Do You Love Your Work?
You’ll probably say, “Sometimes yes, sometimes no.” The stressful challenges you face take their toll. Few moments get the better of most successful professionals. They feel horrible and can suck the life out of you if you’re not “care full”.
What do I mean by care full? I mean conscious, intentional, resilient, and effective.
When difficulties arise and you switch to auto-pilot, you tighten up inside, cope, and get the job done. You set aside your well being to be productive and lose heart. These moments add up to a lot of stress.
As you continue under these circumstances, you become less effective in your work and lose resilience to face the next difficulty. Soon a few unexpected troublesome moments turn into an attitude that resembles nothing like loving your work.
It doesn’t have to be this way. If you are care full, you can learn to take care of yourself more effectively and handle difficulties with ease.
I suggest you begin with yourself. You get paid to care for people – your colleagues and your patients. But you don’t get paid for taking care of yourself. The big question is, “Do you give your own wellness your best effort on a regular basis?” An even tougher question: “Do you let your stress turn into self-destructive habits that are taking their toll?”
Statistics show most people face this dilemma sooner or later. Attempts to get yourself back on track often fall flat. You get a gym membership but don’t make the time for it. You buy the inspiring book but don’t follow the advice. You know the score.
So what’s the answer? The low road answer is that you will eventually burn yourself out and be forced to take better care of yourself. When you run out of gas, you’ll discover how easy changing your approach to work is.
The high road answer is to spend some energy in prevention and become more effective in resolving the stressful issues in your life. You begin by caring for yourself as your first and most important patient. You let your heart guide your selection of activities that energize you and help you love your work again. You’ll need to develop some new skills and discover the inspiration that ‘s there if you slow down for a moment and listen. Once you are strong enough for a fresh start, you can master a number of practical competencies to really bring your experience of work to a whole new level.
First you must truly care for yourself. Give yourself permission to proactively design and implement a plan that will nourish your vitality and well being. Remember what you love doing and make time for it. Listen to your heart for ideas that will reinvigorate your energy. From this foundation of personal strength, you can take on the world with enthusiasm once again. Go for it. You’re worth the effort.
By Paul Werder, CEO, LionHeart Consulting Inc.
LionHeart Consulting offers customized support to improve performance without compromising what really matters. They have published a Self Study Guide, called Mastering Effectiveness that contains practical tools that will transform your experience of work. For additional details or to purchase, click here.
