Today’s tip: WORK IS A BLESSING, ONLY IF YOU SO DECIDE!
One of the many advantages of my job is that I have the privilege to interact with you, international civil servants, at a very personal level. I am always humbled and inspired by your impressive CVs, your movie-like life experiences, and your contributions towards building a better world. I know some of you might be questioning this statement as grandiloquent, but please give me a break and think it through before discarding it.
You are among a tiny group of people whose profiles -and values- are so closely aligned to what the United Nations stands for that you are part of an elite. Yes, I dare refer to us as an elite, because few have the privilege to transform the promise of a better life for all into concrete improvements in the lives of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people. And, on top of it, we get handsomely paid to do it!
Whether you are advising government officials, doing research, or co-designing national or local programs. Or having difficult advocacy conversations to change or implement legislation, or securing funds, or writing human interest stories, or changing social behaviors. Or if you are taking personal risks to prevent misappropriation and fraud, or scouting the environment to minimize the risks of our operations, or safely taking people from one place to the other in dangerous areas. Whatever you do, you have every reason to be proud and happy about your accomplishments.
However, research shows that the externalities (wealth, health, recognition, power, etc.) can only predict 10% of how happy you are. The rest of it, 90% of your happiness is determined by how you process those externalities. In other words, we, EACH OF US, determine our happiness level by how we decide to deal with the externalities: your boss, your team, the internet, your budget, your separation from home and loved ones, your children, your spouse, your in-laws, your house, your work, etc. Being this the case, let me encourage you to take Shawn Achor’s 21 days challenge to rewire your brain, be happier and more productive:
- Write three things for which you are grateful each day (you cannot repeat);
- Meditate for 5 minutes, uses HeadSpace if you have it, or any other tool. Just focus on your breathing for 5 minutes, and it will do the trick!
- Journal -write- about a positive experience you had that day (don’t sweat it, it’s just a couple of paragraphs, and no one has to read it!)
- Exercise for 30 minutes (walking on the treadmill while watching Netflix counts!)
I will do it and would love to hear if you are doing it as well. Please do tell me how it is going after a while!
The Happy Secret to better work:
https://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_better_work
The way we think about work is broken:
https://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_the_way_we_think_about_work_is_broken
An option for you to download, book by Shawn Achor: https://pdfget.com/pdf-epub-the-happiness-advantage-the-seven-principles-of-positive-psychology-that-fuel-success-and-performance-at-work-download/
Take care, stay safe, and do what you must to be happy. Don’t forget; work is a blessing, not a punishment!