Joy @ Work

Might you consider ‘joy’ and ‘work’ in the same sentence?
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I imagine that for many of you that is not an easy combination. Let’s explore this concept and how it may be of benefit to you.  Work, in this definition, is whatever you do that takes up most of your time, so it may be in an office, factory, farm, house, school – anywhere you spend most of your waking hours.

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​Then, I would like to define ‘Joy’:

• It is your natural state and the experience of a life that works.
• A life that you feel has deep contentment and happiness.
• One where you know you are in control of your responses.
• Where you can make choices to maintain your joyous equilibrium regardless of what is happening about you.

 
I believe that is how we were meant to be on this planet, but many have forgotten and worse, fear that they do not deserve it; or even more injurious, that if they dare to wish for joy they may not get it, so it is better just to remain bland and accepting of your ‘lot’.
 
To help you to remember and re-cultivate your natural joy, there is a programme which covers six topics, (please see information at the end of this article) all designed to remind you how you can return to your natural Joy Quotient - if you should so wish. In this article, you may explore strategies for coping with choices and change. These are other words for ‘life’.
 
You may ask, how and where does the concept of joy fit for the business executive, the working person, YOU, on a daily basis?
 
And the response is, “Easily, and smack in the centre of all things!”
How can I say ‘easily’ and ‘smack in the centre of all things’?
‘Easily’, because mostly there is not anything else for you to DO – on top of your already overfull schedule – just some awarenesses for you to have, that will change your whole outlook and with that your Joy Quotient can be increased. And why smack in the centre? Because when you feel deeply joy-filled - yes, all of life’s ups and downs will still be there, but you will have coping strategies - everything else is better: your quality of work; your quality of communication; your quality of relationships; and your quality of life. Worth you reading on?
 
Because you may be very focussed, busy and driven, it is rather easy for the years to ‘slip’ by! Suddenly you are faced with a birthday with an “0” at the end of it… and it is on that morning you suddenly say, “Where DID the last 10 years go?”  At times like this you may consider the quality of your life, how much joy do you experience? What were the last 10 years’ worth? What have you achieved? What really matters? Do you feel content?
 
You may well be a bit sceptical and ask for some concrete examples. How can I increase my awareness for joy?
Well, let’s dive in at that deep end!  Like many others, you many think you are your job!  “Who are you?” gets the reply, “I am a manager / executive / CEO / presenter / author / parent / house-person / teacher / sibling /  doctor / nurse”. You probably have many roles at the same time. You become a human DO-ing!  You identify yourself as a job title. When you retire, or are made redundant or have your job changed around you, or people in your life go or come – your whole identity can be shaken, stress levels can rise to the extent of causing physical sickness, severe mental upset and even death. 

If, on the other hand, you have the awareness that these are roles you are playing in the great drama of the “Life of Me”, and yes, do play your part as fully and as enthusiastically as you can, however, when your roles change – and we all know they will change -  instead of causing yourself a great deal of upset, just give yourself a round of applause for a good performance so far, and look for what are your next roles?
If you are not a human DO-ing, but are as your name says, a human BE-ing, then what is your beingness? Sometimes it takes a human catastrophe, such as some of the terrorist activities to cause you to re-evaluate where are your priorities in life.
 
One thought is that you may consider there is a central ‘place’ in you where you can experience joy, stability, strength, love and personal power. Regardless of what happens around you, of your changing roles, at your very core you may tap into a constant, perfect, peace-filled and loving being. Why not ‘try on’ this awareness and evaluate it for yourself, does it bring you more stability, contentment and joy?

This simple shift of awareness can change radically how you respond at both the deepest, and everyday surface levels. When you answer someone from your central place, the quality of your reply is bound to be different than a possibly defensive response ego place, and interestingly the quality of the reply you receive is also often quite different, even if the reaction isn’t different – you have managed to maintain your own inner calm and joy. You have made the choice for your well-being.
 
Now this is a really BIG joy awareness shift. You can quite easy ‘get it’ as a theory, now you may wish to remember to put it into your life as a skill to build.  Even this is not difficult, because all you have to do is ‘catch yourself joy-less’ and turbo gearshift up to your central place. The aim is to catch yourself faster and faster, so you suffer less and less, and have more and more JOY!
 
This is the first of a series on creating more joy in your life, hopefully providing you with one more coping strategy for dealing with change by making a choice that serves you rather than undermines you.
 
Below is the map of the full ‘Joy Journey’ programme. I will cover other topics, such as: 
Do you need to have a crisis to want to experience more joy in your life?
In ‘reality’ you may really be in a bad situation – you may have lost your job, can’t pay your bills, have poor health - how can you then experience joy?
How can you have values and ethics in today’s world?
Plus, any other questions, topics or issues you would like me to address.

For more information on the ‘Joy Journey’ programme, set of 6 CDs and ‘Joy Journal’ or ‘Mind Chi’ resilience in 8-minutes a day, book, programme, sessions, presentations and mentoring, Joy questionnaire please contact me.
 
Your Realistically Positive Warrior,
 
Vanda​