How do you know who your friends are?
If you’re a well-seasoned adult, your response may be quite different from that of someone younger. Experience does bring wisdom. If you pay attention to it, that is.
I know that I’m not alone among people dismayed by stories of youngsters who have been manipulated into sharing personal information and pictures with their “friends” only to find themselves betrayed. Continue reading
Work; if you can’t get out of it, you may as well get in to it.
Recently, I’ve focused on unhappiness at work. My suggestions come from the general principle that if you want change, you can either change your reality or change your perception.
Perhaps you’ve looked seriously at changing your work reality. You’ve examined options: you could choose a different type of work, choose a different employer, or stay where you are, but change your workplace environment from within.
If your best option is to change your work reality, then start planning!
On the other hand, you may conclude that it’s impractical to change the reality of your work. Perhaps you can’t afford it, or you may perceive that it’s not worth the energy when there’s no guarantee of a positive result.
Does that mean you are doomed to unhappiness for the rest of your working life? Continue reading
If you are unhappy at your workplace and would like to change that situation, there’s a variety of choices available to you. Mind you, the choices may not necessarily be attractive. But choices exist, nevertheless.
One consistent suggestion is that if you don’t like the way things are, you can either change your reality or change your perception.
If you’ve decided that you will never find satisfaction, much less joy, in your current workplace, then departure may be your most effective option. Still, you have choices. You might choose to make an abrupt change, or you might take a more cautious approach. If you do choose to go abruptly, then my suggestion (as always) is to think through the consequences before you leap. Continue reading
“If only I could go to work and just do my job…” Do you ever think like that? Does your version of that wistful statement end with a “but”?
If so, you are not alone. There’s plenty of disgruntlement to go around, such as, “If only I could go to work and just do my job but my boss is so uncooperative, incompetent, or just plain nasty.”
Or, “If only I could go to work and just do my job but my coworkers are into power struggles, gossiping, undermining, or slacking off.” Continue reading
Random acts of kindness for strangers have been popular for years now. When we do something kind, the likely result is that we feel good and satisfied. We get to perceive ourselves as being a kind and caring person, and that’s a very pleasant feeling.
When we are the recipient of kindness, we also tend to feel good, satisfied, and to perceive that kindness as an indication that we are cared for.
Kind acts result in all-around pleasantness. When the act is random and completely unexpected, the positive effect seems even greater. That stranger who buys your coffee doesn’t owe you anything; they are presumably doing it simply because they want to help you have a great day. Continue reading
“I know you don’t want to hear this but I have to tell you anyway.”
Do you ever say (or think) that? You believe that you need to inform somebody of something unpleasant, and they’re not going to like it.
Your recipient doesn’t want to hear it. They’ll be unhappy. They may even choose to take their displeasure out on you—the messenger! All the while, you are just trying to be responsible.
Being the bearer of bad news can be tough. Continue reading
“Sally said my hair looked nice today. Can you believe that!”
Did Sally pay me a compliment? Or was that a subtle insult, implying that she noticed an improvement over those many non-nice hair days? Was Sally being sarcastic? Or was she perhaps envious, wishing she’d have hair like this someday?
When reading—without body language, expression, and tone to help us understand our communication—it’s hard to make a valid assessment. Continue reading
There’s almost always an election in season somewhere.
A survey asked whether an election has negatively affected a personal relationship with a friend or family member. It wasn’t about a Canadian election. No matter; it’s still an interesting question that leads me to ask, how does news and information affect your relationships? Continue reading
