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As an employee, we don’t always feel in control of our work environment. Whatever your current job, you are still in the driver’s seat of your life, and employees who are willing to embrace being the leader of their own lives are happier, more successful and become a potent influence on the world around them.
Here are six key attributes of happy and successful employees that you can add to your life right away:
1. They know they are the source
Happy and successful employees know they are the ones who can change anything in their lives. They do not wait for other people to change it for them. They are willing to look at all situations in their lives and ask:
Is this working or not working for me?
If it’s not working, what can I be or do different to change it?
If it is working, how can it get even better?
What contribution can I be or receive here that would assist me?
What else can I choose that I didn’t know I could?
You are the creator of your life and your reality – what would you like your life to be like and what action can you take to get it?
2. They don’t judge, criticize or limit themselves.
The greatest impediment to happiness and success is judgment and self-criticism. Develop a mindset that challenges perceived limits (including self-imposed limits) and look for the possibility in everything. When doubts, criticisms or challenges come up, ask questions such as:
What’s right about me I am not getting?
If there was no limitation here, what would I choose?
What is great about me that I haven’t acknowledged?
Truly successful people celebrate mistakes and failures. When a choice or decision doesn’t work out as expected, they will ask, “What is right about this?” and “What awareness has this given me?” rather than getting stuck feeling wrong about it.
3. They have gratitude for themselves and their job
Most of us are taught that changing things for the better requires finding the problem to fix – when in fact, the opposite is true! The more gratitude you have for what is great, the greater things can become. A happy employee is grateful for themselves and everything they have going on, even when it’s not “perfect.”
What am I grateful for about my job?
What am I grateful for about my manager and team?
What am I grateful for about me?
What contribution is this job to me that I haven’t acknowledged?
What contribution am I to this job and business that I have never acknowledged?
Acknowledge you and be grateful for what you have created, and more will show up.
4. They are curious seekers
Do you believe in problems or possibilities? It’s your choice! Employees are most happy and successful when they allow their innovative and creative thinking to dominate. They ask expansive questions:
What else is possible I / we haven’t considered?
Who else knows about this and what ideas do they have?
What can I add to make this task / project easier or greater?
Who can I talk to or where can I go to help bring this to fruition?
If I wasn’t seeing ____as a problem, what possibility would it be?
Curiosity in possibilities rather than focus on problems or roadblocks creates open-mindedness, a willingness to go beyond limitations and stay open to receiving contribution from all kinds of unexpected places.
5. They are willing for their difference to be seen and heard
Happy, successful people spend a lot less time worrying about what other people think of them and more time playing with what their difference can create in the world. They value unique perspectives and ideas and are willing to share them:
What do I know here and what am I aware of that others may not be?
What questions can I ask that no one else can?
How can I use my difference and unique perspective / experience to my advantage?
What can I contribute, say or do here that would create more for me and everyone?
Be willing to be yourself, even when it isn’t always comfortable.
6. They never give up!
The only person who can hold you back, is you. The most successful and happy people know they are unstoppable and when an apparent obstacle shows up – they get creative and ask:
How can this work out better than I can possibly imagine?
How can I get around this and out-create this with ease?
How can I use this to my advantage?
How much fun can I have?
Are you willing to never give up, never give in and never quit – and have fun along the way?
Happiness and success is a choice you have when you are willing to be the leader of your life and not hold back from being all that is great about you. Are you willing to be a potent gift in your life, your job and in the world?
Laleh Hancock is a transformation facilitator and business coach with more than 25 years of experience building companies and individuals that win. Whether partnering with a Fortune 500 company or an entrepreneurial stay home mum, Laleh is dedicated to empowering people and organizations of all ages and stages to grow and expand. Laleh is a certified Facilitator for Access Consciousness, including Joy of Business, a specialty program of Access Consciousness. She meets people where they are and provides practical tools to empower people to create more joy, ease and possibilities in life. Laleh served on the Governor’s Maryland Caregivers Support Coordinating Council for four years. Follow on Twitter at @Belapemo.