Ever have those days when you feel glum or weeks when you feel unappreciated?
I worked very hard getting ready for a nice family visit this past holiday. In addition to reworking my web site, reviewing last year’s business results and making a new plan for the year ahead. I’m learning a few new computer programs, writing my newsletters again and adding two new blogs, and oh yeah, I had some recent surgeries with unexpected follow ups that I’ve been tending too as well.
But, in all of this work whirling I’ve been feeling a bit down, so I added in a few naps, and some fun breaks. And, I’m not knocking these because they’ve helped refresh me. However, I still don’t find my self truly sprinkled with that effervescent spirit I usually have when I’m happy at work.
I don’t know about you, but for me, whether it’s the holiday season or just another busy time, it’s easy to fall into the pit of disharmony, dis-ease, disadvantage, disappointment or just plain feeling dissed.
When working hard on a project doesn’t give you satisfaction guaranteed what can you do? Most of us are trained to think that we are doing too much, overworking a situation, or aren’t getting what we deserve so our privileged self, starts feeling insulted. I look into this equation and try to see what’s missing, and then add it back in quickly.
I regularly coach my clients to keep a compliment file and I maintain a big one for myself. Here’s how it works:
Simply collect all of the nice things that come your way and physically put them into a file of any sort. I recommend you date them too because sometimes looking back through them can reveal helpful patterns.
Use a paper file, box, notebook, journal, or your computer – anything works! Just make sure you can get to and maintain it easily and that you only use it to gather you compliments.
What is a compliment? Every nice thing that comes your way counts – whether it’s big or small, they do come!
Just what are you looking for and how will you capture them? It could be a smile, scraps of paper capturing the thoughtful comments shared from another, thank you cards, email messages, a phone call- just scribble the compliment down, photographs are also good reminders of all sorts of feel good things, the nice person who let you merge in traffic, etc… You can even tear out images from magazines that remind you of those wonderful experiences where you shined in someone else’s eyes.
While it’s true you can’t make lemonade without the lemons, you can decide the tartness you like to swallow. So when you get wrung out grab your compliment file and read it until you feel fully re-energized!
Your first compliment is the title to this article! And I mean it – thanks for taking some of your precious time to read my words. You made my day!
Sandy Nelson is a contributing blogger for JenningsWire.
