How to show up when you’re not feeling it
It’s easy to be excited about your job and going to work when things are going really well there and in your personal life. Cue the “Singing in the Rain” song as you happily plod or drive to the office.
But that’s not life very much of the time. Historically, only about a third of Americans say they are actually “happy” at any given time. So, what about the rest? How do you stay excited when you’ve had a draining weekend or your boss upset you or you’ve had a disagreement with someone at work, or you are going through something really heavy like a death or a divorce?
It’s easy to let life get in the way when things aren’t going 100% according to plan.
Here are some easy tips to help get you in a good frame of mind in order to shine at the office during difficult times:
- If you’re having a bad day, take a look at your to-do list and focus on something that you do really well. Start your day off by doing something that shows your skills and you can feel good about when you have accomplished it. When you do something you are proud of, it will improve your mood and motivate you to tackle the more difficult things on your list.
- Focus on the end result of what you are doing. Instead of seeing a big pile of to-dos or tasks, take a step back and look at what those tasks all lead to, like serving your co-workers better, or serving your members better, or your community or making the world better in some way. Whenever you can see positive impact on the greater
- Serving others is one of the easiest ways to boost your mood and help your perspective, and this can also apply to the office. Pick up a caramel macchiato for a coworker on your morning trip to Starbucks or offer to help them with a difficult project.
- Give yourself grace. Yeah, you may not feel the best or be in the best mood, but beating yourself up about where you are right now is just going to make things worse. Be kind to yourself as you would others and remember that change is constant and things will get better.
