You
hate your boss, you hate your work, your co-workers drive you crazy, and you’re
convinced you’re underpaid even if you weren’t horribly overworked. You’re
stressed all the time! Small wonder. . .
You’re
tired, achy, rarely get a peaceful night’s sleep, and now you’ve come down with
a cold! Which you seem to catch more and more frequently, plus there’s your
stomach upset and now some sort of stupid rash on your neck. All of which you
are convinced is due to your blankety-blank job.
Yes
and no. Sure, if money fell out of the sky and you didn’t have to go to work,
you might not be stressed and subject to all those pains and ills. But, here’s
the thing, your miserable job itself has less to do with your stress and afflictions,
than how you think about your job.
I
know, not what you wanted to hear. It’s soooo much more gratifying to blame it
all on your boss, co-workers, etc., but the truth is, you are in charge of your
thoughts, and it is your thoughts that determine, to a surprising degree, how
you feel emotionally and physically.
Science
tells us that every second, a massive information exchange is occurring in your
body, facilitated by neuropeptides and their corresponding receptor sites,
linking all of your bodily systems - your heart, your lungs, your digestive
tract, etc. - and your mind. Your thoughts and emotions are in fact cellular
signals that are involved in the process of translating information into
physical reality.
This
close interaction between thought, emotion, and bodily systems explains why
recent widows are twice as likely to develop breast cancer, and why chronically
depressed individuals are four times more likely to get sick.
On
the plus side, it also explains why optimists - people who see the glass half
full no matter what - are healthier, and why they live longer.
So
what’s it to you and your dismal job situation?
It’s
all in how you think. Whatever is going on, you can choose more positive
thoughts about the situation, or more negative ones.
With
your current work issues, you could choose to think “Well, my boss is
over-bearing and difficult, but I’m smart enough to find a way to do my job
properly anyway. Maybe I can reach out to a mentor to help me out,” and “My
co-worker is a pain, but I don’t need to give her more attention. She probably
has something dreadful going on in her life. I can just nod, and bury my nose
in my work when she comes around.” And “Granted, I’d prefer a different job, so
maybe instead of moaning about it, I can improve my skill set and see if I
can’t get a position more to my liking.”
You’re
not denying your current reality, you are simply looking at it from a different
point of view. A positive one.
In
other words, choose to think thoughts that are constructive and support you in
your desire for happiness and success. Not only are you more likely to actually
accomplish these goals, but your stress levels will decline, and with that,
your physical and mental well-being greatly improve.
Not
a bad deal, wouldn’t you say?!
