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Build your resilience for better work/life balance
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Build your resilience for better work/life balance
The steps to achieving a better work/life balance can be as simple as finding a new, fun way to perform a task that you dread, says sales expert Kirsty Spraggon.
The sales environment is typically an incredibly competitive one where people have a tendency to beat up on themselves constantly, says Spraggon, the author of Work As If You Own It.
"They think, `Even if I`m ahead of the game today it doesn`t mean I can relax. What about the worry of falling behind next week, next month or next quarter?`"
It`s easy to lose perspective this way and become a sales workaholic, she says. "In fact, so many people work long hours and suffer from stress-related illness that it starts to feel normal. People who stray down this path can be in danger of losing their family and friends because they end up prioritising work over everything and everyone else in their life."
The answer, she says, is to "recharge yourself" and work on creating a balanced life. A lot of people wrongly believe that they have to choose between a successful career or a happy, well-balanced life, but "it is not only absolutely possible to have both, it`s crazy to accept life any other way."
Resilient people achieve more balance
Emotional resilience is a person`s ability to adapt to stressful situations and move through them, time and time again, Spraggon says.
"Emotionally resilient people adapt more quickly than the average person and are not afraid to confidently just move on from potential disasters. `Next` is the battle cry you hear from them as they go."
Resilient people are generally:
highly emotionally aware (they know how they feel and why);
known to persevere against all odds (trusting the process to unfold just as it should and never, never, never giving up);
in possession of sound internal control (they understand that it is they who control their life and tend to go within (not without) for wisdom and answers;
optimistic (always living in the positivity of any given situation);
very supportive (they understand the need for a strong support network in the form of close family and friends); and
in possession of a healthy perspective (they learn from their mistakes and see these not as failures but as a valuable part of the learning process).
Draw on your inner strength
Spraggon says you can strengthen your resilience using techniques such as:
cultivating the right attitude;
viewing life`s difficulties as opportunities to rise to the challenges;
resisting the temptation to fear obstacles or label them as "negative";
employing regular positive self talk;
becoming emotionally self-aware and optimistic;
understanding that you are in total control of your life and, in Henry Ford`s words, "whether I believe I can or I believe I can`t, I am right";
not being too proud to draw on a support network (on the understanding that sometimes even just talking through an issue can take the weight off your shoulders).
Learn to recognise the times when your resilience is weakening, she advises - often it`s when you begin stressing over the small stuff.
"This is when I know it`s time to take action, actively look after myself and fortify my emotional resilience."
Nurture yourself
When you run your own business, or desk, there`s often nobody to tell you when to prioritise taking care of yourself ahead of anyone or anything else, Spraggon points out.
"The crucial thing to grasp here is this: if you don`t do it, no-one else will - and suddenly you can find yourself burnt out and exhausted... so exhausted in fact, that you can`t carry on and may even begin to let people down."
It can help to put structure and procedures in place around nurturing yourself, Spraggon says, "or else you`ll get carried away with `busy-ness` and it just won`t happen".
She recommends booking "nurturing appointments"- such as massages, personal training sessions, catching up with friends or even nights in to watch a movie - well in advance and diarising them just as if they are important client meetings.
Prioritising these appointments and diarising them in advance prevents your work schedule filling up and preventing you getting the time back, she says.
Change something
If it feels "too late" and "like you are drowning in activity already", change something, Spraggon says.
She suggests:
talking to your colleagues to find out what`s working for them;
taking a day off to clear your head; or
cleaning out your office/workspace and brightening it up.
"Make your office a bright, light, fresh, clear space to work; in other words, make it a joy to get up and walk into it first thing in the morning."
Remember to have fun
"There are always tasks that are essential but not necessarily enjoyable." Spraggon notes, "so why not look at creative ways to turn the mundane into something interesting?"
Source:
http://www.recruiterdaily.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&stream=3&selkey=39
The sales environment is typically an incredibly competitive one where people have a tendency to beat up on themselves constantly, says Spraggon, the author of Work As If You Own It.
"They think, `Even if I`m ahead of the game today it doesn`t mean I can relax. What about the worry of falling behind next week, next month or next quarter?`"
It`s easy to lose perspective this way and become a sales workaholic, she says. "In fact, so many people work long hours and suffer from stress-related illness that it starts to feel normal. People who stray down this path can be in danger of losing their family and friends because they end up prioritising work over everything and everyone else in their life."
The answer, she says, is to "recharge yourself" and work on creating a balanced life. A lot of people wrongly believe that they have to choose between a successful career or a happy, well-balanced life, but "it is not only absolutely possible to have both, it`s crazy to accept life any other way."
Resilient people achieve more balance
Emotional resilience is a person`s ability to adapt to stressful situations and move through them, time and time again, Spraggon says.
"Emotionally resilient people adapt more quickly than the average person and are not afraid to confidently just move on from potential disasters. `Next` is the battle cry you hear from them as they go."
Resilient people are generally:
highly emotionally aware (they know how they feel and why);
known to persevere against all odds (trusting the process to unfold just as it should and never, never, never giving up);
in possession of sound internal control (they understand that it is they who control their life and tend to go within (not without) for wisdom and answers;
optimistic (always living in the positivity of any given situation);
very supportive (they understand the need for a strong support network in the form of close family and friends); and
in possession of a healthy perspective (they learn from their mistakes and see these not as failures but as a valuable part of the learning process).
Draw on your inner strength
Spraggon says you can strengthen your resilience using techniques such as:
cultivating the right attitude;
viewing life`s difficulties as opportunities to rise to the challenges;
resisting the temptation to fear obstacles or label them as "negative";
employing regular positive self talk;
becoming emotionally self-aware and optimistic;
understanding that you are in total control of your life and, in Henry Ford`s words, "whether I believe I can or I believe I can`t, I am right";
not being too proud to draw on a support network (on the understanding that sometimes even just talking through an issue can take the weight off your shoulders).
Learn to recognise the times when your resilience is weakening, she advises - often it`s when you begin stressing over the small stuff.
"This is when I know it`s time to take action, actively look after myself and fortify my emotional resilience."
Nurture yourself
When you run your own business, or desk, there`s often nobody to tell you when to prioritise taking care of yourself ahead of anyone or anything else, Spraggon points out.
"The crucial thing to grasp here is this: if you don`t do it, no-one else will - and suddenly you can find yourself burnt out and exhausted... so exhausted in fact, that you can`t carry on and may even begin to let people down."
It can help to put structure and procedures in place around nurturing yourself, Spraggon says, "or else you`ll get carried away with `busy-ness` and it just won`t happen".
She recommends booking "nurturing appointments"- such as massages, personal training sessions, catching up with friends or even nights in to watch a movie - well in advance and diarising them just as if they are important client meetings.
Prioritising these appointments and diarising them in advance prevents your work schedule filling up and preventing you getting the time back, she says.
Change something
If it feels "too late" and "like you are drowning in activity already", change something, Spraggon says.
She suggests:
talking to your colleagues to find out what`s working for them;
taking a day off to clear your head; or
cleaning out your office/workspace and brightening it up.
"Make your office a bright, light, fresh, clear space to work; in other words, make it a joy to get up and walk into it first thing in the morning."
Remember to have fun
"There are always tasks that are essential but not necessarily enjoyable." Spraggon notes, "so why not look at creative ways to turn the mundane into something interesting?"
Source:
http://www.recruiterdaily.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&stream=3&selkey=39
