1. You can’t change the organisation you work for It’s too set in it’s ways. It’s too damaged and full of corporate disease. It took too long to get where it is, and an oil tanker can’t be turned on a sixpence. Don’t set yourself unrealistic goals that are deemed to fail.
2. You are not alone Someone has been there before. They survived. Someone is out there right now, (maybe closer than you know) feeling just like you do. You will both survive. Others will be there later. They will survive too. It’s gonna be OK.
3. There is always calm after the storm If things are really shit then there is only one way it can go from here – up. If you are in the middle of a shit storm, or one unexpectedly arrives, don’t panic. It will pass, as all storms do, and the sun will shine again.
4. You need to experience the shit in order to know what isn’t shit
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. True dat. Once you know what makes you uncomfortable, you know what you dislike about your job / company, you’ve been part of things that go wrong then you are equipped to make informed choices next time.
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5. You can influence individuals You will do one tiny thing that will have an incredible impact on someone else. Either intentionally or not, the little things count in life. Maybe you told a joke and make someone smile, you ran a productive meeting in front of a peer, you put yourself first and went to the gym at lunch time, or you influenced a senior stakeholder to make a decision – you did that. No-one else. You.
6. Tomorrow always comes No matter how much work you get done today there will always be more tomorrow. Go home, spend time with friends, partners, children and don’t feel bad about it. Work takes up a large part of your life, but it should never become your life.
7. It all starts with you You always have a choice in the actions you take. In the attitude you show at work. In the energy you bring to the office. Whether you even decide to stick in a job or find something different. If you want work to be less shit – don’t wait for someone to fix it for you – do something about it yourself.
Good luck.