Walk into any office environment and you will find a few sullen faces that are anxious and stressed.
If you are reading this, it’s likely that you do know some of those sullen faces.
At the same time, I also come across a few “Happy” faces. They always have a smile and confidence in their stride.
When I meet up with their leadership teams, it’s always the same thing …
The poor sullen faces get all the blame and complaints in the world. Things like he/she is
- Under-performing
- Bringing others down
- Not as good as promised
And so on
“Therefore, I want to fire him/her!”
The “happy, smiling” faces get all the appreciation and applause. Things like he/she is…
- The best
- So proactive
And so on
“Give them anything and they will have it done!”
The happy faces are the ones that get the promotion, the special project abroad, along with a bunch of other perks.
The sullen faces are always left behind. Nobody seems to want them.
I have been studying both kinds of people for a while now. I asked myself, “What does the ‘happy face’ have that the ‘sullen face’ does not?
- It’s not talent
- It’s not a favorable manager (except for a few rare cases)
- It’s not their education
- It’s not their hard work. In fact, sullen faces work harder than the smiling ones.
It’s just that the happy faces have mastered the secret to corporate nirvana. They have learnt to be calm during the worst situations possible.
Working in the modern corporate workplace isn’t easy. There are plenty of stressful tasks that need you to push yourself.
It’s more like putting out fires.
The problem is… for every 3 fires that you put out, there are 5 more fires that crop up.
… And each one of them is fiercer and bigger than the other ones.
So what happens to the fireman who is busy putting them out?
He becomes anxious, loses his peace of mind and turns compulsive.
With desperation, he puts out one fire after another without noticing that another fire has started to burn his pant.
And this is where the happy face wins.
The happy face has learnt to maintain his cool amidst all kinds of calamities. He has mastered the secret to corporate nirvana.
And these are his/her three secrets…
A Powerful Morning Ritual
The sullen face starts off his day by rushing through things.
It starts off with a loud, blaring alarm that’s snoozed a dozen times. And then, he either grabs a quick breakfast or skips it.
The happy face begins his day with absolute control over his day. He is up early and spends the first hour of his morning centering himself.
He’s built tiny rituals to center him. Things like…
- Meditation
- Few minutes of exercise
- Yoga
- Running
None of these things are easy to do for him. But he recognizes their importance.
These are long-term investments. The 15 minutes of run that he completes is an investment that he makes today for a healthier, more attractive body 3 years from now.
Meditation for as less as 12-20 mins a day brings about favorable changes in our brain. This video How Does Meditation Change the Brain? by Scientific American does throw some light on the same.
Practice Gratitude And Focus On Constructive Things
Walk into any corporate corridor and you will come across a small group involved in a conversation.
Here’s what the conversation most likely will be about…
– How horrible their boss is
- Why they are not getting a promotion?
- How they all have to work like slaves
- Who is dating whom?
- How Flipkart is offering the latest mobile for the cheapest price and anyone would be stupid to not buy
- The latest Bollywood movie that’s a blockbuster
- And so on
And guess what? The entire group consists of sullen faces.
The happy face isn’t involved in these conversations. He knows that things at work are challenging and others are complaining about it.
But instead of complaining, he feels grateful for the opportunity to go through such challenges. And he ensures that he isn’t distracted by other gossip-like conversations.
He’s the perfect warrior!
… And when the weekend comes, he is the one leaving work on time to BE with his family whereas the sullen face needs to push himself for another few hours before he can say, “I’m done”.
This article from the Huffington Post by Ocean Robbins highlights the importance of gratitude in our lives.
Find Ways To Cope With Stress
So, the sullen face has pushed himself hard for a few hours and is now stressed. He’s had to skip on his sleep to meet the project deadline.
And now to unwind himself, he turns to…
– A few shots of alcohol
– Cigarettes
– Drugs (possibly)
– TV
– Junk food
They all provide him temporary relief. But it’s back to square one the next week.
After returning home in busy traffic, our “happy face” feels stressed as well. He’s tired and exhausted too.
But he learns to manage the stress. He unwinds himself completely. You won’t find him watching TV for hours together.
You would rather find him doing things like…
– Playing in the park with his kids
– Going out for a movie with his family
– Reading a good book
– Getting some exercise
– And so on.
This brilliant article in Reader’s Digest focuses on the stressful impact certain bad habits can have on our lives and how to overcome them.
Having said all these, nobody does want to be a ‘sullen face’ at heart. More or less, it does happen due to a certain imbalance in the hectic lifestyle. This can certainly be changed for the better and you can surely become the ‘happy face’ you always wanted to be!
If you are one of those struggling sullen faces right now but very keen on transforming yourself into a happy face, go here right now… Just click on the link below to sign up for a
Free 20-minute Introductory Call
with me and by the end of it I will guarantee the following
- Identity the area of your challenge
- Get a new perspective on your action steps
- Get a clear road map to achieve your professional & personal goals.
If you are an executive in an organization and are looking at “Employee Transformation” then you will be glad to hear that I do “Strategic Intervention” personally for your core team. By the end of this intervention your team will be able to
- Work on their Stretched Goals with absolute clarity and focus
- Double or even triple their productivity, by developing laser-like focus
- Create a clear road-map in their own Goal Setting Journey.
You can see how our Strategic Interventions can help your core team to perform at their best by clicking on
Yes! I Want You To Work With My Team And Turn Them Into Happy Faces
You can also reach out to my team by sending out a mail to the following email id enquiry@satishrao.in One of my team members will be happy to reach out to you and discuss about these “Strategic Interventions”.
Thank you for reading my post. I regularly write about Leadership, Peak Performance, and Health & Wellness.
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