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Thriving in today’s workplace
 Whatever job you do or sector you work in, developing resilience is an essential skill. Resilience helps you deal with the ups and downs you face on a daily basis, it minimises your reaction to stress and helps you feel an element of control.
Here are some tips to build your resilience:
Make the best of your current situation. We tend to forget the good things about the situation we’re in and focus on what could be better elsewhere – but are not necessarily. Better the devil you know... if only from a mercenary point of view you will be building up entitlements for redundancy or pension if you stay rather than taking a risk in moving on where things may different but not necessarily better and your entitlements start from scratch again.
Identify what you can gain. Are there new opportunities or projects that you can volunteer for so that you are adding to your experience and CV, new skills you can learn or get trained in to enhance existing ones?
Find out what people think you’re good at. If you don’t already know, ask people what your strengths are and seek out opportunities to use them more. Research shows that these are the ones you enjoy using most and feel energised by, so using them more will make you feel more motivated.
Identify what is most important to you about your work. Maybe it is earning lots of money, enjoying what you do, being with other like-minded people or making a contribution to the world in some way. We are motivated by different things. Finding out what motivates you will help you enjoy your work more and spot opportunities when they come your way.
What are the causes of stress for you? Doing things that you can do, but are bored with can be as stressful as pushing yourself so hard that you feel overwhelmed. Feelings of achievement come from pushing yourself to the edge of your comfort zone, where you are stretching yourself but not to the point of overload.
How do you alleviate the systems of stress? Drowning your sorrows in drink or moping in front of the TV might make you feel better on a short term basis, but are not a good recipe for the long term. Many people find that taking exercise is a good way to deal with stress. A 10 minute walk around the block at lunchtime can make the afternoon seem more manageable, just as a swim or a visit to the gym after work can help you feel more positive about the next day.
Find some way of expressing your feelings about your work. Saying them out loud (probably not to the boss though!) or writing down the thoughts that are going round and round your head will help put them into perspective. If you can afford it, get a coach to help clarify what you want from your working life.
Find activities outside work that you enjoy doing. This will help provide balance if you are feeling stuck and are not finding your work fulfilling. Also if the worst happens and you do lose your job, you have other activities to focus on whilst you look for another one.
Is the biggest problem your own mindset? Are you setting self imposed boundaries? You get what you focus on, so if you think you will be bored, then you will be.
Be in the best place that you can be. For the sake of others – but most importantly, for yourself.
These approaches will help you manage your current situation and deal with any changes effectively.
On the blog this month:
A series of articles on coaching for International Coaching Week, including Business coaching can change your life.
Speaking up
Powerful questions to ask at job interviews.
Some interesting links:
The assault on anywhen – how expectations have become unrealistic
Marketing yourself – being in the right place at the right time
Twitter can save your life (for everyone who thinks, like me, that Twitter is stupid and wish they didn’t)
Are there particular topics you’d like to see covered in future newsletters? Please let me have your suggestions.
And who else could benefit from reading this too?
Till next month,
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