Feeling Anxious? Try Smiling. ~www.jaywren.com

The Power of Smiling

Feeling Anxious? Try Smiling. ~www.jaywren.com

Is Anxiety Killing Your Career?

Anxiety can make you avoid opportunities for work, fun, and networking.  It can cut your opportunities for leadership roles.  Your anxiety can generate signals that make it harder for people to reach out to you.

Smile

There are many things that you can do to calm your jitters.  Perhaps the most overlooked way is simply to smile.  People smile when they are happy.  And equally important is that smiling can help you feel happy.

The smiley face emoji says to other people you approve of what they have to say.  Smiling has a similar effect.  It tells people you approve of them.  It creates trust and helps people open up to you.

You are generating charisma.  People find your presence attractive.  Your smiling helps people feel more confident and comfortable being around you.  In turn, they smile and you feel confident from their signal of approval.

A frown will chase away friends.  Ah, but there is something about a smile that attracts people and draws people to you.

So, let it go.  When you see people, start with a smile.  As people approach, nod and smile.  When you are shaking hands with people, look at them and smile.

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Hanging on to guilt is a painful waste of energy. It does not solve anybody's problems.

Guilt – A Painful Waste of Time

To be resilient, we must be able to forgive ourselves about our mistakes. Carrying around guilt lowers our self-esteem and confidence. Guilt does not help us correct mistakes. It only makes it more difficult to repair to damaged relationships.

So, let go of guilt. If you made a mistake, do not repeat it. If you did not make a mistake, just forget about what happened. If the guilt continues to plague you, can write about your feelings.  Then make a list of good things you can do for other people and do those things.

Ironically, guilt is a form of self-consciousness.  People who feel guilty are focusing on how they feel about their mistakes. To remove guilt focus on solutions to help other people.

Photo by Polina Kuzovkova on Unsplash

Pause

When I feel frustrated, in doubt, or angry, stepping away from a situation gives me the opportunity to calm my emotions. The separation allows me to reduce the noise in my head. I think more clearly. I make better decisions. I can try to reduce tension between another person and me by saying things like this:

“May I get back to you?”
“If I were in your shoes, I might feel the same way.”
“I understand.”

But first, I must pause.

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When it comes to arguments over politics, religion, or even sports, critical thinking is the first thing to exit the door. Jay Wren

Critical Thinking

Confirmation bias is the emotional and mental experience that we have based on our beliefs. Unconsciously, we say to ourselves, “This information is true because it reinforces my beliefs.” On the other hand, we will unconsciously say to ourselves, “This information is false because it conflicts with my beliefs.” Different beliefs and ideologies between people and groups of groups create conflict. Shared beliefs create trust and loyalty. Groups of people with shared beliefs are the foundation for political parties, religious groups, family bonds, sports fan bases, national loyalty, friendships, and any other cohesively committed group. We feel safe around people who agree with our thinking. Ideas that are inconsistent with our group belief makes us feel threatened. We trust people who tell us what we believe.

Confirmation bias can easily block critical thinking.

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Plans

Book Excerpt: Best Jobs. Brightest Careers.

Updating Your Career Strategy

The Benefits of Updating Your Career Strategy: A great career plan is an opportunity map. Your strategy must be flexible. With an updated plan, you will discover new roads for opportunities to succeed. Moreover, students and professionals who have developed and follow their own career plan have a greater likelihood of success, simply because they know which steps to take for success.

Great career plans not only define where you want to go. The plan helps you identify the tools, skills, and network you need to get there. ~ www.jaywren.com

Psychological Benefits of a Career Plan

A Career Plan Gives You a Sense of Purpose. 

Have you ever found yourself in a meeting, working on a project, or in any situation where the question came to mind, “What am I doing here?” or “Why am I doing this?”

Have you noticed that associated with those questions is an unpleasant feeling that you are wasting your time? You have no sense of purpose for your activities.

Going to work every day with a sense of purpose is a lot more fun than going to work every day and wondering why you are doing what you are doing.

Also, it seems logical that going to work every day with a sense of purpose increases your likelihood of being more successful.

  1. Your interest in your work will increase.
  2. You will be focused on your work.
  3. Spontaneously, you will be more willing to invest energy and time in your work.

Photo by Honey Yanibel Minaya Cruz on Unsplash

Similarities

Our beliefs become hardwired in our minds. They control our thinking and our feelings about what other people say and do. Sometimes friendships fall apart because people develop new beliefs. Other times, people who have been friends realize over time that some of their beliefs have never been the same on some issues. However, if they focus on the things they have in common, they can continue to have a strong relationship.

Photo by XiaoXiao Sun on Unsplash