I get it – work can be a drag sometime. Hell, even sitting down to write articles (like this one) can be a drag – despite doing something that you’re truly passionate about, rather than just putting together an Excel spreadsheet that no-one really wants or cares about! (I used to do that too – although they were really colourful!)
But…
If you want to feel happy at work doing what you don’t want to do, or you want to be happy in general, then you must understand what creates your mood.
I’ve adapted what Tony Robbins’ calls The Emotional Triad – Language, Physiology and Focus – (although I’m not sure it’s his originally!) to the following:
A3 Framework
Your mood (or state) rests on three things really.
- What you pay attention to
- The meaning that you assign it
- How you move your body – the actions you take
For example. Right now it’s raining in London. And I’m getting my front path done. The builders can’t work in the rain. I can’t go and cycle to the library in the rain. And so I could pay attention to the fact that my path will be delayed, I’m going to have to stay in and work and so on. And the meaning I assign is that the rain is a bad thing, my work is getting delayed, I’ll not be able to get out the house.
Or, I could put my attention elsewhere. I’m rubbish at watering my plants! And I got another delivered yesterday and I needed to go out and water it. Now I don’t. I’m happy! I’m paying attention to something else. I’m assigning a great meaning now to the rain.
How does action fit in. Imagine you are feeling down. Well – just that expression says it all. Chances are that you are hunched over, looking down, breathing poorly etc. If you force your physical actions to change – like looking up, standing strong, moving around – it will (quite literally) change your biochemistry and physiology. (Just look up Amy Cuddy’s TED talk on how your posture can affect your body chemistry for more on that).
So you can change how you feel in that moment by moving your body, and shifting your attention and what meaning you assign what you pay attention to.
Simple, right?
I’ve used this so many times, I can’t tell you. When I am feeling bad or lonely or whatever, I simply ask myself – “where is my attention right now?”, “what meaning am I assigning to it?”, “how is my body, what actions can I take?”
It’s like the old adage goes: “I don’t sing because I’m happy, I’m happy because I sing”!
Learn a bit more…check out the video below and remember to share and comment on your experience with this article. I love hearing from you.
