In these crazy times with all that is going on in the world, does it seem like your upper management has gone crazy? (And yes, I realize that you might well be part of said upper management. 😊 ) There are so many things that are changing so quickly… so many decisions to be made that just can’t wait.
Some decisions have been made that we simply don’t understand or don’t agree with. This can cause us to be stressed out, ticked off, and downright rebellious. It seems like there is nothing we can do.
How can our upper management be so stupid?!?
Why do they keep doing this to us?
Isn’t it about time to restructure upper management?
In this topsy-turvy world, we just want to find some peace and happiness. That’s not too much to ask, is it? Happiness is what we’re all working so hard to experience, right?
So, think about this…
The effort that we put forth every day of our lives is to help us in our pursuit of happiness. So, let’s look back over your life and on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being as unhappy 😥 as you could be and 10 being the happiest 😁 you could be), how would you answer each of these questions?
- If you think about the happiest time in your life, what would that number be? ______
- How happy were you when you were 5 years old? ______
- How happy were you in high school (or college)? You choose. ______
- OK, using the same scale, how happy were you 10 years ago? ______
- Now, how happy were you last year? ______
- If you look over the last week, how happy were you? ______
- And, how would you rate your happiness right now today? ______
Is your number going up or down or up AND down?
If there isn’t a steady increase and all of your daily efforts over the years of your life have been to produce more happiness in your life, then you have an “upper management” problem. This has nothing to do with your job or career, and it has everything to do with the “upper” portion of your body… yes, your own brain.
It is your INTERNAL “upper” management that is causing the problem, not your external upper management. How do we know? Because if you graphed your happiness numbers over the years, you will notice dips that have nothing to do with your job, business, or your leaders. Chances are any recent dips don’t have anything to do with your external upper management either.
100% Happy
Let’s look at the expectations of your “upper” management…
- What are your expectations around happiness?
- What percentage of the time should you be happy?
Have you ever thought about this?
Many people have the expectation that they should be happy 100% of the time. I know because in my past I have often thought this to be true. I’ve thought that if I’m not happy that something must be WRONG! Something must be wrong with ME or something must be wrong with REALITY.
In fact, the truth is something IS WRONG. It’s just neither of those two things above. The thing that is not serving me and my happiness is upper management’s EXPECTATION that I should be happy 100% of the time. Seriously! That’s a terrible expectation to have and to hold in my mind.
Think about it…
Does this expectation help you to feel or become happier? No. Frankly, it does just the opposite. So, if that expectation doesn’t help you to get any closer to happiness, it isn’t a good expectation. It just makes you feel out of sorts when the natural ups and downs of life occur.
Reality isn’t right or wrong. Reality simply IS.
What does this have to do with upper management? EVERYTHING!
Your “Upper” Management
You see, everything you do in your life is in the pursuit of happiness and creating value in your life, isn’t it? Everything that you do, you’re doing it because you believe it will make you happier. So, all the effort you put into every day is to experience more feel-good feelings.
What did you do over the past 6 months to make yourself happier? Maybe you learned something new or attended lots of educational webinars? Maybe you pursued a new hobby, career, or business? Maybe you built relationships or a new she-shed? Maybe you found toilet paper during the pandemic? (Is there anything happier than that?!? 😉
You pursued these ambitions because you believed that accomplishing and experiencing those things would bring you happiness. Now, if after all of that effort, your happiness is not going up but, in fact, going down or staying the same, that means that your upper management is the problem.
You are looking for your happiness “out there.” When, in fact, you can choose to be happy at any moment because happiness doesn’t come from “out there.”
50% Happy
Happiness is created in your mind. Yes, go ahead and read that again. Happiness is created in your mind. So, what if you changed the expectation and expected to be happy 50% of the time?
What!?! Traci, you must be crazy!
Why would we shoot for that? Seriously, go ahead and answer your question. Why would you shoot for just being happy 50% of the time?
One way to look at it is that we can’t appreciate the light without darkness. We can’t enjoy the warmth without the cold. We can’t appreciate joy without sorrow.
If you were happy 100% of the time, how would you know you were happy? If you somehow achieved this unachievable goal, how would you know?
What to do
I mentioned earlier that you can choose to be happy; that happiness is a choice and a product of your thinking. Happiness is created in your mind. It is a feeling that comes from the thoughts you choose to think. The way you think about a situation determines whether or not you are happy.
Think about the birth of a child. It can be a wonderful and beautiful experience. It can be filled with great joy and, yes, happiness. You’re bringing new life into this world. Oh wait, it can also be filled with dread and doubt. Can I afford this ‘thing?’ Have you seen the cost of a college education? What if they never move out of my house?
Joy and dread.
Happiness and doubt.
You decide in every moment. You get to choose how you look at your world.
As we finish out this incredible year of 2020, I want to encourage you to look inside at your “upper” management. Is it serving you? What might you need to shift or change?
I want to inspire you to not only set your expectations around what you want “out there.” Set expectations around what you want to accomplish in regards to your “upper” management. Set expectations around who you want to be as well as what you want to do and experience.
- How are you going to experience the sorrow and sadness in your life? Will you resist it or embrace it?
- Will you seek out the uncomfortable knowing that your success, comfort, and happiness awaits on the other side?
- How are you going to experience the joy and happiness in your life? Will you try to hold tightly on to it only to watch it slip away, or will you embrace it while it is here?
- Are you able to use the magnificent power of your mind to experience life as it is, knowing that the goal is 50% (OK, 50.1%) happy and 50% (OK, 49.9%) sad?
Want to learn more?
Check out the free web event below for more information on just how to do this!
Free Webinar: October 29, 2020
50% Happy – The Key to More Joy
Learn how to reset your expectations to experience a more fulfilling life.
While the web event has passed, you can still gain instant access to the replay here: https://courses.pmbrilliance.com/webinar-50happy-replay