Ask the Career Consultant: Potential Challenge for July

Many of you may consider yourselves optimists. If a billboard blazed high in the sky, my name would be engraved in twinkling lights.....Optimist Extraordinaire!! I look for the silver lining, the forest through the trees, the light at the end of the tunnel, right through my rose colored glasses! For the most part, it serves me well. I see challenges as opportunities and expend my energy in productive ways. Are you in the optimist club?

Let's face it though. Times are tough right now and the reality is that we just don't know what's around the corner in many situations. We are encouraged to see the bigger picture and have a broad perspective - but often we may feel we don't have adequate resources or information. Or, the news of the day is frustrating and a little scary. Maybe your company is reducing staff or facing budget cuts. So is it possible to stay in the optimist club, or should we turn in our club memberships and get "real."

Successful administrative professionals stay "real" while engaging in a little surfing to stay afloat! And I don't mean web surfing. I am referring to riding the waves of change - not just in our jobs, but in all aspects of our lives. And that does require optimism.

Sometimes when our co-workers or family members are dealing with difficult "change challenges" of their own, it can be the catalyst for our own self-reflection personally and professionally. That's just what happened to me recently and it is the inspiration for this month's challenge. It's timely and I encourage you to develop the habit I'm going to introduce to the Office Arrow community.

My adult son and I were traveling home from Sacramento recently on the freeway. The conversation centered on a difficult situation he is dealing with in his business. He was agitated, concerned and overwhelmed. He just didn't see any reason to stay positive. As we talked and brainstormed ideas and solutions that might give clarity to the situation we suddenly found ourselves in a sea of large semi-trucks. We made our way past several of them and then had to pull back over into the right lane to let a faster driver by. As we pulled behind another large semi-truck we both stared at the back of the truck. Displayed down the back of the large truck in bold red letters was the phrase:

Find a Reason to Celebrate!

Now, I'm not sure if this was coincidence or not, but the message was loud and clear to both of us!

So, your challenge this month is to wake up every morning with the ambition to find a specific reason to celebrate every day...something in your work day or something in your personal life. Every day for at least one week keep a Celebration List. Here are the instructions for the challenge:

1. Get some 3 x 5 cards and write Find a Reason to Celebrate! on each card. Put one in your car, one on your desk, one in your planner, one on the fridge or wherever you will see them throughout the day.

2. When you discover your daily reason to celebrate, write it in your planner and be specific about the place, people or circumstance you are celebrating. You might even consider putting a little gold star by it to make it stand out. It may sound juvenile and silly, but there is something about little gold stars that makes us feel better about ourselves! Trust me.

3. Your reason to celebrate is personal. Yours may be something work related such as, "Today I created a detailed financial spreadsheet for the board meeting that required learning new and difficult features in Excel in a short time period. I completed the spreadsheet on time and my boss commented on how well it was formatted and how easy it was to compare the information."

Or, you may have a celebration that reflects something more personal such as, "I have been diligently trying to overcome my habit of interrupting during difficult conversations. This afternoon during a phone call with my son, I was successful at practicing communication skills that had a positive effect on the outcome of the conversation."

Or, it might be something quite random such as, "Today when I stopped at the grocery store on my way home from work, I assisted an elderly woman who was having trouble loading her groceries into her car. She was extremely grateful."

4. At the end of one week, look back over your week. Any pages missing those cute little gold stars to notate a celebration? If so, commit yourself to trying again the next week.

The goal with this challenge is simple: To get in the habit of finding a reason to celebrate every day. Tony Robbins (the original guru of motivational speaking and a well respected expert in the field of personal motivation to jump start careers and life) speaks about the importance of creativity and determination in discovering what he calls our "emotional fitness." During the seasons of challenge, Tony Robbins insists that our emotional fitness is the key to survival. My challenge to you is to promote your emotional fitness by exercising your creativity and determination every day by finding reasons to celebrate.

Share your celebrations with the OfficeArrow community! You never know how your celebration will inspire a fellow administrative professional.

Good luck and start celebrating! Get back in the optimism club. It's essential to discovering your potential.

Lisa Olsen provides OfficeArrow members with down-to-earth career advice from her extensive experience as a Career Consultant. An author, trainer, speaker and consultant, Lisa's dedication to building relationship chemistry and helping people power up their potential has been the catalyst for her own success. Learn more about Lisa and her services, including keynote addresses, resume revision, and on-site professional development training here.