Achievement: What Does Smiling Have to Do With It?

I don't know about you, but I'm not a fan of grocery shopping. I am however, an expert at reading environments and advising my clients how to make their work spaces more productive, inviting, empowering and profitable. That's why a local grocery store captured my attention. I always feel good in there. An early morning shopping trip is an uplifting experience. It sets me off on the right foot and keeps me positive all day. What is it that always makes me go back to this store? Everyone who works there is friendly and willingly gives away a smile. 

Do you want to feel less stress, be happier, enjoy work more, attract more clients, business, job opportunities, friends? Give a simple smile a try. Here are some reasons why smiling is so good for us:

Have you ever noticed how impossible it is not to smile back at someone?Try an experiment and see how many smiles you can give away today and notice the impact on you. Leave me a comment and let me know how your experiment worked!

Linda Hardenstein, MPA, PCC, is your personal achievement coach, helping you create peak performance environments and find new directions in your career and life to boost your power to achieve.

Five Easy Steps for Getting Your Career Back on Track

Are you feeling stressed, burned out, or like you're going nowhere in your career? If you find yourself constantly complaining about your job to family, friends and co-workers, it may be time to set a new career direction. Here's five easy steps for getting your career back on track:

1. Review these 11 Signs Your Career Has Stalled and check off the ones that are relevant to you.
   
2. Identify your options. It's easy to feel stuck or to have blinders on when it comes to being able to see beyond your current situation. As a career coach one thing I do is help my clients see opportunities they may not have noticed before. If career coaching isn't for you, try brainstorming with a trusted friend or family member to create a list of your career options and what you'd like to accomplish in your career.
   
3. Make a plan. What are the benefits you want from all of the hard work, hours and energy you put in every day? Maybe you'd like to learn something new, interact more with people, become more well-known, or get a promotion. Maybe you want a paycheck to pay for the bills and a lifestyle where you have more time with your family.  Once you're clear on what you want, make a plan so it is more likely to happen.
   
4. Make it real. Identify your next steps.  Do you need additional skills or training? How will you let others know about your goal? What support systems do you need to accomplish your career goal?
   
5. Take action!

A well-thought out and executed career plan can help you alleviate stress and burn out by providing clarity and focus so you know what you're doing and why. It can provide the positive direction that ultimately leads to more satisfaction in your work and life.  

Linda Hardenstein, MPA, PCC helps you find new directions in your career by identifying the kind of work you'll love and helping you achieve successful career or retirement transitions. Find out more at her website and feel free to send her your career questions.

Stressed Out? Five Quick Tips to Help You Chill

It's summer and the living should be easy - right? These days almost everyone is stressed about something -- jobs, money, the economy, health, etc. It takes conscious effort to stay in a peaceful state of mind in today's world.  Here are five tips you can try for chilling out:

1. In her book "99 Things you Wish You Knew Before Stressing Out" Lauren Miller says we begin to stress out when we're feeling unsafe, "I might fail; I might be fired; I might be unseen, unheard, overlooked." She suggests one way to disconnect from insecurity is to connect to what you value most in life. What do you value most in your life? Make a list of your values. Is the way you're living in alignment with your values? If not, this could be one source of stress. 
2. There's nothing like going for a walk and breathing in nature to de-stress one's mind and and ease one's soul.
3. Do you know what your rejuvenator is? Your rejuvenator is something you do that is totally different from who you really are, or who you think you should be in the world. It helps you stay balanced. For example, if you're a straight-laced, suit-wearing professional like an attorney, your rejuvenator might be riding your Harley. If you're someone who works with people all week, like a Realtor or a retail sales clerk, your rejuvenator might be chilling out, reading a book at home alone. Explore what activities rejuvenate you and recognize that "being a slug" could be a good thing -- a necessary component for getting rid of some stress and having a balanced life.
4. If you've participated in my Overwhelm Busters® classes you know about the research that shows our brains can hold only so much information. Taking a break is a great way to de-stress and improve productivity. Getting away from your desk, your project, whatever is consuming you and allowing your mind to "float" may actually give your brain the space it needs to come up with the brilliant or creative solution you've been looking for. 
5. Clearing the clutter from your desk or your room can help you create a less stressful environment. Our environment reflects back to us where we are in our lives. If your environment is out of control it can make you feel that way too. If you're feeling overwhelmed a quick remedy can be stopping and cleaning up your desk. Gaining control of your environment can give you a greater sense of control over your work day and that should alleviate some stress!

I'd love to hear what you think of these tips and what has helped you de-stress at work or in life. Leave me a comment!

To find out more about conquering overwhelm and stress at work, Linda provides personalized strategies for your unique situation. Contact her for a complimentary consultation or check out her Stress Reduction Session Special Offer. 

Overwhelmed at Work? Up Your Energy

If you're like most of us, you're overwhelmed with work on a daily basis. What's the secret to being able to effectively manage all you have to do with all you have on your plate? There are many tips for conquering overwhelm that I share with my clients, but one key element for success is to manage how you generate and expend your energy. This recent article on The Human Energy Crisis provides some rituals you can use for having the energy needed to get any overwhelming workload under control.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think is more effective to manage your energy or to manage your time?

To learn about developing your personal plan for getting and staying out of overwhelm at work contact Linda. 

Are you Finding a Job or Building a Career?

“What Career Seekers Need to Know” a teleseminar this week brought up some enlightening points about finding the work that is right for you. (Contact me if you’d like a recording of it.) It brought to mind a conversation with Tom, a parent seeking advice about how his son, a college graduate, could find a job that he loves. I asked him a critical question – does he want to find a job OR to find a career?

Tom was surprised by the question and hadn't really thought about there being a difference. He confessed that he didn’t receive much guidance about his own career. Well-meaning adults said things like, “you should do this” or “hey, there’s a job over here and you’d be good at it.” So he’s wandered his whole life down a career path built for him by others.

UC San Diego produced its "Best Jobs ..." report for this year. That’s one way to find a career. But if you want work that keeps you motivated to get up in the morning so you're loving what you do, feeling a sense of happiness, purpose, well-being and contribution, there’s usually more to it than just finding a job.
   
Whether you’re a college graduate or a seasoned professional the difference between a job or a career is like taking a different fork in the road. Building a career you'll love takes exploration and effort.  Finding a job can also take exploration and effort but it can lead you to a lifetime of work that isn't as rewarding. 

If you really want a rewarding career choose your path wisely. With the help of a career coach you can find the kind of work that suits who you are and the jobs that will take you in the career direction you want.

Find out more about the career transition services that will help you find work that you'll love at Linda's website.

What are your thoughts about a job v. a career? Leave your comment below.