Don't Sweat the Small Stuff at Work (Part II)

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff at Work (Part II)

Whether we work for a giant corporation or in a two-person office, there's no question that work is stressful. All of us, no matter what our career or industry, must deal with some combination of unpleasant issues - unrealistic deadlines, bureaucracy, back-stabbing co-workers, demanding bosses, quotas, endless meetings and blizzards of memos. Add to that fierce competition, poor working conditions and long commutes, and you can see there's no way to avoid hassles.


Indeed, the question is nor whether you can eliminate stress, but rather how to handle it. You could expend an enormous amount of energy on being frustrated, angry or offended over relatively minor things, or you can find new ways to respond to the demands of work. Interestingly, when dealing with really serious work-related issues - for example, being fired or forced to relocate - most people display remarkable courage and resilience. It's the small stuff that drives us all crazy.

But if you can learn to treat the hassles with more wisdom, patience and humor, you'll transform tour work experience. You will bring out the best in yourself-as well as others. Instead of reacting to each issue with knee-jerk negativity, you'll learn to respond with grace. Even better, it will brighten your entire day.

Following are twenty-one key strategies that will make work a whole lot more fun.

ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT

Being happy doesn't mean losing your edge. Some people think a relaxed demeanor won't look good to co-workers, clients and employers - they'll assume you're not sufficiently motivated to go the extra mile or tough enough to survive in a competitive environment. The truth is, happy people's enthusiasm spurs them to better performance. Unhappy people, on the other hand, are often held back by their own negativity. Often defensive and rigid, they aren't good team players. So dare to be happy - your work will take on greater significance.

Don't be a drama queen. Talking about how incredibly busy you are, how hard you work, how little you sleep and the fact that you don't have a personal life focuses your attention on the most troublesome aspects of your work. Work can be hard, but boasting about it simply reinforces your stress and becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. It also makes you a great bore.

Cultivate intuition. No one questions the value of analytical thinking, but there's another type of intelligence that is every bit as important. It works only when you quiet your mind - when you stop sorting and calculating and comparing, and allow the answer to come to you. Your intuition is a powerful tool. Learn to trust it.

Think of stress and frustration as distractions to your success. Some people assume that stress and success are linked in some essential way. In fact, unchecked stress interferes with clear thinking, inhibits intuition and creativity, saps your energy and robs you of your sense of humor. Far from helping you keep your edge, it actually gives the advantage to your competitors. While it's true that some degree of stress is inescapable, if you see it as a positive or necessary factor, you'll just end up creating more.

GO WITH THE FLOW

Bureaucracy exists-deal with it. Everyone who works for a living encounters rules and regulations that seem to defy logic and common sense. You can waste a great deal of time complaining and fighting it, without ever changing anything. But keeping your composure and your sense of humor will ease your way through a frustrating situation. Getting angry will only bring out the worst in a bureaucrat, encouraging him to turn to the rule book instead of finding a real solution.

Mama said there'd be days like this. There are times when to give a hundred percent, but the universe seems to conspire in making everything go wrong. Factor into your plans the occasional day from hell, and don't take yourself too seriously. The world won't stop spinning because you had a bad day.

Pick your battles. One of our major stressors is a tendency to cling to arguments we have no chance of winning. Obviously, if the stakes are high - involving your integrity or a serious amount of money - a fight is worth the trouble. But learn to let go of the little battles. Their outcome is practically irrelevant - we fight them out of habit or stubbornness.

Don't get stressed by the predictable. In most industries, there are certain standard problems. You must learn to factor them into your awareness and plan your life to accommodate them. If you're a flight attendant, you know planes will occasionally be delayed; if you're an accountant, you know there will be overtime in March and April.

Ask for what you want, but don't insist on getting it. It's important to speak up, but realize that there are no guarantees. Think of the asking itself as an accomplishment, but don't get too attached to the outcome. The key to detachment is to see that being turned down often has very little to do with you're personality. The client may love your product, but it's not in his budget. Your boss may think you're a terrific worker, but she can't give you a better office because it's been promised to someone with seniority. It's great to ask-but be gracious if you don't get what you want.