Happiness At Work (Featured on The Straits Times – 7 April 2017)
HAPPINESS AT WORK – How to be happier at the workplace.
Happiness has always been a by-product of positive outcomes. We chase after something to make us happy (i.e. instant gratification), and it has never been the other way around because it’s easier said than done. However, that does not mean it is impossible.
Some reasons as to why we are not happy at work includes not loving what you are doing enough, or being stressed over a project – not because we do not have the capability but perhaps it is not an area of work we are passionate about.
How then do we get around this at work? After all, you will not get to do things that you are purposeful about every day. I believed that if you enjoy 70 to 80 percent of your work, you are very fortunate. Often, it is the meaning you give to your work that counts, not the meaning that work give to you.
CHANGE HOW YOU THINK
Being happy at work requires us to adjust the way we think. Is the work we are assigned to a burden or an opportunity? They are opportunities because they increase our market value, just like learning new things, making new colleagues across inter-departmental projects. Look for the positive resources that you can accumulate as they will stay with you for an extended period.
ADJUST YOUR FEELINGS
Keep your emotion in check whenever you feel tired or misunderstood. The quickest way to do is to be objective. This turns off the emotional button. I believe that we can either be emotional or objective at any point in time, but not both.
Being objective helps to clear your mind and get you into momentum. Happiness is often derived by momentum and not staying still. Be objective in your mind, and start seeking out the true return on investment you can get from the task.
THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU SAY
Words have great power than we think, whether verbally or in the form of a thought. If you wake up each morning and the first thing that comes to your mind is that it is going to be a lousy day, you are likely to be right.
But if your first thought is a positive one, it will be a good day for you. Positive words triggers high energy, which will reflect on you both psychologically and physiological. By shifting how you think, you can change how you feel. Using positive words in what you say, it will reinforce your happiness, one day at a time.
Will you have a bad day? Of course. But often, it is not about having a bad day, but what positive impact we can further make during that day. After-all, tough time do not last – only happy people do.
Article by:
Joseph Wong, the behavioral transformation coach and thought-provoking leadership influence expert of TrainingGearAsia Pte Ltd. Email him at ignite@traininggearasia.com
