Center for Workplace Happiness

Thanksgiving is nine days away, and in related news, it’s Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day. Was it started by a refrigerator company? Maybe – Whirlpool did some marketing about it in the 1990’s. When it started going mainstream, the 15^th of November is the date that was attached to it, so today it is! Perfect timing, since Thanksgiving, with its overload of leftovers screaming for space in the icebox, is only nine days away.

It’s easy to forget what’s in the fridge, so having a day that reminds you to root around in there and throw out things that might kill you is a good thing. It can also be easy to forget cleaning out other aspects of your life – aspects that seem benign and can actually be harmful to your mental as well as physical wellbeing. For example, I was recently shocked to discover that people who tailgate make me angry.

OK, so the tailgaiting thing wasn’t a discovery – what was the discovery was that the anger was...

Are there people who just suck the life out of you? They need more from you than you have to give, or they don’t value the time the constantly want from you?

Time to set a boundary with those people.

Because every situation is unique, every boundary is unique. Get creative on how you can only give this person the resources – and yes, your time is a resource! – that you want to give them. If they call or text you multiple times through the day, set up a quick response you can send – maybe something like “I’ll get back to you later today.” Keep it bland and impersonal and use it every time an unwanted intrusion arrives. I once worked for a man that seemed to have terrible tummy troubles - every time he was interrupted by anyone while he was busy, he proclaimed a hygiene emergency and dashed down the hall. OK, that might be a bit extreme, but hey, whatever it takes!

At first you may feel guilty, and the person may very well get mad. If they do,...

Do you feel stuck right now?

Maybe there’s something you want to do and you can’t see a way to do it? It’s easy to ruminate on the “how” instead of imagine the “why.”

When you find yourself feeling stressed out about how you’re going to accomplish something, stop. Think about why that thing needs to be done and why you are the one who should do it. Once you’ve sorted those two avenues out, if you think it still needs to be done and you are the one to do it, then imagine how you’ll feel once it’s done.

Will you be proud? Brave? Smart?

Savor the feeling and go over in your mind what is changed and improved now that the thing is done. As you imagine the accomplishment, complete with the good feelings that go with it, the way to do it may pop into your mind because you’ve opened yourself to possibilities.

There – not stuck anymore!

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

Do you know your purpose in life?

We’re raised to be goal-oriented and success-oriented and driven to achieve, and yet that has nothing to do with our purpose.

Our purpose is to help and to love.

Our purpose is to smile at a stranger, carry grocery bags for someone on crutches, save a stray dog, listen deeply to a friend in pain. Our purpose is to love and to soothe and to lend a hand to someone who needs what we have to give in the moment. Our purpose isn’t one big accomplishment – it’s the hundreds of small accomplishments we hand out daily without even thinking about them or remembering we did them.

You fulfill your purpose in life in tiny ways every day. Starting today, notice all the ways you fulfill your purpose. And if you want to over-achieve, look for more tiny ways to fulfill your purpose. The good you do touches the world and changes the world in ways you'll never know. And you don't need to know...just keep on helping and loving and fulfilling...

Do you know someone who harms themselves? Maybe a friend or co-worker has an eating disorder or cuts themselves or cuts themselves down all the time.

People who do harm to themselves are in need of professional help, and you can help them get it. When your friend or co-worker expresses their problem – the anorexic skips lunch and has black coffee when you go out to lunch, or the cutter accidently flashes their scars, or the person who’s always down on themselves starts talking about how worthless they are, one phrase can sweetly get their attention: “I wish you loved yourself as much as I love you.”

If the word love feels too strong for you, substitute “cared about” instead. It won’t cure their problem, and it could open an opportunity for a direct, deep conversation. Keep it in the caring space, not the condemning space. Listen more, talk less, and  when they see that someone cares, it may make them get help.

Want more? Click here...

Are you a confident person? Just what is confidence, anyway?

Confidence is a feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something, according to Merriam-Webster. Confidence tends to grow with age, because we gain more perspective about whether we can do something well and about whether it’s even ours to fix or not!

When you trust your ability to learn new things, you gain confidence. When you practice something, you gain confidence. Being confident doesn’t mean walking around with your chest stuck out, feeling better than others. Being confident means you are the quiet master of your day, no matter what it throws at you.

So, the question is, are you a confident person? If so, yay. If not, now you know the pathway to becoming more confident.

Want more? Click here for a free audio course, "Happiness is an Inside Job"
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Have you ever heard the phrase “it takes two to tango?” Well, it takes two to argue, as well.

When you find yourself having to deal with an angry client, give them plenty of time to vent. Let them pour out their irritation until they have nothing else to say. When they’re quiet, maybe even take a breath before you start to reply. Then speak in a quiet, even, as-gentle-as-you-can-manage tone of voice.

Even if they’re the biggest south end of a northbound mule, respond the way YOU want to behave, not the way they want or expect you to behave.

It takes two people to argue – when you chose not to be one of them, then an argument can’t happen.

Want more? Click here for a free audio course, "Happiness is an Inside Job"
#veterinarian #vettech #notonemorevet #petindustry #wellbeing #success #leadership #lawofattraction

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.

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