Happiness At Work During The Holiday Season 

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HAPPINESS AT WORK DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASON
by Doris Helge, Ph.D. © 2008

You deserve happiness at work, especially during the holiday season. Enjoy proven ways to reduce stress and create joy on the job.

BLAST MYTHS THAT CREATE HOLIDAY STRESS

Myth #1:  People are so stressed and depressed during the holiday season that the suicide rate rises.

Truth: The rate of suicide drops during the holidays because happiness is related to feeling connected to other people. Most of us attend more social gatherings during the holidays than any other time of year.

Myth #2: You have to be superhuman to get your usual job tasks done and attack an endless holiday to-do list.

Truth: Most of us unconsciously feed each other’s anxiety like gasoline fuels a fire.

SHIELD YOURSELF FROM NEGATIVITY AT WORK

Identify and say “No thank you” to sources of negativity that have nothing to do with you.

Notice frantic thoughts and emotions. Are they yours? When did they emerge? How were you feeling before you began to feel uneasy?

We constantly create our reality with our thoughts and feelings. Imagination and emotion are generally more powerful than logic or “reality.”  Your thoughts have oomph.

Focus on what you want, not on what you don’t want. Because of the way humans are hardwired, focusing on your preferred outcome can trigger happiness at work.

REV UP YOUR INNATE ABILITY TO CREATE JOY ON THE JOB

Positive anticipation is like a magic potion that creates happy feelings. The mere thought of achieving a goal makes feel-good chemicals flow through your body. Prove this to yourself.

1. Notice how you feel when you plan a fun event. When you anticipate something you’ll enjoy, you activate your brain’s pleasure centers. Joy on the job can emerge before a reward materializes.

2. Close your eyes. Observe your emotions when you imagine completing a report and turning it in.

Purposely give yourself something to look forward to so you can enjoy more happiness at work.

Imagine what it would be like to enjoy your preferred outcome. Savor that sweet sensation for at least 15 seconds. You have begun to create a positive neural network in your brain that will expand over time.

Construct a new preferred highway of associative networks in your brain. An action such as touching your thumbs to your index fingers while feeling pleasurable emotions will stimulate your brain to create an automatic response you can recall at will. Repeat this anchoring process until your new highway is strong and stable. It will keep you on track as you work toward your goal. Your rewards will be amazing as long as you also take action to achieve your goals.

Positive thinking, even when combined with the power of pleasurable feelings, will merely keep you out of the doldrums unless it is coupled with focused action.

Acknowledge, without resistance, any negative emotions that emerge.

PUT HOLIDAY STRESS AT WORK TO REST

Withdraw from the fray when other people unconsciously prod each other to fret about the future. Identify sources of negativity. Don’t take on emotions and concerns that aren’t yours.

Focus on your preferred outcome. Use proven neurolinguistic programming (NLP) techniques and positive anticipation to guide you toward joy on the job all year.  In this article, we explored one tried-and-true NLP technique. To discover many more, grab a copy of the book, "Joy on the Job" and sign up for coaching with "The Joy Coach."

Visit http://www.FreeJoyOnTheJobEbooks.com now and GET YOUR FREE EBOOKS: "Secrets of Happiness at Work," "Employee Engagement Made Easy," and "Get the Respect & Appreciation You Deserve Now." Doris Helge, Ph.D., is "The Joy Coach," and she is 100% dedicated to your happiness and success. She is also a corporate trainer for companies as large as Microsoft.

© 2008 This article was excerpted with permission from "Joy on the Job" by Doris Helge, Ph.D. Permission to reprint this article is granted if the article is in tact, with proper credit given. All reprints must state, "Reprinted with permission by Doris Helge, Ph.D. Originally published in "Joy on the Job," http://MoreJoyOnTheJob.com  © 2008.