Feeling Disconnected From Your Job? Staying Fit & Having an Attitude of Gratitude can Get You Back in Touch  

As a career professional it’s easy to get caught up in the daily grind, managing fifteen different things from the moment we wake up: get up, grab coffee, maybe have a work-out, shower, get dressed (in whatever we can find that’s not wrinkled) and speed out to take on the day. As if trying to do it all while looking amazing isn’t enough of a task, heading to a job that we don’t like is even more of a challenge.

If you’re like 52.3% of Americans who are unhappy with their jobs, you may feel anxiety about spending all day in the office, doing work that you dislike or aren’t passionate about. And if you are one of the 70% of Americans (Gallup Poll 2015) beating their heads against their desks as a result of disengagement from and/or disinterest in their job, then it’s time for a shift in focus.

In my years of working with hundreds of corporate, individual and A-list celebrity clients as a nutrition/lifestyle management coach, I have found that one of the biggest challenges people face when it comes to their work, is being caught in the “complaint mode.” It is so easy to get wrapped up in the negative aspects of an unfulfilling job that it can become extremely difficult to see any other aspect of the experience. But in general complaining doesn’t change a negative situation if all that accompanies the complaint is complaining; in other words, positive change requires an organized plan of attack to have a sustainable impact. One of the most important building blocks in creating positive change is cultivating an attitude of gratitude as a daily practice.

Changing Your Perspective Can Help Your Progress

One might ask, “How does gratitude factor into my work life?”  The answer is simple: an attitude of gratitude positively enhances the overall experience of personal life, which can transfer into the professional arena. Feeling disconnected from our professional work can be a major stress factor causing physical and emotional health problems.  The act of being grateful, on the other hand — finding a positive in the face of a negative — can change perspectives from the inside out. This dedicated shift in focus allows one to view and manage challenges more happily, create increased well-being, and ultimately shape a fulfilling life.

With so many other responsibilities and obligations, how do we, as women, train ourselves to see the beneficial aspects of a job from which we might feel disconnected or find overwhelming? Just like beginning a fitness routine, styling our hair or putting on our make-up, we start with the basics and work at it until it becomes a part of our daily life. 

Three Mood-Boosting Tips for a Better Career/Life Outlook

1. Write it down. When we are stressed out and unhappy, we tend to be more aggressive, emotional, unhealthy, and disconnected. We may discuss it with friends, but how many of us actually take the time to write our thoughts down with good old-fashioned pen and paper? (I know — it’s like going back to the stone-age, right?)

The act of “journaling,” however, is a psychologically detoxifying process that allows us to voice our thoughts about our experiences to ourselves. Writing down experiences — and our reaction to them  — can be extremely beneficial for seeing the big picture and focusing on at least one positive aspect.

Examples:

• • • Perhaps you hate your boss, but you like your co-worker who has become a good friend.
    • Maybe you really dislike your work, but getting paid for that work allows you to enjoy free time with friends, doing activities you might not otherwise be able to do.
    • Perhaps you don’t love your commute, but the time sitting in traffic/on the subway affords you a chance to listen to music that you love, putting you in a good mood.

As for writing these things down, one might ask, “Why journal with pen and paper?  Why not just use social media, a blog or a digital magazine contribution to express our thoughts?” When we write for other people, we are not always honest with ourselves. But when we are alone with our thoughts, we can be genuinely honest about both the good and the bad in our lives, which helps us determine our true feelings about a situation and allows us to be proactive about change.

Exercise:

• • • Buy a journal with cover art that you love (colorful design, animal print, flowers, etc. . .), and start to reconnect with yourself by writing down only the things you dislike about your job.
    • Now write down at least one positive outcome that your job has allowed you to accomplish. Maybe you have been able to pay a loan down, buy a car, or book a weekend trip you couldn’t otherwise do.
    • Whatever it is, write it on a sticky note. Put the note up in your bathroom, or send yourself a text reminder of it. Focus on that one positive thing and what it means to you, weekly or daily, and watch your stress begin to recede and your happiness start to increase more each day.

2. Move Your Body.  Our bodies NEED movement. We weren’t meant to stagnantly sit behind a desk for 8-10 hours a day staring at a computer, with our minds continuously processing information, especially if we are doing it in a job that makes us unhappy. Unhealthy bodies make for increasingly unhappy people, which is precisely the reason that employers are regularly beginning to invest in wellness opportunities for their employees.  So having an outlet for our stress is an absolute must for cultivating a positive outlook, and a sustainable tool for creating an attitude of gratitude.

Also, when we are moving our bodies, our endorphins kick in and we get that boost of serotonin that bumps up our “feel good” energy. Consistent exercise (cardio, yoga, walking, dance, swimming, running, racquetball, etc.) gives us a sense of accomplishment, helps to alleviate negative energy, and can be an empowering force for channeling positivity.

Exercise:

• • • If your work environment offers a workout program, take advantage of it. If you do, you can soon list “the corporate exercise program” as something you are grateful for, which will make the day much more manageable!
    • If your company doesn’t offer a well-being platform, then create your own. Make a goal of exercising for fifteen minutes per day, adding five minutes weekly.

If there is one thing you will be able to take away from your new-found exercise routine despite an unhappy job situation, it’s that your job pushed you into taking control of your physical health — and that’s never a bad thing!

3. Fuel Your Body. Nutrition is VITAL for positively balancing stress, health and wellbeing. Women are amazing at multi-tasking and accomplishing feats worthy of sainthood when the pressure is on — but when that pressure is on, we bust out the chocolate like it’s going out of style! Lesson: balancing stress is a necessary evil, but balancing stress positively is an art.

Feeding our bodies not only helps our overall health, it actually contributes to how our brain handles emotionally- charged environments and situations. Food is fuel for positive reactions in negative atmospheres, and for women, there are definite nutrition staples for stress management, helping us to form an attitude of gratitude from the inside out. Here are three things you can do to elevate your nutrition for optimal gratitude and stress management levels:

• • • Hydrate. 64 oz. of water a day is the optimum amount for clean cells carrying nutrients to our blood. If you are used to only drinking 16 oz. of water/day, then add one more bottle. Just adding this amount will get you halfway to optimal functionality for your cells, keeping your lymphatic and intestinal systems running smoothly with less.
    • Mineralize. Trace minerals such as zinc, iron, potassium, magnesium are found in micro- quantities within our bodies, but not reproduced at sustainable levels for optimal health.  Adding ¼ tsp of Himalayan Salts to 32 oz. of water or coconut water along with lemon juice, cucumber, or mint can ensure that your body is getting all of the 84 trace minerals found in the salt, for maximum energy and healthy cells.
    •  Eat Protein. We need at least 3 oz. of lean protein a day (about the size of a deck of cards) to feed and heal our muscles, tissues and brain.  Sitting for hours at a desk, under stress, can actually weaken muscles — and utilizing our brains to manage the stress of our job  can be damaging too. Lean proteins such as grilled chicken, turkey sausage, nuts and eggs will help proactively heal and repair damaged tissue, needed to think clearly when the pressure is on. Bonus: protein keeps us fuller longer, so we don’t snack as often and gain unnecessary office-related “stress pounds” (definitely something to be grateful for!).

The tips above are a formula for successful stress management that can help you find positive silver linings in what could otherwise be a dark “professional” storm cloud.  Recognizing that gratitude is a lifestyle choice can enhance every aspect of our lives, for increased daily joy.

As a result of our newfound positivity, we can increase our ability to effectively handle our job, boring project, or frustrating boss, with a more grateful outlook, changing our perspective from the inside out — and that is without doubt something to write about in your journal!