How to respin your career (...without quitting)

Susanna Halonen, author of Screw Finding Your Passion, It’s Within You, Let’s Unlock It, explains how to change your approach to your role, and impress your manager...

Need some top tips on how to make the most of your job (rather than throwing in the towel completely)? The read on...

Be grateful

At the end of every working day, write down three specific things you were grateful for in the past nine hours. Do this for three weeks and you’ll not only turn gratitude into a habit, you’ll start to focus on the good things about your job and learn how to prioritise them.

Find motivation

You need to identify the ‘why’ behind what you do. Maybe it’s as simple as being able to pay your bills. But the very act of realising that means you’ll have a whole new appreciation for your pay cheque at the end of the month.

Learn something new

As humans, we’re forever evolving. This means we’re at our happiest when we’re learning, and that’s a top priority at work. Sign up for extra training courses or get some mentoring from someone in a different department.

Socialise

Your relationship with your colleagues probably has the biggest impact on your job satisfaction. Get to know your teammates by taking lunch breaks together and by talking to them about things other than work. This will fuel everyone’s positivity and creativity.

Think back

Why did you want to work for this company? You’re naturally attracted to the places that are similar to your values so if you look for the connection, you’ll find it. And remember to appreciate it.

Smile more

When you smile, you create a positive chemical reaction in your body – and in those around you. Smiling activates the mirror neurons in the brain and so when you break into a grin, you encourage others to do the same. Now when you share your ideas for the company, everybody is in a receptive mood.

Offer to help

Think of ways to help your colleagues to save time, rather than always giving them your time. For instance, instead of offering to do something for them, share a productivity tip, a computer shortcut or an introduction to someone they might find helpful.

Say thank you

It might sound obvious, but when someone does something nice, say thank you. It could be as simple as holding the door open or making you a cup of tea. Never take people and their actions for granted. Encourage your colleagues. It’s time to stop seeing others on your team as a threat, instead, support their ideas and build on them. Reassure your colleagues that they can successfully work through a new and challenging task, and make it a point to offer to brainstorm ideas if you can see they are clearly struggling. As a result, you’ll learn from them, and they’ll learn from you, and everybody will be impressed. Talk about a win-win.

Have a voice

Managers are always impressed by people who are brave enough to share their views with everyone. That doesn’t mean you should shoot down other people’s ideas or stop them from voicing their own solutions – it just means sharing your thoughts in a clear, concise and attractive way. Are you worried that you’ll be overstepping the mark? Starting to adopt key phrases such as, ‘In my opinion’ and ‘I think’, will help to clarify that.

This article was provided by Susanna Halonen, also known as the Happyologist. She is a happiness coach and the author of Screw Finding Your Passion.