On the tail of a full moon spring has finally arrived! This combined with the general spiritual peace that the season of Lent brings has left me with a strong desire to simplify and cleanse. For me, spring cleaning isn't just about washing the windows and drapes; it's about going through all aspects of my life from top to bottom and taking time to examine what works and what doesn't. I know a lot of people like to do this around the New Year, but for me the hustle and bustle of the holiday season is too distracting to really focus on making real, lasting change. With the lengthening days, warmer temperatures and general stillness that comes with late winter, I find that by the time the spring equinox comes around I have had the time I need to reflect and am geared up for renewal.
One area of my life where I have felt a bit restless is in my career. I'm taking some time to explore my future and what best suits me, but in the mean time I still have a job to do. While I have some frustrations at the moment it really hit me today that I need to stop letting that consume me so much. It's one of those "Lord grant me the wisdom..." situations where I have to realize that it's up to me to control my experience.
What am I talking about exactly? I'm talking about those toxic workplace situations like gossip, politics, poor communication, bad leadership, etc. I'm just bored with it. It's not serving me to continue to wallow in the negativity that exists in my workplace. It's time for me to remind myself of the fact that I can't control anyone else's behavior, only my own. It's up to me to turn the other cheek, have some pride, and get back to work, because as long as I'm whining and complaining I'm part of the problem.
So, what now? Well to start, I decided to take a bit of a time out at the end of my day today and clean my office. I went top to bottom through every drawer and shelf, even removing some items from the person who used my office before me! I had allowed my desk especially to become way too cluttered. This is unlike me as I thrive on a well organized workspace. The mess was definitely throwing me off my game. When I was done every surface was free from dust, every object had a place, and for the first time in a while I left the office with a smile on my face.
Will there still be frustrations as I navigate this area of my life? You bet! But, I'm really going to work on not letting the negativity get the best of me. When we are frustrated with our jobs it's important that we avoid mentally checking out. Damaging professional relationships, lowering our personal standards, and tarnishing our reputations can have long lasting consequences that we might not be fully considering when we're feeling burned out at work. We need to find ways to experience some joy and peace until we can figure out what's next for us. Often times just making a conscious choice to stop feeding the negativity in our own heads and with our co-workers is a good start. After that, the best thing we can do is keep busy. A lot of times office drama brews when there is too much idle time. By keeping busy time goes by and we have less time to focus on the negative.
Obviously every work situation is different, but the one constant is that we control how we respond.
Oh, this is so good. I'm so glad I found your blog! :-)
ReplyDeleteYou said, "I can't control anyone else's behavior, only my own. It's up to me to turn the other cheek, have some pride, and get back to work, because as long as I'm whining and complaining I'm part of the problem." If we, as a people, could be taught this from a young age, imagine what a happier world we would live in.
Of course, I get that everyone's different, and the likelihood of a utopian society full of sweetness and light is slim to none, but the awareness alone would be enough to raise people up and lighten the load.
It really comes down to personal responsibility and accountability. As much as we can't control other people, we can control our own response. Good stuff!
You got it, Ellen! And you're absolutely right that we can't make everything sunshine and rainbows all of the time. Negative feelings have their place, but we have to manage them so we don't become over-consumed. And of course if someone is in a situation where their employer is being abusive or doing things that are illegal that is a much different story. For most of us though who have these sorts of frustrations the issue at hand tends to be more day to day office politics and drama. It's these situations that we need to have some accountability about our part in the game.
ReplyDelete