Be More Engaged & Happy in All Areas

I listened to a teleclass today by one of my favorite authors and teachers, Marshall Goldsmith.  His approach is straight forward and rooted in solid experience and research…and he’s just fun to listen to (and talk to…I interviewed him in 2008).
Today’s topic was how to increase employee engagement–but it is a good approach to increase your OWN engagement and your own happiness, as well.  With employees, it can be used to improve how employees approach their work and their relationship with their job.  As with most things, this is an “inside job”–it’s not something that someone can do for someone else.  And, frankly, if a person isn’t willing to take a good, honest look in the mirror, be accountable, and CHANGE, nothing anyone else can do will probably help.  In fact, Marshall Goldsmith says that this approach, described below, is only for those folks who want to be happier and more engaged.  If they don’t, well don’t even try to help them make a shift.  
But for those folks who do want to be happier and more engaged in what they’re doing, and in their relationships (and I hope that’s you!), here are the simple steps to take.  You can use these with yourself, or with an employee (or even a child)…
It’s all about asking the right questions.
  • Ask “active questions”—based on doing, setting, achieving, etc. , questions focused on what you CAN DO.  For example:
    “Did you do your best to increase your own engagement in this company?”
    “What did I do today to increase my happiness?”
    “Did I do my best to increase my happiness?”
    • Ask yourself (and/or the other person–employee, for example) every day, or the end of each meeting
    “What did I do…
    To increase my happiness?
    To increase my engagement in this (process, project, company, etc.)?
    To find meaning?
    To be of service?
    To build positive relationships with the important people in my life?
    To remember the people I love?
    Etc…”
    • Write these down as goals…share them with others.
    • Ask your chosen questions every day…make them a habit (sharing with others will help this process)
    • Be fully accountable and honest with yourself.

    Why are these questions and growth in these areas important?  Because they break us out of the inertia of living in a reactionary mode.  They keep us focused on what really matters.  They move us from “victim mode” to “victor mode”.  They can cause shifts that make us more positively productive and satisfied.  They can make us more in love with what we do, and with who we are. They open doors in our thinking to having more meaning in our lives. 

    And, do you have to love what you do, and do what’s meaningful in order to be highly successful?  Studies show that people at the top of their game, say “Yes”!  So, creating meaning by being more fully engaged and happier, can also make you more successful.
    Wow–living with more meaning, happiness and success!  Isn’t that what we all want?  So, I challenge you today to make a set of of 3 questions that, when positively addressed, can make your business and your life richer.  Choose some of the questions above, or create your own, about what you can DO to change your personal engagement with life.  Then ask yourself every day for 30 days (yes, another 30 day challenge!) and see how your happiness, business, and overall meaning start to bloom.
    Here’s to your abundance!
    Lynnea