Category: Uncategorized

I didn’t win the lottery!

Today the lottery is up to $375 million. Most of the time I don’t buy a ticket but almost every time I see the latest jackpot I think about what I would do with the money…travel, donate to charity, buy some shoes. But one thing I don’t think about is quitting work. Even if the money started flowing in and there was plenty of it.

I know I may be in the minority, but here’s why I’d keep working if I won. Work allows me to live out my life’s purpose which, for me, is basically to leave this world better than when I arrived. Work allows me to serve individuals around me as well as contribute to solutions for large, complex problems. Work also allows me to be part of a community of people who help each other, build relationships, and have fun.

Those are some of my larger reasons for working. What are yours? I believe all of us are capable of living out our life’s purpose through work, no matter what kind of work we do! All types of work are necessary to make an organization be successful and all who work are part of a community of other people. There are so many opportunities to share your gifts and talents!

Work also is a place where I am able to be better than when I first arrived. Recently, I went through a challenging period in my life (more on this in a future blog). While I relied on faith, family, and the usual healthy coping strategies, I was surprised to find great solace and strength in my work world. One explanation for this comes from a recent read: The Book of Joy, by the Dalai Lama, Bishop Desmond Tutu, and Douglas Abrams. What I learned from these wise teachers is that joy is not about escaping chaos, but rather learning to experience it during strife and chaos by providing service and being grateful. Certainly, work served as a distraction for me during this time. But more so, it helped me to learn how to experience joy in the chaos by serving others and looking for gratitude daily.

While most of us will never win big with lottery, it is my hope we can all see how we can “win big” at work. Work is where we spend the majority of our time, so what are we doing there? Passing time or passing along joy and encouragement, service and solutions? Collecting a pay check or gaining knowledge, personal growth, and meaningful relationships? Waiting for the weekend or looking forward to leaving the world better?

So now, I ask you, what would you do if you won the lottery?

I’ve been seeing a lot of eggs lately – and it reminds me of a great way to achieve work-life balance and the resultant energy, productivity, and enrichment: compartmentalize.

An egg carton is a great visual to help promote work-life balance, which can be quite a challenge amid our electronically connected lives. Think of life as the egg carton, each cup representing different aspects of your life: work, family, hobbies, friends, faith, health, home, etc. Your mind is the like the egg. For example, when I put my egg in the “work” cup, I aim to be focused on work.

Sometimes, and quite naturally, my mind wanders into another compartment – “Oh, I need more laundry detergent!” And just then, the egg “broke” a little. If it happens too often throughout the day it could make a real mess out of the whole carton. The end result may leave one feeling exhausted or less-than productive.

Most often, I do well to compartmentalize work tasks at work. But on the weekend or days off? My egg can so easily break and leak into the work compartment. I may have a new idea or solution to a problem, which is great! Or, I might just be mentally reviewing my task list, which can distract me from fully enjoying the other important cups of life. If the latter happens too often, it can leave me feeling distant from loved ones or like I “need more weekend”.

Keeping your eggs contained in the cups helps maintain energy, productivity, and a sense of living a full and balanced life. How can you keep your egg carton neat? Compartmentalize! Here are some examples of how:

1. Decide to focus on being in whatever compartment you are in at the moment, or period of the day. Use all of your senses to appreciate the experience.

2. Accept that thoughts and ideas for other compartments will naturally occur – and be grateful for them! This is how many problems can be solved creatively.

3. Create a task list for each compartment to capture those great ideas.

4. Don’t spend your energy on worries or other similarly unsolvable thoughts that leak into your present compartment. Tell yourself you’ll deal with it when your egg is in the right cup.

5. Have a transition plan to go from one compartment to the next. It’s natural, for example, to review the work day after you leave. But to keep it from leaking over into family time, decide that you will stop after you pass a certain stop sign on your commute home or when you enter the driveway. Likewise, when you arrive at work, consider the action of shutting your car door as leaving the home compartment “at home” before entering the work one.

6. Be sure that each important area of your life has a compartment and gets the attention it needs.

Are you looking for more energy, productivity, and enrichment found in optimal work-life balance? Try using this egg carton visual to compartmentalize your thoughts, attention, and senses. And let me know how it works!

Today’s fog was unexpected and thick-the kind that hardly allows you to see much in front of you. It was unnerving to not be able to see the stop light until I was nearly upon it. It was then that I realized perhaps I should stop straining to see the intersection ahead and focus more on what was right in front of me…in the fog and in life.

I’m a planner. It comes naturally and easily and provides a sort of safe feeling. So my mind moves quickly from the present to the future-whether I’m wondering what the weather will be next weekend or pondering my tasks for the day on my drive into work.

I am a long-time proponent of mindfulness but honestly, I have been struggling with how to put it into action. Today, I think I found it in the fog. What if I just trust my plans and put them into action when the time is ready.? Then focus on what’s in front of me the rest of the time. Really notice and appreciate those moments and quite possibly, learn from them. This is my plan.

How about you? How are you focused in the fog? Leave a reply below.

I am deciding that Monday is my new favorite day. Deciding, as opposed to having already decided, to signify that this will be an ongoing decision throughout the day.

I have long believed that Monday, or whatever day starts your work week, should be as joy filled as Friday. But truth be told, this is not always the case for me. So today I am deciding, however frequently I need to throughout the day, that Monday is my new favorite day.

Why? Because I believe seeing joy in the traditionally bleakest day of the week will help me see it every day. Because a joy-filled day helps us all be energized and wildly successful. And because somewhere along the line I hope to make someone else’s day better.

How am I going to make Monday my favorite day? Every hour I will take a moment to recognize how I, or someone I encountered, brought joy to the workplace. Especially if it happened during a conflict or problem. And to help me remember these moments, I’ll make a short note of it.

How about you? How will you be deciding to make Monday your new favorite day?

Please share your joy – click on the title and leave a comment!

Welcome to mine, Joyfilledworld, where my goal is for all to experience joy, especially joy at work!

What does it mean to have joy at work? It means to feel the same joy on Monday that we celebrate on Friday, or whatever day ends your work week.

It means to

• move from surviving to thriving
• replace stress with renewed energy
• be fearless and contagious in our pursuit of joy

I hope you will join me in finding, and creating, a Joy Filled World

I look forward to our journey!