Love Your Work Again
August 2009

Love Your Work Again

Ten Reasons Why We Don't and Applying the Remedy

There are ten fundamental reasons people don't love their work.  David Letterman didn't come up with this list; we did - through decades of coaching conversations with people like you.  The good news is that we've assembled more than a few funny lines as your remedy. We know what it takes to love work.

You work yourself sick; or you carry a ton of stress around thinking you have to suck it up to succeed.  Remedy: proactively create and implement a well being plan that supports you to take care of the hen that's tasked to lay the golden eggs.  That's you!

You think you need to have all of the answers and you hit the limit of your capabilities.  Remedy: listen more deeply to the limitless wisdom in your heart that does know how to work through every challenge - way better than the person who grew up in Buffalo, New York and graduated with honors and yada yada yada. Remember, your inner wisdom is always available!

You've fallen into the trap of believing you can't be yourself or tell it like it is.  You have a professional mask or game face that feels like being in prison. Remedy:  Learn to tell the truth with respect and honorable intentions. Discover that lying really doesn't work! It's not just a moral issue; it's your sense of aliveness.

You spend countless hours in discussions that rarely result in anything meaningful happening.  Remedy: discover that speaking with a bias for action can be done politely; being nice does not require being impotent!  So, who is going to do what by when?

You feel horrible about mistakes you've made and think you are a failure.  Remedy: welcome to the planet.  Do you really think you can hit a home run every time?  There's a responsible way to grow through your failures, and lucky you, this is the most travelled path to success.

Everyone around the table is talking and hardly anyone is listening.  Painful misunderstandings leave you frustrated and apathetic.  Remedy: give it a rest and practice really listening to people for awhile.  No one really knows what to say about anything until they've learned to listen effectively.  We dare you to go first and see what happens when you finally do speak - brilliantly.

Noone follows through on what they said they'd do.  And we let that condition become the norm.  Remedy: learn to find the highroad of accountability.  It's north of Wimping Out County and south of Harsh Attack Junction.  With the right map you'll reach your destination much more quickly than even those Globe Trekkers on television.

You keep finding yourself troubled with repetitive problems you feel stuck with.  The phrases "I can't" and "I have to" become your favorite mantras.  Life has conspired to imprison you in a future of thwarted dreams.  Remedy: Stop buying those thoughts of alimited destiny.  Learn to distinguish the mind trash you are listening to from the inspiration you still have in your heart.  You may need a bulldozer (or the remembrance) to find your heart again, but until you do, you'll continue to struggle.

No matter how much you try, you can't get people to do what you'd like them to.  You can't seem to influence the people who are instrumental to your success, so you end up coping with workarounds and mediocrity.  Remedy: learn to move others to action.  There are six steps and they always work in conjunction with the other remedies we've prescribed.  You know whining doesn' thelp, so when will you choose another approach?

You're simply not getting the results you need.  If that doesn't have you stop loving your work, nothing will.  Remedy: discover the paradox of success and weave it into your approach to business.  You need to learn to "do whatever it takes"to succeed in a "world you are not in control of."  Setting goals and working hard need to be balanced with surrendering to and responding to whatever keeps presenting itself to you.  Think of the martial artist who practices his craft by viewing his attacker as his teacher.  Are you at peace with this paradox yet, grasshopper?  If not, you will likely annoy people. Or worse, give up.

You may have guessed; this is a trick newsletter.  Our new Coaching Companion and Self Study Guide Mastering Effectiveness addresses these 10 competencies in great detail.  Our intention is to move you to action.  Not just to buy our book, but to use it so you will transform your personal world of business.  How else will we all get out of this recession alive?  It's not about working harder.

At least we're honest.  And so is Olivia who's been using this workbook for awhile now:

"Mastering Effectiveness has become the user manual for my life.  When a challenge presents itself, or when I find myself falling into the gap of negativity, hopelessness or worry, the wisdom and lessons of this manual always get me back on track.  Both my professional and personal life are in harmony as a result of my success with Mastering Effectiveness.  Thank you, LionHeart!"

Olivia Hipes, Controller
Emerita, Inc