Work should make you smile, even when it's stressful

If not, why are you still there?

I'm a big believer that you chose your job for a reason.

So while it might be stressful sometimes, if it never makes you smile, something's gotta change 🤷‍♀️

Lately, in my job as a university lecturer, I've been doing the job of 3 people, on my own.

A colleague asked if I could "just send a quick summary of the meeting?" and I wanted to cry.

Photo by Daniel Herron on Unsplash

Mindfulness or no mindfulness, there haven't been enough hours in the day.

It's been tough, no doubt about that.

But despite that, half the days I've driven home with a massive smile on my face dancing to the radio 💃

I love reflecting on this kind of thing and asking myself "what helps?"

Why do I enjoy it some days and not others?

Is it something I do?

Or is it simply the amount of work I have to do each day?

Honesty, I think it's a bit of both.

So while the things I do to help, won't help every day, they certainly make a difference over time.

And they mean even when I've had a hard day, I can let go and still enjoy a good laugh with husband when I get home.

So here's what I do, when work feels tough, to try and help me find a little bit of joy

• I don't assume it'll be stressful. That makes it a self-fulfilling prophecy.

• But equally, I don't assume it'll be great either.

Is there anything worse than a voice going "be happy, everything's fine!", when you're so busy you don't have time to go to the loo?!

• When I get a challenging email outlining all the flaws in a new system, and asking what I'm going to do about it, I get myself in a good headspace before replying.

• ....and then when I've finished the reply I mentally clear it out so I'm ready to start a new task without it hanging over me.

• I pause to appreciate the colleague who makes me a coffee, the "thank you that was super helpful" from a student and the cute little office dog that sits on lap.

• I start every day anew, even if the day before was a figurative car-crash.

And I've noticed, the days I do these things, I'm much more likely to be dancing to Macklemore on the drive home, rather than decompressing to Brooklyn Duo.

If you read that and think "makes sense in principle, but how do I ‘mentally clear out a task so I can start anew?!’" that is totally how I felt when I was new to mindfulness.

Which is actually why I'm so good at breaking it down for other people 👏

If you want to hear how I do this in real life and have strategies to start using straight away, it's what we covered last month in MOMENTUM.

Four 10-15 minute episodes on "enjoying work even when it's stressful".

See what we covered in more detail here.

You can upgrade here ⬇️

Whether you sign up or not, I'd love it you take a minute to answer these questions in the comments.

1. What's your biggest lesson from reading this?

2. What will you differently as a result?

Why? It'll help you solidify anything new and make you more likely to make a change.

It's what we do in MOMENTUM and the members love it 🥰

That's it for today folks.

I hope you're having a wonderful Sunday and I look forward to reading your comments soon xx

Ps. Prefer to learn in person?

I'll be running a workshop on “enjoying life even when it's stressful” at my Mindful Living Retreat in 2 weeks 🥳

If you're in need of a weekend to switch off and relax, why not come and learn how to then carry that feeling with you?