You will probably ignore this advice as being too ‘soft’ …
The reality is, in a world that seems hell-bent on stealing your focus and attention away from what really matters, and sending you down worm-holes of social-media-mind-numbing-rubbish (what … too harsh?), you have a choice to reclaim your humanity.
Science validates it’s your intentional choices and actions that has the most impact on your sense of life satisfaction at work and in your personal life.
So … there it is … get intentional about your choices and actions.
One of the easiest, readily available, inescapable truths of intentional actions you can take to reclaim your humanity and focus on what really matters, is to tap into your sense of gratitude.
Yep … it’s that easy.
At Work Questions For You
At work, ask yourself:
- What are you grateful for?
- Is it the money you earn and what that money allows you to do in your personal life with those you love?
- Is it the meaning and sense of self-worth you gain from the nurturing and supportive relationships you have?
- Is it the pride you feel for the value you create for others when you do what you do in your job role?
- Is it the sense of being part of a team who is genuinely trying to make life better for your customers (whether internal or external)?
If you’re a leader, I recommend you pose these (and others like these) questions to yourself first. Then, pose them individually and collectively to your team members.
It’s through these intentional, adult, human-centered questions and conversations that as a leader, you can help boost the engagement, meaning, purpose and fulfillment your team members (and yourself) can gain from the investment you make with your time at work.
Personal Life Questions For You
In your personal life, the questions are not that dissimilar.
- Ask yourself what are you grateful for in your personal life?
- Is it the relationships you have?
- Is it the experiences you’ve had (the good and not so good where lessons have been learned)?
- Is it the ‘things’ you’ve acquired that add value to your life experiences either shared or in private moments? (Or are the things you’ve acquired just that … more stuff to keep up with the Jones’s that have no real value to your life)?
- Is it your personal strengths and skills that you’ve been gifted with and/or continually practice for personal improvement?
- Is it your sense of pride in how you strive to be at your best, when knowing none of us is perfect and that in your mistakes, there is often growth and lessons to be grateful for?
Finding gratitude is such a powerful and protective strategy you have – always available when you need it. But why wait? Why not start right now?
The wonderful people at Action For Happiness have put together another brilliant calendar reminder for us all to find joy in the month of June. See which of their recommendations resonate, pick one or two (or all) and give it a go.
For me, it’s the simple exercise of diarizing 5 minutes at the end of each week (if it’s not in the diary it’s too easy to forget), to reflect back on what 3 things I am grateful for … what brought me joy throughout my week.
What about you?
Warmly,
