3 things you should stop obsessing about in the workplace.
Sitting in traffic on your way home and obsessing about what you should or should not have done or said? All the “what if’s” shuffling around in your mind, over-analysing or obsessing about your day? This is not a healthy or productive way to build your career. It is the beginning of the year and time for new years’ resolutions. Stop living in the past or the future and press play for today. Live in the present. Start with evaluating these three things most people do in the workplace:
- Living in the past – you can’t reverse time. What is done is done. People tend to get depressed over what happened in the past, when the reality is that there is NOTHING you can do about it. Like Rafiki says in THE LION KING – “….it doesn’t matter it’s in the past….you can either run from it or learn from it.” Make a conscious decision to learn from your mistakes and not to sit and press rewind and replay the entire time. You are wasting the present time, making you more tired and less productive.
- Living in the fast forward future – you can’t see into the future. Why do we lie awake at night, thinking about what disasters await us at the office? Living in the future, thinking about everything that still needs to be done OR what if something that you didn’t think of happens with a project at work? By doing this, the anxiety monster creeps in and makes you negative about going to work. STOP – there is absolutely nothing you can do about the future, especially not on a Sunday evening. Jot down a “To do” list for the Monday, switch off and press play! Enjoy the present moment fully. You will do better in the morning, with a clear mind after a good night’s rest.
- Live your life in play – live in the present, here and now! Press your play button every time you walk in to the office. In fact everyday of your life. Remind yourself constantly to enjoy every moment. Deal with situations as they arise, don’t create them and don’t obsess about them. Do your best with the current situation you are faced with.
It is good to plan and it helps to try and predict certain outcomes so as to be more prepared for a specific project at work. But don’t obsess about the future and do learn from the past. Life is too short to stress about things you have no control over.