By Natasha Gordon

In our last experience, we talked about finding our peace to make our Mondays feel like Fridays. Well, once you’ve found the peace, you now have the responsibility to maintain it. So you ask, “How do I maintain peace while dealing with challenges at my workplace?”

Here are 5 tips on how to maintain.

See the resolution to an issue. Challenges can arise anywhere from the random absence of your favorite pens to office gossip with your name in it, but as we travel through our work life, it’s necessary that we don’t allow our challenges to build up–eroding our entitlement to peace– but rather face them and learn from them. As for your annoyance with your favorite pens going missing, have you considered moving them to a “safer” place? Or perhaps enjoying the fact that someone has the same love for that pen? Or even better, just keep a variety of pens available for others to use. See these challenges as life’s test.

Eliminate the casual use of the words, “I can’t”.  In the workplace, you can hear murmurs of “I can’t”. Somehow, wanting to give up has become a sense of empowerment. I hear a lot of people speaking of what they WON’T do. But what WILL you do? You have a duty of being an employee to the best of your ability, if not for your employer do it for your own personal growth. Think about the personal success of completing that daunting task. Every time you complete a task that seems more relentless than the last, you are showing strength to yourself. And if these tasks are overwhelming, think about why the tasks are always brought to you. That alone speaks volumes about your character. Your strength does not come in the ability to give up but in your endurance to see through a difficult situation. MORE patience.

 Listen to your complaints. What are you complaining about? Have you taken the time to analyze what your complaints mean? A friend and I sat down creating a list of our complaints. One of mine being, “I’m tired of working after hours and not being given recognition of my efforts.” I was asked, “Why are you working after hours?” “Is there compensation?”

Once I answered these questions, I immediately made a decision not to work after hours without compensation. Also, I realized that I was overextending myself to prove something to others. The next portion of my complaint had to do with a need for “recognition”–an interesting term and an extension of my initial complaint: I was waiting for someone’s approval to validate how successful I am when the position I am in is already a validation of my potential as well as, I am the validation of who I am. MORE understanding.

Create a “to-do” List. Feeling overwhelmed is not comfortable. It’s as though too many things are occurring at once. Let not the amount of tasks deter you from completing them. Make a list, whether mental or on paper, of the things you need to do or want to conquer. Look at the list, and know that you are capable of completing this list. As you complete one task, see it as being one step closer to accomplishment rather than 8 more things to do. Feel free to add some personal plans to your work list of how you are going to change your future, if your current job isn’t what you want. Strength comes when you continue. MORE will.

 Read Self-Help books. (as you are taking some time to yourself during lunch) Self-help books are great reference points. There is a plethora of reads on any of life’s dilemmas. For example, if you feel as though your voice isn’t heard in the office, grab a book on empowerment. Start the journey on finding your voice. Now you have a personal purpose at work, which gives work more value than a place that you go for a paycheck. You’re now going to work on Monday… to find your voice. Also, huge benefit of reading, the more knowledgeable you are about your behavior, the better you are in fixing it and attaining peace. MORE intelligence.

How are you maintaining?

[info_box type=”alert_box”]If you want to practice self-care, you have to care for your finances.  My book, The Happy Finances Challenge, is designed to help you learn to make money decisions that will lead to long-term financial happiness in just 42 days. [/info_box]