Work Life Balance How to Have a Great Morning!

Work Life Balance How to Have a Great Morning! Have you ever woken up on the wrong side of the bed?   Have you ever had day where no amount of coffee is enough?   Lydia Whitney, Director of Curriculum Program Development for Winning STEPâ„¢ Publications and Programs assists professionals in finding, pursuing and being successful in the right career.   Lydia is going to share with us some tips that we can do every morning to help make  our days  better than ever!  Enjoy! Find something positive to focus on. Is the weather sunny? Is there the feel of snow in the air? Are you wearing new shoes today? Having a good hair day? Even if it’s not work-related, finding something positive to focus on will help you start off your day on an upbeat note. Smile! Research shows that displaying a positive affect, such as a smile, will actually help you to experience the related emotions. Add an enthusiastic, friendly greeting for everyone you see, and you’ll be surprised to find yourself adopting a more positive mood as well. Look on the bright side. Again, the research has shown that if you manage to find a bright side to a challenging situation or unexpected curveball, you are more likely to be happy AND successfully complete the assigned task. So when your boss tells you to redo your presentation because she doesn’t like the format, focus on the fact that she had no complaints about what really mattered: the content! Make a list.  If you are feeling overwhelmed by all you have to do, taking the time to organize and prioritize your tasks will give you a chance to calm down and focus â€" and will also make you more efficient in the end. In addition, you will get an instant feeling of satisfaction every time you cross something off that list â€" or better yet, delete it! Take a break. Taking a five minute break to get a cup of coffee or just walking over to another office or cubicle is a great way to let your mind recharge. Just make sure that you have accomplished something â€" whether it’s a step in a process or a page in a report â€" before you take your break, so you’ll feel like you deserve it. Try one or more of these simple strategies today, and you’ll find that your  day will be better than ever. To learn more about affects and recent research on being happy, visit Winning-STEP and check out the Transition Readiness Texts today. Photo by weheartit, here, Crystl, here  and here