Center for Workplace Happiness

It’s the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, which means it’s Election Day in the United States. Did you ever wonder about how the whole “Tuesday after the first Monday” thing happened? Yes? Here you go…

In 1792, each state was allowed to set its own election Tuesday, so long as it happened between early November and the first Wednesday in December. The time frame was chosen because the harvest season had ended, and bad winter travel conditions hadn’t started yet. The day of the week was chosen to allow citizens to attend church on Sunday, travel to their polling place, which was usually their county seat, on Monday, vote on Tuesday and sell their produce and products at the Wednesday market.

When the telegraph was invented, tested, and rolled out as a way of instant communication across vast distances, Congress set a uniform election date so that word of who won which state wouldn’t sway elections in other states that hadn’t...

Prepare yourself – good things will happen to you today. Seriously – prepare yourself for the good things that will happen so you can enjoy them when they do. Some of those good things might be seeing a little child delight in skipping beside her mom, holding hands. Maybe it will be seeing two birds doing an air dance together. It could be as simple as how the light plays in the leaves. Or it could be a piece of serendipity that you rendezvous with. 

I met a woman as I was walking my dogs and she was walking hers. One of her dogs looked familiar, and when she told me where she adopted him from I remembered – he was an owner turn-in that I evaluated and groomed for the county animal control so he would be more appealing to someone looking for a fun, happy companion. To see the love on that woman’s face and how well-cared-for he was brought tears to my eyes.

Heck, it just did again!

Wonderful things like that – things you could never expect or...

Do you feel like you’re not strong enough? Like everyone else sails through their day untouched and the stumbling blocks litter your path? 

I remember feeling totally lost when I was downsized from a job. It was beyond sad – I felt like it was an indictment of my abilities, my talents and my very beingness. There were others downsized at the same time and it seemed to me that they were all handling it better than I was.

A dear friend reminded me that when a storm blows through, there are lots of survivors. Sure, a few trees break – most stand, as so most of the bushes and the grass.

You’re a living being, one unlike any other living being on this planet. When a storm blows through your life, remind yourself to appreciate your unique version of “strong.” You have handled everything life has thrown at you so far, and you’ll continue to handle everything. And the storms will give you confidence in your own strength, if you let them.

Want...

A million years ago I broke up with a guy. He wasn’t right for me, and even in my teenagerness, somehow I knew I deserved better. It was hard – I tried to be kind and he wasn’t receptive, so when I had said all I could say and turned to leave, he kicked me in the butt.

Seriously!

At the time it felt like it was about me – I must be a really terrible person if I made someone want to kick me as I was leaving. Have you ever questioned yourself like that?

I know now how ridiculous it was for me to feel responsible – maybe at some point in your life, someone has made you feel responsible for things that weren’t about you, too?

Walking away from what isn’t right for you can be hard, and it is absolutely the right thing for you to do. How others receive you is up to them, and how they react to you when you are taking steps to take care of yourself, will validate your decision to stand up for yourself.

Focus on that, chin up and move on.

Want...

Did you make a mistake yesterday? Welcome to the human race – we all do.

Maybe yours was a bigger-than-average mistake – how did you feel? Did the voice inside your head chime in with their opinion? And if you’re thinking, “I don’t have a voice inside my head,” that’s the voice inside your head saying that!

No one will talk to you as much in your life as that voice inside your head talks to you. Most of the time, we listen without questioning. I want you to question. When the voice inside your head says things to you that you would NEVER say to someone else, challenge that. Why are you allowing the voice inside your head to be rude, mean or even nasty to you?

When the voice inside your head starts that same old negativity, hold up your mental stop sign. Change the subject. Recite a poem. Sing a song. Do whatever it takes to put a sock in that voice inside your head so it can't keep undermining your happiness and success!

Stop allowing the...

Have you heard the old saying, “Silence is golden?” There’s sooooo much truth to that.

When someone says something that makes you feel defensive, be silent.
When someone is rude to you, be silent.
When someone is argumentative, be silent.

If it’s tough not to open your mouth, think now of something you can say, over and over inside your head, to keep you from reacting. I like to remind myself “it’s about them, not about me.”

When someone makes me feel defensive, it’s about them, not about me.
When someone is rude, it’s about them, not about me.
When someone is argumentative, it’s about them, not about me.

That’s true in your life, too. It’s about them, not about you. You don’t have to respond when people are disrespectful to you or of you. It’s about them, not about you. There is so much power in that knowledge!

Want more? Click here for a free audio course, "Happiness is an Inside Job"

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Do you believe that everyone you meet can teach you something? I love going through my day wondering who I’ll meet and what I’ll learn. Sure, it sounds nerdy and weird to some people – leaving myself open to learning from others means that I’m paying attention to the people around me.

I spent about an hour giving blood one day recently and the man who was vampiring my arm was so much fun to play with! He was retired Navy and the two of us ended up laughing so hard swapping stories that I thought we’d be thrown out. From Fleetwood, I learned about what it's like to live on a boat for months on end, how a fascination with Japan led to a lifelong love of Akitas, and where the best Japanese food is near my home. Yum!

When you pay attention to the people around you, sometimes it turns out great, and sometimes it reminds you how you don’t want to show up in the world. And when someone you care about exits your life, remind yourself that sometimes people...

Today is National Author’s Day, and it’s OK if you didn’t know that this holiday exists. It’s been around since the 1930’s and is a way to celebrate those people who use words to move, inspire and educate their readers. Every author has a different process for writing their books, from staring at a blank piece of paper until brilliance demands to be captured in words, to dictating stories and letting a ghost writer do the actual writing, and thousands of other processes in between. Today is a day for you to appreciate the people who’ve written the books that inspired, entertained and educated you.

Have you written a book? If so, I celebrate you today! If not, have you ever wondered what it’s like to finally do that thing you may have thought about doing and never quite got around to?  May I tell you the process I used to write my first book, The Original MBA so you might find the courage to begin?

My mom passed away when her...

Do you care about someone who seems to self-sabotage? Maybe they’re a co-worker or employee, or maybe they’re a family member or a friend.

You, as a caring person, want to help them. You, as a caring person, might help out in every way you can think of, only to see that person make the same poor choices, and it breaks your heart because you’re a caring person.

You might not want to hear this, and yet you need to hear it – the very best thing you can do for someone who’s making poor life choices is to set a great example. Give them a map to follow – your example – and point them towards resources they can choose to use to create their own better life.

You would probably be irritated if someone tried to change you, so don’t try to change anyone else. You can’t anyway. Love them, set a great example for them, show them resources that exist to help them and let them make their own way.

It’s their life to live as they...

There’s a lot of wisdom in some poems. Robert Browning included a very powerful line in his poem Ixion – “Out of the wreck, I rise.”

That declaration of invincibility could sound arrogant to some – I see it as a testament to resilience. When something not optimal happens, those words help me put it into perspective.

Do you have something you say to yourself to remind you that, no matter what’s going on you can handle it and all will be well? If not, maybe Robert Browning’s words will work for you, too – “Out of the wreck, I rise.”

Because you can and you will when you believe that you can.

Want more? Click here for a free audio course, "Happiness is an Inside Job"

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