In recent years much has been said about our ability to work under less than perfect conditions. There are a variety of things that happen within the modern day workplace which continually attract attention these days, issues such as the ‘toxic boss or colleague’, bullying (yes! It’s not just an issue for kids!), feeling underemployed or underappreciated, and simply spinning from the many demands placed upon you.
So how do you protect yourself? How do you remain resilient?
During the closing session of our most recent Coaching Circle in Cornwall, we all put our heads together and came up with the following strategies:
- Practice Gratitude – In the day to day working of life and living, we humans have the habit of focusing on the negative events and happenings of life. When you switch gears and re-focus on those aspects for which you are grateful, it lifts your spirits. Having a gratitude practice where you do this on a daily basis, creates resilience.
- Don’t Take It Personally – Create space between yourself and the negative nellies in your life. Their stuff is their stuff and always remember not to take what they have to say personally. It has nothing to do with you.
- Speak UP – Learn to speak up for yourself and to speak from your authentic self. You cannot expect others to know what you want or what you are thinking.
- Stay Positive – Appreciate that everything that happens in life is perfect; it is there for a reason and a lesson. Learn from mistakes or hiccups, laugh at yourself, and move on with this new lesson tucked under your arm.
- Flip-It! – whenever you find yourself focusing on what you don’t want; flip it to what you do want. Remember you attract what you focus on.
- Go Downstream – If you find yourself in a battle with yourself, your work or someone else, change directions. Recognize that you are swimming upstream and ask yourself what it would take to change directions to downstream.
- Be clear on your ‘I AM” – Your I AM statement represents who you are choosing to be in any situation. It is your source of inner power and clarity. It begins by saying to yourself I AM —-, breathing it in, feeling it and radiating it.
- Attract your Perfect Tribe – Be clear on who you want to surround yourself with. Make sure these are people who lift you up and love you unconditionally.
- Have ME FIRST time – Commit to a minimum of 15 minutes/day of ME FIRST time. This is time just for you, not to be shared, for breathing, meditation, setting your ‘I AM’ statements or for gratitude.
- Space Management – It’s not really about time management, it’s about space management . Be clear about your ‘have to’s’ versus your ‘can do’s’. You can all do lots of things, the question is do you want to, is it necessary or does it belong to you or someone else.
- Develop your NO-How – Be clear on your boundaries. Know what your priorities and t your responsibilities are. Develop your ability to say NO to what is not yours to own or take care of.
- Single Task – Much attention has been given to our ability to multi-task. The thing is it doesn’t really work. You find yourself with many balls in the air yet nothing ever really gets completed. Learn to set your priorities and take on one task at a time. When you bring tasks to completion, you will grow your self-esteem and confidence.
- Affirm Yourself –Check in and make sure you are not diminishing yourself with negative inner talk. You are in charge of this. Become consciously aware of what you are saying to yourself and change the message to something uplifting.
- Self-Acknowledgement – When you receive complements form others, accept them graciously and simply say ‘Thank-You’. Take it in like a sponge and acknowledge yourself for the complement you just received.
- Choose Inspiring Messaging – Monitor what you choose to read or watch and choose that which inspires you. A highly recommend two sources of daily messages: www.tut.com and www.pattidigh.com.
- Listen to Your Body – When you feel unwell or something hurts, turn inward and have a conversation with your body. Ask “what are you trying to communicate to me?” then listen. It’s better than anything a doctor can give you.
- Laugh a Lot – Find a friend to have fun with or watch some comedy, whatever it takes to bring laughter into your world. Laughter is a great healer.
- Go with the Flow – Notice where the big rocks or obstacles in your life are and move around them versus pushing against them. As one member of our group shared, “It’s easier to ride the horse in the direction the horse is going!”
You will recognize that these suggestions really are just common sense and yet, common sense is not common! I encourage you to take this list and pin it up in a place where it is fully visible and then practice 1, 2 or more of these suggestions daily.
Until next time…
Betty