Tag: Work

The Problem With Complaining

Achieving Goals, Happiness, Health, Success

There is often a sense in today’s culture that suggests that we should complain because we might get something out of it. The goal being to get something not to have an issue fixed. There are also times when we have a legitimate complaint, where something has gone wrong. I’m not talking about either of these types of complaints in this post.

What I am talking about is moaning about day to day things that we are unhappy about. In conversation with a colleague I complained about the time I would have to get up in order to catch the train to a training event in another city. Rather than the socially accepted response of validating my moaning, they said, “Well you did volunteer for the training.”

The point is that most things that we complain/moan about are things we have signed up for but we still want sympathy for the effort we have to put in. If you want to be productive, effective or in demand you have to change your mindset and quit the moaning. If you just get on with it life will be better for you. You will be happier and you will become someone others go to in order to get things done. A simple change in habit will have a big impact.

Working With Your Values

Happiness, Success, The Pathway To Fulfilment

When I was around 19 years old I got a free razor through the post from a well known company. It was the kind with interchangeable heads with three blades. I appreciated it and have been using similar razors from this company since. I got stuck into using what I had always used and buying replacement heads as needed.

More recently the cost of the replacement heads and the amount of plastic waste from them started to bother me. So, I took the plunge and bought an old style razor with metal razor blades that last a long time and require no plastic. This felt closer to my values of not spending money I didn’t have to spend and thinking in a more environmentally friendly manner.

As I got used to the new razor I cut myself a fair bit, as it takes skill to use this type of razor, but it felt worth it. Living my values is important to me. I now use the razor without cutting myself as I spent the time learning the skill of using this type of razor well. Sometimes you have to stop doing what you have always done and follow your values, even though it will take you out of your comfort zone and give you challenges to overcome. This applies to work as well as life in general. Work with your values and live by then too.

Be Happier At Work

Achieving Goals, Happiness, Success, The Pathway To Fulfilment

Often we wish we were doing something else for a job. Often we settle for something we are good at or something that was available as a way to earn money and pay our bills. We give our time and we get money. This rarely makes us feel fulfilled. Therefore we day dream of a better job but do nothing to get said job.

If we do end up getting said job, then it may not be what we thought it was. The grass is not always greener as they say. There is another way to think about it. You could think of the work you currently do as a craft. If you were to try to make your current job your craft, to take care and pay attention to align how you do your job with your values and what is important to you. Then your passion for your job will increase over time. Opportunities that you hadn’t seen will appear and you will spend time making a difference not exchanging your time for money.

Opportunities are always there, but we have to adjust our minds to see them and we have to do the work to create the conditions for the opportunities to appear. Remember, we see the world not as it is but as we are.

Teams Need A Purpose

Achieving Goals, Happiness, Leadership, Success

In any organisation every team needs a Purpose. Often a company will have an overarching Purpose and/or Values, but if this is either not articulated well or made relevant to every team within the company, then productivity can drop off, as can retention of staff.

Everyone needs a reason to go to work, other than just to pay the bills. If our job gives meaning and purpose to our lives then we will be happier and will work harder for the company we work for. The assumption that staff will only work for a paycheck is a shortsighted view that many leaders have.

So, if you are a leader within your organisation, review how effective your company’s Purpose, Values or Principles are and work to ensure every member of staff feels that they are contributing towards them. This will increase levels of fulfilment and productivity, and will make them want to stay.

Do The Work

Achieving Goals, Happiness, Success, The Pathway To Fulfilment

I was watching an interview with Jay Shetty on Impact Theory and he said something that resonated with me. It was something that is really obvious, but my brain omitted the logic of what was said to avoid the risk of making a change in my mindset. We often fear change more than staying the way we are.

Jay was talking about his book Think Like A Monk, which he wrote after living for some time in an ashram as a monk. When he left the life of a monk he spent seven years testing what he had learnt in the real world before then writing the book. The logic that struck me was that he put in the work of learning how to think well while training as a monk and spent seven years testing this out.

Essentially, the obvious truth is that in order to gain self mastery you have to put in the work of mastering your mind. I am some way down the path of self mastery, but I am far from mastering myself, and the journey does not have an end point, it is a life long pursuit. Step one is, as always, admitting that there is a problem and that action is required, but you have to do the work. Progress is not automatic.

When One Door Closes

Achieving Goals, Happiness, Leadership, Success

In life there are ways and processes that we find helpful and that make life easier, and when they are taken away we feel angry and frustrated. We ask why and complain about how it is not like it used to be. However, what is hidden in these turns of event is that there are other ways of doing these things and other processes. Often they are more helpful and make life more meaningful.

We get stuck in ways of doing things that feel comfortable or familiar or ways that have been drummed into us as the ‘right’ way to do something. We rarely question these ways of doing things, as we go about our routine filled lives.

At work this past week I found it difficult to help a customer as a process I had become used to changed. I spent some time moaning to colleagues, who join in with my indignation, before asking my Manager what I could do. My Manager gave me an alternative that I had never thought of before, which was a better option all round and allowed me to help the customer. When one door closes look for an alternative door, it may be a better one.

Pace Yourself

Happiness, Success, The Pathway To Fulfilment

One of the things I have to always be aware of while having Fibromyalgia, is that after standing or walking around for a while my legs begin to hurt and I need to rest. I need to know my limits and plan my day accordingly.

We all have our limits, for our energy or patience or attention span, etc. Everyone has different limits. Mine will clearly be less than others, but may be greater than others. The point is that if you know your limits you can plan your day and week around what you know you can handle.

It will also help you choose the right job. If you have little patience, then working with challenging young people, for example, will be a bad mix. If you have a low attention span, work that changes repeatedly will suit you well. Knowing your limits will allow you to work and play to the maximum benefit of you and those around you.

Work On Your Craft

Happiness, Success, The Pathway To Fulfilment

When we think of someone’s craft we often think of Blacksmiths or some other vocation that requires training, often passed down through generations, and they normally have a specific purpose. However, I would like to broaden out the meaning of ‘craft’ to include the work that you do.

Mostly, we have jobs rather than vocations and often these jobs can feel like we are exchanging our time and effort for money to pay our bills. We can, however, look at our jobs and see the opportunities to make other people’s lives better. This can be seen as a craft, because it takes skill and purpose.

So, ask yourselves how you can make other people’s live better while you are doing your job and in your life generally. Then ask yourselves, how you could make this your craft. The fulfilment you will get from the work you do will then begin to grow.

Mastering Your Work

Quick Thoughts

While we work we are often asked by our Manager to complete a Personal Development Plan. This is often limited to office based work, but applies to any field of employment. This can be seen as another task to do or it is seen as a tick box exercise. The PDP is in fact a huge opportunity.

It is an opportunity to actively develop yourself, to take ownership of your career and progress to the level or role that gives you the most fulfilment.

In my opinion your PDP should begin with the values of the company you work for as well as your own values. This is because it is important that these values are compatible. You should include how you learn, how you work and what your skills and experience are. This will give you a good foundation to build your PDP from.

Set short goals, usually weekly, mid-term goals, usually quarterly and long term goals, usually yearly. I would also review your progress against these goals on a regular basis. I will be trying daily reviews at the end of my shift to highlight what went well, what I could have done better, what I learned and what actions I will take from the learning.

I feel that daily reviews will speed up my development and make sure it does not plateau at a low level. Try it yourself and see how you go. If it is too frequent, try weekly reviews. You will not regret it.