Archive for the ‘Hired and Uninspired’ Category

Perspective Games

Tuesday, January 30th, 2007

So…how do you get through a bad day at work? A day where you are just really bored or something bad/frustrating happened, or where you just had a very hard time dragging your sorry butt out of bed?

Mony is a friend I met while working in the biology research lab. She played this game when she had a bad day or if I was complaining about a bad day. It really worked in cheering me up. I call it the “Would you rather…” game.

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Too much information! (but, keep it comin’…)

Monday, January 29th, 2007

This weekend I received a photo of my ex-boss’ butt in the mail.

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Walk a Labyrinth

Sunday, January 28th, 2007

On New Year’s Day 2007, I decided to try something new and different. I went to a Labyrinth walk.

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Laugh Now!

Wednesday, January 24th, 2007

The Chief Happiness Officer is calling today Global Belly Laugh Day. I read a little more about the Chief Happiness Officer and found out that he is a certified laughter instructor. I read more about this and discovered Laughter Yoga.

At first glance, I find this whole thing a little nutty and sad – that in order to laugh we have to get together in groups to laugh about nothing. Have our lives become that depressing?

On the other hand, this completely reminds me of an incident with my Uncle years ago that leads me to think there is some merit to the premise behind Laughter Yoga.

Here is what happened.

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A Must Read Article from The Chief Happiness Officer

Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007

Hey you people! You know who you are.

The one who told me your boss makes you feel like a buffoon. The one who told me that his boss told him he wasn’t “cool” anymore. You, who IM’d me and asked if I thought you needed to see a doctor because you cry every day at work? The ones who tell me you are bored and your talents are underutilized. You – that man who’s just hanging in until retirement, but miserable beyond belief. You know who you are! You know your blood pressure is sky-rocketing, you know you’d rather go to the dentist than go to work. You know I am not making these scenarios up!!

Check out this article from The Chief Happiness Officer on How to Deal with a Bad Boss.

See, you aren’t alone. You aren’t a buffoon, you don’t need to up your meds, these things happen to a lot of people . There are constructive things you can do about it. I have actually tried some of the things that The Chief suggests. When they didn’t work, it elucidated the situation I was in very clearly, so I knew my path was to leave the department or leave the company entirely. When they did work, my job got better!

Snow Trekking

Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007

Here is a journalling of my day off in the snow on January 16, 2007. It was a blast!

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The day we close the office is the day hell freezes over!

Monday, January 22nd, 2007

There has been some pretty crazy weather all over the U.S. recently. It is always a big deal in the business world to try to stay open, have the employees come in, and not lose a day of work. I’ve never held a job on the business end of things, but somehow I doubt that a snow day costs a software development company so much money that it is beneficial to risk injured employees (who can’t come into work for several days after the storm and raise the insurance rates as a result of the injuries acquired trying to get to work during the storm) or employees who miss a bunch of work because their vehicles are damaged from trying to drive into work on a snow day.

The craziest snow day for me was when I worked at The Company. I love this story because it demonstrates the short-sighted greed and macho management that abounds at so many companies. On the other hand, it is also a story about the kindness of strangers.

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More Brave People Living from the Inside Out

Sunday, January 21st, 2007

Here are more examples of people just like you who took that hugely scary risk and are happier because of it. Please let them inspire you.

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Brave People Living from the Inside Out

Saturday, January 20th, 2007

This week, Slow Leadership posted an article about Living from the Inside Out. Carmine Coyote writes “Living from the inside out means finding your own innermost values and basing all choices on those. That’s the best way to increase your happiness with whatever you do for a living.”

As I read this article I realized that I know several people who live from the inside out. It occurred to me that these people are very brave – and also very happy.
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Happy (belated) New Year!

Saturday, January 20th, 2007

It has been quite a while since I’ve posted. The blog is still active, I’ve just been very busy after starting a new job right during the Holiday season. I’ve been accumulating ideas for posts and I’ve been drinking cocktails too! So…I have lots to write about.
Thanks to my loyal fans (two nutty guys – you know who you are) who have been clamoring for more posts!

Happy New Year!