Most of us work a minimum of 40 hours a week. I don’t think anyone goes to work thinking they do a poor job; instead most of us think we do more work than others or better work than others, right?
I mean, after all, we are taking 40 hours out of our week, away from our families or fun activities to bring home the bacon.
Do you look forward to work? Do you like what you’re doing? What could make it better?
I read a book this week called, FISH!, written by Stephen Lundin, Harry Paul and John Christensen. It isn’t the first time I heard of the book, but I was glad I had chosen to take it off the bookshelf.
Are you unhappy in your job? Do you wish that you enjoyed getting up every morning and going to work? I think most people would say yes. In fact, FISH! encourages employees to choose their attitude.
Choose your attitude? Don’t think it’s impossible just yet. While you may feel overworked and underpaid, or unappreciated, and you think that your peers or supervisors are the ones who influence your attitude, don’t forget that you have a say in what attitude you choose to bring to work.
If you are saying that other people are responsible for your attitude, then that means you are responsible for the attitude of those around you, right? According to the authors of FISH!, “there is always a choice about the way you do your work, even if there is not a choice about the work itself.”
Are you choosing to work in a toxic environment? Don’t get up in the morning and choose to have a bad day, choose to have a good day. After all, reacting and feeling like a victim isn’t going to solve your problems.
Along with choosing your attitude, you should play at work. To be honest, this one is my favorite! Those around me at work know that I can get work done when I need to, but that I also like to play. I can’t be serious for 8 hours a day, it just isn’t going to happen. Have fun! Joke around with co-workers, or with clients, get your work done, but live in the moment and enjoy it! Even the most mundane jobs can be fun. Encourage those around you to look for a way to play throughout the day, after all, it will help your attitude, too.
The third philosophy set forth in the book FISH!, is to “make their day.” What does that mean? Many of us come into contact with clients or customers each day. What if you approached your job with the attitude of making others feel like what they are doing is important? I donate blood on a regular basis, many of you know that. I know that donating helps others and I feel better about myself when I give blood because I know I am helping someone else. When the phlebotomists at South Bend Medical Foundation draw my blood, they make me feel as though my time is worth something and they help “make my day” by recognizing my efforts. Can you think of a way that you can make someone else’s day? How can you engage those around you?
Finally, the authors encourage readers to “be present.” By being present in a situation, you connect with the person in front of you. It’s not a forced feeling, but rather a connection where you show genuine, sincere concern for the other person. In an age of technology this one might be the hardest! I know I find myself checking my phone and texting while I am sitting in a restaurant with a friend. It’s hard to stay “present” when there are so many distractions. How many times do you catch yourself typing on the computer while someone is in your office or on the phone with you? How many times do you text or email when someone is the room with you? Or how many conversations with co-workers do you carry on while you have a customer who needs attention? Learn to be present.
This may seem like an unattainable, utopic place. Is it? What have you got to lose? Aim high and be the leader who establishes a workplace with smiles and laughter, playtime and clients and customers who want to return.
The book FISH! has really big print and is only a little over 100 pages. I fully recommend reading it to find examples and more insight about how work life can be fun and a positive experience. I know if I had to choose walking into an office full of toxic deadheads or an office with fun people who are laughing and smiling, I would pick the latter of the two. Would you?
