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Here’s your shot of inspiration, on the lighter side, this week:
– Anonymous
In my experience, people usually allow themselves to get very stressed in reaction to other people.
Here’s some examples:
– My team just aren’t performing
– Why did they say that to me in that way?
– What do they want from me?
– Why did they do it that way, when I told them the opposite?
– Does anyone listen to me!!??
Did you ever consider that a large part of stress is caused by your reaction to something? It’s bad enough if something happened once, but often we can play it over and over and over in our heads. Winding ourselves up like a highly coiled spring.
Research show that there is an optimal area of stress for performance. Too little and you get bored or underperform. Too much and you get so stressed you underperform also.
From my experience, most workplaces ignore one key element that can take you into this ‘optimal’ area. When you cultivate it, you can get magical results but it’s the opposite of how most businesses operate generally.
The element is ‘Enjoyment’. Not at the expense of performance. It’s vital to have clear standards of performance for every role and to hold these.
But can you imagine if you could create an environment where people are encouraged to perform while at the same time helping each other enjoy their work?
When you consider how much time we spend in work, I think it makes sense to at least consider it.
But here’s the challenge – It’s easy to cultivate enjoyment when things are good. How easy is it to do when things are not going ‘your way’?
That I believe is the test. And I also believe it’s a mental one.
So here’s a simple exercise for this week if you’re up for it.
Regardless of what’s going on in your business or role, give yourself 2 clear goals:
1.Identify your top 5 priorities this week in writing and just go do them 100%. Stay focused and don’t allow distractions.
2.Make it your deliberate daily focus to bring more enjoyment into your work and that of others around you.
I guarantee you will be impressed by the results.
From what I see week to week, the best performers in business, sport and life have mastered the art of doing their work while playing at the same time.
Food for thought…
Have a great week,
ps – That’s not to say you won’t want to choke the odd person, but at least you’ll be less stressed doing it!
