One of the joys I get from speaking engagements is hearing all the great questions asked during the session and one-on-one time with guests. For the next five weeks leading into the holidays, I’m excited to share the five most popular questions I am asked. Here we go with Question number 1!
How do you turn a bad day at work into a good one?
This is such a great question, but I have to wonder what is happening in our workplaces when this gets asked so frequently! Of course, many variables can contribute to why people are experiencing a bad workday. So the first thing is, you have to come to work in your best frame of mind, understanding there will always be 10%s at work that you can’t control. The loud chewer, or talker, lazy teammates, tech issues and of course, the boss or the work.
Here is what I found that works for me. I step away. I change the scenery, stand in the sun with my eyes closed and start digging for what is great in my life. I get the gratitude wash over, and then I ask how I, the only person who can change it, can change how I view and enter the rest of the day.
Granted, the step away is a short-term but immediate option. So, what is a long-term solution? Ahhhh, one of my favourite things. In my Focus on the 90% book, I introduce the “Complain Three Times Rule,” which you should consider. Complaining more than three times is what one of my audience members called “recreational whining.” The essence of the rule is once you have complained about something more than three times, you have to “lay that sucker out” and do your best to resolve it. It isn’t healthy for us to carry the same stress for days, weeks or even years and not take any action to solve it! So, let’s lay it out!
Read all about workplace positivity here: "Lay That Sucker Out!"
Tune in next week for question number 2!