Love the Work You're With

Next: Getting the most out of your current job Six Keys to Getting the Most Out of Your Current Job As described below, these six ways of being can be of immeasurable benefit in helping you overcome negative patterns and allowing your spirit to soar at work. They are: 1.Follow Your Passion: There is an old saying that "if you do what you love, you'll never work a day on your life." The ideal job consists of four factors. Imagine them as overlapping circles. They are: what you do well; what you can get paid to do; what will enable you to grow and learn; what you love doing. The extent that these circles overlap is the extent that you have found your ideal job. The problem is that many people trade off passion for money. They scratch and struggle to climb the corporate ladder only to find at the end of their careers that it was leaning against the wrong house. Always start with passion. 2.Be Home: When we think of home usually a building or the place we grew up comes to mind. The use of the word "home" in the context of respiriting work, however, means the home within you. During a crisis it is that grounded and centered place within you that you hope to access when you count to ten and admonish yourself to "be cool" or "chill out." Three things you can do to find this quiet inner place are to: learn how to find your center; be present in the moment; let go of your compulsive attachment to achieving an outcome which actually blocks the natural performer who you are. 3.Create Your Own Reality: William James, the noted psychologist said, "The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude." A powerful way to prove this is to learn to transform adversity into advantage. Without doubt whatever path you choose there will be unforeseen obstacles along the way. These drop into our lives as unwanted and unexpected disruptions that knock us off our track and can create great anguish. No one goes through business life without these setbacks and while you have absolutely no control over when they strike, what you can control is how you react to them. It is said that no problem presents itself without a gift in its hand. When an unwanted crisis comes barging into your life let whatever emotions come with it be expressed and then move on and find the gift. 4.Get Out of Your Own Way: "We have met the enemy and he is us." --Pogo.All too often we actually block ourselves from that which we wish to attain. As Pogo so accurately reflects, we become our own worst enemy. And the insidious thing is that often we don't even realize we're doing it. Ask two or three trusted friends where they see you stopping yourself and listen carefully to their answers without being defensive. And when you make a mistake, have compassion for yourself. Learn to silence that raging inner critic. One of the best methods for doing this I learned from author, speaker, and golfer Ken Blanchard. After missing a makeable putt rather than letting his inner critic run wild he says to himself quietly, "Oh, I missed that putt. How unlike me." 5. Declare Your Interdependence: If you are the CEO of Me Inc., who is on your board of directors? In spite of the fact that we have a nation that was spawned by the "rugged individual" there is no reason why we have to apply this idea to our own business lives. Look for people who can help you and ask them to be on your personal board of directors. Some useful board archetypes to consider are: The Strategist; The Problem Solver; The Butt kicker; The Cheerleader; and Yoda. 6. Be Yourself: Sherry Lansing, former CEO of Paramount Pictures, says, "The single most important thing you can do in business is to be yourself." And one way to do this is to speak your truth. When you can express your ideas and beliefs freely you are more engaged and don't have to carry around unexpressed opinions which sooner or later can leak out in inappropriate ways. One key here is to express your opinion as just that and not as an absolute truth. Watch out for words like "always" and "never" and preface your offering with phrases like, "It seems to me," "In my opinion," or " What's true for me is...."

There are few of us who have the perfect job. But for most of us there is more available in our current work situations that we are using. Consider the Six Ways of Being and how they might help you come to "Love the Work You're With." Save money on time-saving products: Receive up to $8 in coupons for Scrubbing Bubbles products. Richard Whitely is an entrepeneur, consultant, speaker and award-winning author of four books. This piece was adapted from Love the Work You're With (Henry Holt and Co. 2001). For more information, visit www.whiteleygroup.com.