What do Friday's mean to you?

Question for the day:

As Thursday draws to a close, what do Friday's mean to you? Excitement? Relief? Anyone not like Fridays?

Guest Post on "Blogging as a Business"

Please check out my guest post today, on "blogging as a business" on www.urbanmusewriter.com!

Do you feel badly when you "call in sick"?

Whenever I am sick, I always feel really badly about it. Now, granted I have a bit of an anxiety issue about work to begin with, but I am always worried that my boss is thinking something like "She's not really sick...I bet she's pulling a Ferries Bueller." Why do I think that? I know that rationally, she believes that I am sick and hopes I get better soon. But for some crazy reason, I get it into my head, that I am a lazy person, just because I got sick for a day. I know, I know what you're all thinking. I understand rational thoughts on the outside, they just don't always exist in my head. Am I crazy?

Do you like home design and decor?

This is just a personal plug to get you to check out my sister's blog at http://mooninthetenthhouse.blogspot.com/

Check it out!

Office Vibes: good, bad and what to make of them

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Photo courtesy of tv.com

Happy Friday! So, we all know how the melting pot of different personalities in one office can make way for interesting dynamics. If you’re office is comprised of several type A’s who have to work together on a daily basis, well, duck and cover. On the other hand, an overwhelming amount of type B’s could be a dream or a disaster. What do you do when you and another personality just don’t click? You think you’re receiving negative vibes, yet you don’t feel obliged to do much about it, and really, what can you do?

Take the scenario of you and Jane “Attitude” Anderson. Her emails are short; she doesn’t say much to you other than hi and bye. You even think you may have caught an eye roll the other day when you dropped something on her desk. Is there anything you can do? Probably not. As long as you’re doing your job to the best of your ability, take it with a grain of salt. This however, is much easier to say than do. I’m the type of person who takes most things rather personally, even if they are not directed that way in the least. Or, sometimes I’d like to give them a sign stating “I hate my life, don’t take it personally.” For me, I know I need to work on separating myself more from other people’s issues. They have nothing to do with me!

Then, there is you and your office BFF who seem to work together and play together seamlessly. You agree on most things, you get things done and you laugh while doing it. How does this work? It’s so interesting, because sometimes when personalities come together just right, it makes for such a pleasant work environment. It’s too bad we can’t administer personality tests for the office upon accepting positions, especially tests on your boss!

Find your passion: Even if you can’t engage in it between 9 and 5

What’s your passion? A friend asked me over dinner the other night. I immediately assumed they were referring to what my passion would be in the work world, to which I immediately starting muttering that I am not exactly sure and then began listing my hopes and dreams for work while gesturing my hands rapidly. Amidst my blabbering that I was rolling off the tongue as I had so many times, they stopped me and clarified. Shaking their hands, trying to get me to slow down, No, not necessarily for a career, but do you have any other passions that make you happy in life?

I replied that I like to write. Yet, thinking to myself, I was wondering if that is a passion or a semi-passion. My inner thoughts began listing yoga, dancing, tennis…But are any of these my passions? Do I do or play them enough to be considered passions? Hmmm. Maybe I need to pick a real passion so I can be prepared for that type of question.

My friend told me all about their passion for volleyball and running; that obviously doesn’t include their career. They happen to be a teacher, so of course their career is one of their passions, but they were making the point that it’s important to find other passions to complete your life.

So you can’t fulfill your hopes and dreams between the hours of 9 and 5 right now. That doesn’t mean you’re off the list to fulfill other hopes and dreams outside of work. Or, you love your job. Either way, join a hockey league, a dance group or anything that makes you happy. Hopefully you’ll find it fills a hole you have in another way. I can’t speak from direct experience, as I’m exploring what my true passion could be, but last night I took the first ballet class I’ve taken in years. You never know where your passions could lead you. Good luck!

P.S. If anyone knows exactly how to make block quoting work in blogger, let me know. I can't get it to work!

Oprah talks careers with Marcus Buckingham

Image courtesy of O Magazine

Oprah Winfrey, the world-wide queen of talk shows, knows what she’s talking about! Recently, if you at all follow Oprah, she has been doing something that she calls her “Best Life Series” where she focuses on helping people all over the world live the best lives they can live. She believes everyone should awaken to their higher purpose in life, especially in careers, since work takes up 1/3 of our entire life!

I happened to be browsing I-Tunes the other day, looking for some good music to buy, and to my delight, I came across some free podcasts from the Oprah Show! Marcus Buckingham, a British career guy, or “Strength Coach” as he calls himself, does a whole series of workshops to help people find guidance in their careers and in life. He also happens to be Oprah’s main career guy these days. His website offers even more information on his work.

He focuses on the fact that everyone should continually find ways to highlight their strengths, not their weaknesses. He says that only 12 % of people actually work on their strengths as opposed to their weaknesses, since our culture deems that more appropriate. According to Buckingham, people who find ways to continually build on their strengths are happier and far most successful than those who don’t. Unfortunately, many people are unhappy at work. Much of this unhappiness can be accounted for because people are drowning in their weaknesses. I know I feel like I am sometimes. Yet, is it really that easy? Probably not, as these days most people simply need a paycheck to get by, no room to worry about whether or not they like their jobs. Listening to this podcast, has reaffirmed for me that we all need to set aside some time in our lives, to figure out what it is we want and where we excel. Who else agrees?