3 day workshop worth $1,999. You also get member only access to audio interviews that teach you how to build relationships to level up your business.

* One of the smartest and kindest people in the blogging world is Chris Garrett. You should check out how he can help you build your blogging authority.

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

• 5 Tips on How to Make Small Talk with Your Boss
• How to Stop Interruptions and Be More Productive

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

Editor’s note: This is a guest from Lisa H. (aka RunningBear) of Getting to Zen

What makes my boss so great is that he treats his employees like human beings and not like resources that are there just to help him achieve his goals. Although he is my manager, everything that I do for him feels collaborative (even my performance reviews).

As I was scouring the internet to increase my understanding of boss-employee relationships, I came across a hypothetical note a boss wrote to his employees. What I liked most about note was that it provided great insight on how to establish a good relationship with your boss from a boss’s perspective. I liked the idea so much that I decided to write one of my own.

To: (insert your name)

From: Your Boss

RE: Welcome

Hello (insert your name),

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to the company. I am looking forward to working you. My hope is that this letter will give you a better understanding of who I am, what I need from you and how we both can effectively work together

1. I am under a lot of pressure from upper management, of which most of it you don’t see. Please, don’t hesitate to do or say something that would make my job easier. Most days I am working a minimum of 10 to 14 hours. And although I am compensated for it, it is a lot of hard work with rewards that don’t always pay off quickly.
2. Your work is important to me but so is everyone else’s. Please remember that I also have the concerns and feelings of other employees both inside and outside of our company.
3. I may not have been given the training I needed before being named to this supervisory position. As a result, I have had to learn through trial and error; sometimes at your expense. Please give me the same understanding that you would like from me when you make mistakes.
4. If I am about to do something that could be harmful to my job, please tell me. I may not see an impending disaster that you do. I would rather hear it from you than in the form of a pink slip from the Human Resource department.
5. Tell me what you need to be happy at work. I am not a mind reader. I want to create an environment in which we both can succeed. Let me know what your career goals are and we can work together to create a plan to achieve them.
6. If you don’t know the answer to something, don’t make one up. I use the information you give me to make decisions that impact our business in ways that you may unaware of. I don’t expect you to know everything, but I do expect the truth.
7. If you were a former co-worker of mine, please understand that as your manager I have to evaluate your performance. I hope that my managerial responsibilities will not change our relationship. Sometimes being a manager is lonely.
8. I would appreciate if you would respect my time by not coming to me at 5:30 PM with a critical issue that could have been discussed at any time during that day. I understand that emergencies happen but when they happen every day it’s not an emergency.
9. I expect you to take initiative. If you keep running things by me, I’m going to wonder why I have you around.
10. Let me know when I am doing a good job. I want to be the best manager that I can and feedback is essential for my improvement.
11. Just because I am your manager doesn’t mean that you can’t invite me to lunch. I have other interests besides work and like to talk about them too.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me, my door, in-box and instant messenger is always open. Again, I look forward to working with you.

Your Boss

Now wouldn’t a letter like this be a welcomed edition to the hiring packet? What would you have liked to hear from your boss when you started working at your company?

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.

* New things are happening at Work Happy Now. We are gearing up for some big changes, so stay tuned. We are trying to align your needs with our own. It’s how businesses are built. Too many people keep doing the same thing that made them successful two years ago. We don’t want to be that kind of company. So we are taking a proactive approach to work happiness.

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

• 5 Ways to Improve Your Attitude and Productivity
• 10 Common Career Mistakes

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

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from 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

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

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Michelle of Wicked Whimsy.

At any give time, there are a great amount of people who are working their current job as a “day” job or a “right now” job, while they work on their dream job or passion projects on the side. I know I’ve done my share of this, and sometimes, it’s not easy! If you feel forced into your work arrangement, it can make you resentful, angry, and unproductive at work – which doesn’t do anyone any favors, since you’re spending most of your waking hours there! If this happens to you, try using the following tips to improve your attitude & productivity at your day job.

Set goals

Instead of doing the bare minimum to get by, set aside a few minutes each week to think of ways you can go above and beyond, putting emotional labor into your work and not just “showing up”. If you’re motivated by something intrinsic (like a feeling of accomplishment) instead of extrinsic (money), your satisfaction when you complete your goals is likely to skyrocket. A great book on this topic is Linchpin, by Seth Godin.

Make a list of things your day job provides for you

Karl has written before about the power of gratitude, and this is another great example of it. Instead of thinking “My day job makes me get up early five days a week and spend 40 hours slogging away”, think of the things you couldn’t have without your day job. Try to get creative with your list – instead of saying “my apartment”, say “my two bedroom home in the heart of the art district”, or instead of saying “cat food”, say “the ability to feed my beloved pets”. Make the list as long as you can, and keep it on hand for when you start getting frustrated with work.

Make it a game

This doesn’t mean, don’t take your day job seriously – just maybe not quite as seriously. If you’re finding it impossible to have fun at your day job, make an effort to make it fun. Give yourself points for handling a customer or coworker successfully & professionally, subtract points if you don’t. At the end of the day, add up your total. If your points are above a certain number, treat yourself to your favorite meal.

Work to improve your environment

If you have control over a small amount of space, improve it. Add pictures of things that make you happy or your list of things your job provides for you. Any time you start feeling frustrated, take a deep breath and look at these things to remind yourself of the positive things your work brings into your life. Make an effort to improve your work environment in other ways as well – try instituting a no gossip rule for yourself when talking to coworkers. Gretchen Rubin recounts a tale in the Happiness Project of a friend who worked under a notoriously difficult boss. Gretchen’s friend made a rule for herself that she wasn’t going to say anything negative about her boss or his habits, and that if others were saying negative things, she’d walk away. Not surprisingly, the friend turned out much happier with her job than her coworkers, and even found herself liking her boss.

Watch your labels

This can be one of the toughest tips to follow. If you’re constantly referring to yourself – out loud or in your head – as a “wage slave”, that’s going to be reflected in your attitude and the way you act at work. Remind yourself that the place you work for is renting your time, and that your time is valuable. If you feel like the title your place of employment gives you isn’t very empowering – say, secretary, or sales associate – think of a spin on it that does make you feel good (instead of secretary, try administrative assistant).

There’s five ways to start improving your attitude & productivity at your job right away. What are your favorite ways to flip a negative work attitude around?

Michelle is a rainbow haired freelance writer & blogger located in Austin, TX. She writes about life creation for thoughtful renegades at Wicked Whimsy. You can sign up for her free e-course, Finding Yourself 101, here.

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* You may want to check out How to Discover Your Superpowers over at my marketing blog Super Power Coach. It’s a lot easier to have a great attitude and stay productive when you are doing work you enjoy, gets you in the zone, and plays to your strengths.

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

• Your Attitude and How it Affects Your Career
• How Transitions Can Dramatically Improve Your Productivity

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

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Lisa of Getting to Zen. I want to add that this post can also be used for small business owners who need to improve their relationships with their clients. A happy client is just like a happy boss.

I always knew that having a good relationship with my managers was important, however, I didn’t realize how important it was until four years into my career. Looking back on my working life, I could have had many more opportunities for advancement had I worked on building strong relationships with those I reported to.

You see, just keeping your head down (like I did), staying out of the way and getting your job done is not a relationship. Yes, ultimately you want to complete your job duties, but it is equally important to be seen, especially if you are interested in taking on additional job responsibilities or advancing in the organization.

Having a good relationship with your manager is also key to being happy at work. So let’s look at some ways that you can improve your relationship with your manager and increase your work happiness.

1. Perform the basics

One of the most basic but important things that you can do is to show up for work on time. This action alone can count for a large part of having a good working relationship with not only your manager, but also with your co-workers. Punctuality and dependability show respect and trust. Your manager and your co-workers need to know whether they can count on you.

2. Know your manager’s communication style

Some bosses passively sit back and listen while others probe you with one question after another; some want lots of information while others only want the essential details; some bosses relate in a casual relaxed style while others are all business. Part of your job is to figure out how your manager operates and relate to him or her accordingly.

2. Make your manager look good

Your job is to make your manager look good. Avoid falling into the trap of not wanting to perform a particular task because it does not fit your job description. If you are unhappy with the tasks you are performing, set up a meeting and discuss your concerns with your manager. If changes in your job duties cannot be made, you may need to accept that or look for another place of employment. As a side note, I don’t know too many people whose job duties haven’t changed over time.

3. Know your manager’s communication methods

Do you know your bosses favorite communication method? Is it via email, mobile phone or an organized meeting? Find out what works best for him or her and mostly do that. Limit impromptu visits to his or her office. Unannounced visits can take the focus away from what your boss is currently working on. It wastes time as your boss has to then regroup and shift his focus back to his prior engagement after you have left. (Karl’s note: Like Lisa said earlier this also depends on your boss’s needs. She may like that you take time to talk to her. just pick the right moments, not when she is all stressed out over a big project.)

4. Avoid making excuses

Not only does your manager not care about your excuses, he or she doesn’t want to hear them. It is your job to get your tasks done and to meet the deadlines set by him or her. Your manager does not have the time to continue to prod you to do your job—a job that you are being paid for. Managers already have enough to deal with without additional work being created for them.

5. Do more than expected

Just doing what is expected of you does not set you apart from other employees. Managers value employees who not only do their jobs, but look for and carry out new and better ways of accomplishing tasks. Be proactive, come up with solutions and schedule time to present them to your manager. This will reflect wonderfully on you. Also, volunteering yourself for projects can be a great way to show your initiative and interest in going above and beyond.

6. Ask for feedback

Asking for feedback is a big one for me. Because my boss travels so much, we don’t have too many chances to meet face to face. I will often schedule what I call a “catch-up” meeting to inform him about what I have been working on. I also submit bi-monthly status reports which I am happy to do because I want him to know exactly what I am doing.

Avoid waiting for your six month or annual performance appraisal to get feedback on your performance from your manager, actively solicit it throughout the year. It is through feedback that you will get to know how well of a job your manager thinks you are doing. If your manager thinks you are doing well, there is more of a chance of you keeping your job and getting more job responsibility, raises and promotions.

All relationships take work, including the one that you have with your boss. Communicate often, be respectful, ask questions when you are not clear about what is expected of you and you will be well on your way to working happy.

Your Turn

What do you do on a regular basis to improve your relationship with your boss? How do you make her happy when things aren’t going quite right? What tips can you share that will help us improve our relationships and get that raise we need?

Lisa H. (aka RunningBear) is the founder of Getting to Zen – a personal development blog dedicated to those in pursuit of authentic happiness through purposeful living. You can follow her on Twitter.

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* You should probably check out my post over at Super Power Coach – How to Discover Your Superpowers. It explains how you can create more value at work to earn your boss’s respect.

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

• 7 Ways Your Boss Can Mess Up Your Evaluation
• 4 Techniques to Help You Deal With a Difficult Boss

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

There are too many iPhone apps to keep track of. There are over 300,000 apps available on iTunes. When you include all the other smart phone apps available it’s head spinning. One of the most popular apps is the game Angry Birds. It’s #1 in many countries.

I recently got a gift of an iTouch (iPod with touch screen) that allows me to mess around with all the apps out there. I’m not cool enough for an iPhone yet. I’ll stick with my Samsung with a keypad thank you very much.

Angry Birds was a big reason I wanted an iTouch. I saw all my co-workers and friends playing the game and I wanted in on the action.

Now I’m hooked. I’ll play it while waiting for my wife to get ready. I’ll play it while waiting for my radiation treatments. I’ll even play it on the toilet.

That’s where the genius behind the game begins.

Simplicity

The game can be played in any language by almost any age group. My 4-year-old nephew loves playing the game. He isn’t very good at it, but that doesn’t matter. What does matter is that it’s so simple to play it doesn’t take a gaming wizard to have fun.

The difficulty does increase as you go along, but the rules are always the same. Sling a bird at some green pigs and try to kill them. The reason why this doesn’t get boring is because you want to see what the next screen looks like. You want to see how creative the developers can get.

There are hidden little tricks on every level. The fewer birds you need to kill the pigs, the more stars you receive. There is something cool about killing the pigs with one bird and receiving 3 stars instead of just one.

Takeaway:

Too often we get caught up in trying to create an intricate marketing plan or we try to solve a problem with 15 people instead of 3, but we end up getting too confused and we miss the mark. You have to remember when you are creating something that you should make it so simple that anyone can use it for their problem.

Low Cost

The game only costs .99 cents. It’s less than a value menu fries. The barrier to buy it is so low that as soon as someone tells you how awesome the game is, you download it. Why even mess with the free version? Even for those frugal people who download the free version get hooked and don’t mind paying .99 cents to continue playing.

I know that many experts will tell you not to compete on price and this goes for many products and services, but something that can be replicated very easily it’s best to compete on price. If it’s meant for a mass audience, don’t try to charge too much. You’ll end up pissing people off who really wanted the product.

I would not have bought this game for $4.99. I just don’t want to pay $4.99 for a game that just numbs my mind. I can buy a cheap lunch with that kind of money.

Takeaway:

Price is always a factor. If you can keep your costs low and charge less to entice more people to buy your product, then go for it.

Emotional Engagement

Many companies want to develop the emotional engagement that Angry Birds has created. When I first started playing on my brother’s iPhone it was all in fun, but then I watched the back story. The stupid pigs stole the sweet birds’ eggs to fry up in a pan. That’s just wrong. Those dumb pigs deserve to die.

Each time I pass a level I want to see how these pigs are protected and how I can destroy them. I’m not a violent person, but come on, you can’t just steal someone’s eggs.

The game is also very entertaining. The colors are well put together. You feel like you are in a loony tunes episode. The back drop is varied with cacti and a desert scene(that’s just the first level). Each main level has a different look.

I have a friend who has played countless hours on the game, trying to unlock 3 stars on every level. He refuses to quit.

People quickly get addicted to the game because it challenges them on different levels. When you can anchor into a wide range of emotions – anger, joy, frustration, and love – you keep people wanting more.

Takeaway:

Whether you have clients, customers or a boss to make happy, you have to find a way to engage them on many levels. If all you do is work really hard and you don’t use these other emotional anchors, you’ll lose out on business and friendships.

Many Rewards

The next most compelling part of this game is the constant wins. Some levels are easy and it seems a waste of time. Then you get stuck on a level and you fail a few times and then bingo – you find the pig’s weak spot. You kill the pig and feel totally awesome.

Zappos does this too. Instead of promoting people on an 18 month scale, they took the same promotion track and broke it into 3 parts. So the person on the track to become call center manager gets 3 promotions along the way. Zappos understands that they need to show their people that they are doing well every step of the way.

Takeaway:

You can create small wins for your clients, employees, and readers (if you are a blogger). You may not be able to give them more money, but recognizing their hard work must become a regular habit.

Your Turn

Have you played Angry Birds?

What is your favorite part of the game?

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Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Eileen Habelow, Ph.D. of Randstad

You work with them about 8 hours a day, 250 days out of the year. Depending on your line of work, you may see them more than you see friends and family. Your co-workers are an integral part of your ability to do your job, to develop and succeed in your career and even to ensure your day-to-day happiness. In this year’s Randstad Work Watch survey on coworker relationships, 70 percent of respondents said that workplace friendships create a more supportive and friendly workplace. That’s why building healthy, trusting relationships with these people is so important.

I am not suggesting intimate and lifelong friendships, but rather relationships based on mutual respect and a foundation of trust. We are often very different from the people we work with, and therefore a close and comfortable friendship is not always in the cards. This is perfectly alright and often ideal for business as diversity facilitates problem-solving, collaboration, ingenuity and business stability. Imagine if everyone was like you and there were no bossy overachievers or quirky IT guys. Who would make sure every deadline was met and the company’s computer system didn’t crash?

Acknowledging and accepting your coworkers’ differences is the first step in developing a healthy work environment. The second is figuring out how to develop trusting relationships despite those differences. Here are a few ways to develop trust with even the most difficult coworkers.

Be Authentic

Healthy relationships are founded on trust and an understanding of who the other person is. People can sense when you’re trying to be someone you’re not, and that façade will put people on their guard. It is hard to work with someone whose personality you can’t predict or whose character you can’t put your finger on. Remember to be yourself, especially in situations when you might be less comfortable – that’s when we are most likely to put up a front.

View Work as a Team Effort

Often coworker relationships can be ridden with competitive tension. It is important to receive credit for the great work you are doing, but it doesn’t have to be at another’s expense. Taking all the credit can feel like a stab in the back to a coworker and create distrust. Next time you have a “big win” at the office, consider whether or not it was achieved single-handedly. Most likely you had some help along the way and those people would appreciate recognition as well.

Deliver on Promises

Coworkers depend on each other to complete tasks and meet deadlines. Following through for a coworker helps the success of the team and should be taken just as seriously as a promise made to a superior. If you feel like you are taking on more than you can handle, let your coworker know and work together to establish a new plan of action. By failing to follow through you not only let your coworker down, but also you establish a record of unreliability.

Trust Them

You cannot expect people to trust you if you don’t trust them back. Take a moment and reflect on your workplace relationships. Are you distrusting? See if any of the above scenarios apply to your coworkers. Are you having trouble reading someone? Did a coworker take all the credit for a group project or let you down on a tight deadline? If so, see if you can make amends or give them another chance to prove their reliability.

We try our best to surround ourselves with trusting relationships in our personal lives. Why shouldn’t we do the same in our professional lives? Think about those people in your life who have helped you develop, succeed and live happily. Chances are they are people with whom you share mutual trust and respect. Why not develop the same type of friendships at work?

Eileen Habelow, Ph.D., is the senior vice president of Organizational Development with Randstad, a global provider of HR solutions and staffing.

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

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

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Eileen Habelow, Ph.D. of Randstad

December is one of those contradictory months during which we use the most vacation time but feel the most stressed. Why is this? Add up the limited time in the office, the fact that everyone on vacation isn’t responding to email or voicemail and the personal workload of holiday shopping and cooking, and you have your answer.

But the question isn’t why we’re stressed but what we can do about it. While you’re still at the office this holiday season, here are a few tips to keep the stress level down and the cheer up.

Unitask

Four weeks of work have to be crammed into three. It sounds impossible and perhaps it is, but trying to do everything at once is not the answer. Multitasking is often less efficient due to the time it takes you to switch your focus from one task to another. Make a list of your projects in order of priority. Start with #1 and work your way down, completing each task as thoroughly as possible as you go. At the end of the day you may not have gotten to everything on your list, but a few completed projects is better than a long list of incomplete ones.

Embrace It In Spurts

The next few days or weeks might feel like mayhem, but how was last month? What does January look like? If work just picked up recently and hope is on the horizon, a period of heightened stress and energy at the office can be exciting and rewarding. Just don’t let it get out of hand. If you’ve regularly been working overtime and are constantly under pressure, you should consider hiring on additional help or speaking with upper management.

Take a Mini-break

You don’t need an hour and you don’t need a four course meal. You do need 5 minutes and at least a snack. We’ve all had those days when taking a lunch break is out of the question. But if you plan to eat at your desk, you still need 5 minutes to recharge. Walk across the street to grab take-out. If you bring your lunch, leave it in the car. You’ll come back from the parking deck with a fresh mind to settle back into work.

Keep Work In Perspective

Don’t forget that it’s the holidays. Bosses, clients and coworkers all have friends and family that take priority this time of year, and so do you. Have a holiday party to attend? Want to bake cookies with your kids after work? Don’t miss these memorable times. If need be, come in a few hours earlier in the morning so that you can leave the office in time to share some holiday cheer.

While December is particularly stressful, it’s not the only time we’re faced with a cumbersome workload. When the next wave comes, remember to prioritize the small things without losing track of the bigger picture.

Eileen Habelow, Ph.D., is the senior vice president of Organizational Development with Randstad, a global provider of HR solutions and staffing.

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* Join over 1,200 people who have already subscribed to the FREE 10 part E-Course on Leveraging Your Superpowers. Learn how to discover and leverage your superpowers so you can do amazing work. (Sign up is in the top left corner)

* A very smart friend of mine created an e-book about measuring people’s performance to optimize productivity on many levels. Too many companies measure how much work is getting done instead of the quality of work. This small mistake costs can cost a small company thousands of dollars. This e-book is a must if you need help measuring people’s performances.

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

I’ve had some real “fire cracker explodes in your hand” kind of days. You know those days when you take a chance and it back fires in your face.

The old Karl (before Work Happy Now) usually got all depressed and sulked for days on end when I had a lousy day. I now practice being happy at work. I don’t put up with a lousy day any longer.

I’ve learned how to let the pain go and move on.

Last Week

I was stuck working on some reports. I couldn’t get the data to match up and I was freaking out. My hands were sweating, I was feeling hot flashes from my anger, and I was unable to focus. My day kept getting worse and worse. I got a phone call from a client who was in desperate need of help.

How could I help when I was freaking out myself? I told her that I would call her back in 20 minutes.

I decided to step outside and sprint down the block (well nowadays with my old man legs it’s more like a fast jog) until I ran out of breath. It was a lousy day multiplied by 7. It was some kind of shit storm that came out of nowhere.

When I got back inside I called the client back, gave her two good options and then I felt this calm come over me.

That phone call took the stress off of me and made me focus on someone else.

Keys

It was like God handed me a key to my own brain. I’ve actually known this trick for a long time, but it never fully registered. I have a good feeling that I’ll forget again and I’ll need to go for a sprint again, but that’s just who I am.

By shifting my focus on to helping this client, I got out of my own emotional shit storm. It was beautiful.

I know that I teach about happiness and should have 10 tools at my disposal at any given time, but for some reason I couldn’t let go until I called my client back.

Turn the Focus Outward

Next time you are caught in a shit storm, stop whatever you are doing, sprint 100 yards and then help someone else with their problem.

When you get back to your own problem, you’ll have a clear mind and a relaxed heart.

Your Turn

What do you do when you are having a lousy day?

Do you marinate in it or do you find a way to turn it around?

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

* Been wanting to start a blog, but don’t know where to start? Check out my friend Johnny’s offer of helping you set-up a blog for free. He’s not doing it because he is Mother Teresa, he profits from hooking you up with hosting. You have to pay this anyway so may as well get a free blog set-up out of it. The offer ends today – December 19th.

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

> Are Friendships the Key to Workplace Happiness?

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