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  June 2004


June 13 - 19

National Flag Week. June 13–19. By presidential proclamation for the week including June 14, Flag Day.

Abused Women and Children’s Day. June 13. For reflection on how we can help stop the violence in America that is destroying the lives and well-being of women and children. For more information e-mail childaware@aol.com.

Juneteenth. June 19. A day of commemoration for the freeing of the slaves in the United States.

Be careful what you think

The kind of thinking you do can profoundly affect your life at work. That’s what Paul Hellman says in his book Naked at Work (and Other Fears). He terms faulty thinking at work as “crooked” thinking, and he says most crooked thinking can be categorized into circumstances, ego and other people. Here’s how he charts it out:

Circumstances:

  • The Irrational Belief
    “The universe should never discomfort or inconvenience me.“
  • It’s Irrational Because… “The Universe doesn’t organize its day around me.”

    • Ego:

  • The Irrational Belief
    “I must always perform well and be approved of.”
  • It’s Irrational Because… “I sometimes screw up.”

    • Other People:

  • The Irrational Belief
    “Other people should always behave nicely toward me.”
  • It’s irrational Because… “Other people aren’t always nice.”

    • Hellman says that if you like to worry, then his three categories pretty much cover it all because “circumstances” covers everything that can possibly happen, “ego” covers all aspects of our identity and “other people” covers all the people we can potentially come into contact with.

    Hellman says it’s easy to become a nutcase at work by thinking crooked. He points out that we can’t control circumstances, ego or other people, but we can control what we think.

    —adapted from Naked at Work (and Other Fears), by Paul Hellman

    How to stay happy and positive at the office

    Would you like to feel happier and more positive in your life? Well, who wouldn’t? Here are a few tips to help you keep a better balance in your daily life:

  • Clear your mind and make yourself focus on only one task at a time. This helps you keep from feeling overwhelmed by the number of tasks that you need to accomplish and lets you start getting things on that long list out of the way.
  • Learn when and how to say no. Setting limits with others will allow you to better accomplish your goals and avoid getting lost in the shuffle of overcommitting and underdelivering.
  • When you have appointments where waiting might be involved, go ahead and build that time into your schedule. This helps avoid stress over being late, or being out of the office longer than you intended and informed co-workers about.
  • If there is something that you really hate to do, see if you can get help doing it to reduce the amount of time you have to spend doing it.
  • Be realistic. Don’t try to get everything done that you intend to get done. Be happy if you can get some of the things done that you intended, and move on and feel good about what you accomplished.
  • Don’t hide your feelings. If you’re feeling overworked and the need for some time away from the office, tell others. Chances are your co-workers are feeling that way, too. And possibly you can come up with a solution when the truth is out in the open.
  • Schedule time during your day to do some things that you like to do, whether they are related to your work or not. This helps prevent burnout and will help keep you positive.

    • —adapted from It’s Your Move: Dealing Yourself the Best Cards in Life and Work, by Cyndi Maxey and Jill Bremer

    Creative leaders need not apply

  • Creative leaders might be cool people, but their creativity does not ensure their greatness. That is the finding of a recent poll by Christian & Timbers, an executive recruitment firm.
  • Forty-five percent of the 181 senior leaders polled said that the most important trait for leadership is the ability to attract and retain the best talent.
  • Less than 22 percent said that the ability to inspire others is an important trait for leadership.
  • Twenty-percent believe that having good ethics is the
    No. 1 trait leaders should have.
  • Only 6 percent said that creativity was the most important trait for a leader.

    —adapted from IndustryWeek

    • Effective Communications Month. To acknowledge that the most important cog in the wheel of relationships is communication. Active listening, verbal language, body language and written communication skills are the essence of how humans relate to each other. For more information: www.springboardtraining.com.

    National Safety Month.. To emphasize safety in all aspects of life. For more information, www.nsc.org.

    International People Skills Month. To focus on getting better jobs, improving the office atmosphere and increasing rapport with your family by refining your people skills and learning how to “de-puzzle” human behavior. For more information: www.4peopleskills.com.

    Professional Wellness Month. To help people increase their worth in the marketplace. To add value to their companies and customers. To become more accessible, reliable and fair. Update your resume, increase your skills and learn your business completely. For more information: www.WordsofWellness.com.
    TB-0425