"Life, Career and Happiness"
I have been absent from the blogging sphere for a while. I recently graduated with an MBA, travelled across the US and moved to Finland!! Things are absolutely hectic right now haha but I will soon share with you all my adventures driving across the States, job hunt/ life organization and, of course, my sunlight (and mosquito) filled summer in Lappland!
Hope all is well with you. We’ll get together soon!
Jaana
I know what you are thinking, this is obvious right? But I just have to share my experiences and remind you all how powerful a smiling face can be.
Don’t you just love a smiling face? I do!
Smiling has many implications,both in our personal as well as in our business relationships. Smiling simply connects people and sets a stage for successful and positive relationships. Smiling overcomes barriers, invites people in and opens doors. A sincere smile is a message of kindness and warmness, and has a tremendous affect on the environment you live in. Smiling (or the lack of it) is one of the first things others will notice about you.
To me a person that smiles and constantly carries themselves with a positive vibe, is a person of great confidence and a balanced spirit. This person is someone I want to meet, work with, offer my help to and share my smile with.
Smiling can make the most difficult and stressful situations just a little less stressful and simply relaxes and brings people together.
So we know that a smiling is a wonderful thing, but what happens if you don’t feel like smiling? We all have bad days when even putting on a smile is too much to ask. That’s totally fine. We all get our smiles back eventually, some days are just little less smiley than others.
”Smile and the whole world smiles with you.”
The value of a smile is priceless. It can’t be bought, begged or borrowed.
The most disappointing thing with people is fakeness. Right?
I’m from Finland and we Finns are not the most open people on the planet but at least, we are honest. If we say we want to have lunch, that is what we mean. I still, after being in the States for so many years, wonder what’s the point of saying things you don’t mean crap with?
If I don’t want to hang out or do things, I simply say no. Not my thing, not my cup of tea. What’s up with the “Let’s do this and that”, if you don’t really mean it? Why lie?
The basic stuff you encounter with a fake person:
1. He or she doesn’t remember the basics about you, especially repeating the same questions about you over and over again.
2. Telling you the stories you remember you have heard zillion time before (because you care and paid attention).
3. Forget your last encounter even if you had a conversation of half an hour at an event (where were you really?)
3. Loves to listen to their own voice
4. Talks on top of you constantly since their stories are so much more important than anyone else’s
This is still the most fascinating thing to me, why waste energy on people and things one really never cares about? Why? If I’m not interested, I’ll politely tell people that.
Do you try to please people and try to pretend to be interested? And why?
I had the privilege to guest blog for the Working Girl. Working Girl is a great blog that focuses on Human Capital Management topics from the perspective of a talent management evangelist, compensation specialist and proud mother of three, Laura Schroeder.
You can find my post at Working Girl site.
Hope you enjoy it!
Even though we’d like to live around the notion of “I don’t give a damn what other people think of me”, but the truth is that sometimes you should give a damn. And here’s why.
In your life, no matter if it’s your personal life, your career, or other social activities, you will most likely need other people to get to from point A to point B. It’s extremely important to know how you want to come across to other people, and what kind of perception you give out to the world. And remember, bad reputation carries like fire.
Following are few simple tips to better carry and present yourself:
Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.
Walk softly and carry a big carrot.
Everyone needs a friend who is all ears.
There’s no such thing as too much candy.
All work and no play can make you a basket case.
A cute little tail attracts a lot of attention.
Everyone is entitled to a bad hare day.
Let happy thoughts multiply like rabbits.
Some body parts should be floppy.
Keep your paws off other people’s jellybeans.
Good things come in small sugar-coated packages.
The grass is always greener in someone else’s basket.
An Easter bonnet can tame even the wildest hare.
To show your true colors – you have to come out of your shell.
The best things in life are still sweet and gooey.
~Author Unknown
Happy Easter everyone!
There are some times when avoiding conflicts and walking away from a situation is a good thing; when they simply don’t have a direct impact on you, or the other person is just a nut case and you know it. Just let it go.
But there’s the other side of the coin where a situation has a direct impact on you and requires you to act on it. Many people are not comfortable with conflict and are not quite sure how to handle those situations.
There are two kinds of conflicts; conflicts arising from simply two different viewpoints and the conflict that arises from unfairness and mistreatment. It is extremely important to be able to speak up and express how you feel in these situations. Many of us don’t, and are left feeling depressed, beat and angry for letting the situation (or that other person) take a better of us.
The first case is a much more healthier one, where the differences arises simply from different experiences, styles and different situations. It’s important to just:
1. Talk it over and listen:
2. Focus on the behavior and the situation- not the personalities
The second case where one experiences conflict that arises from unfair or unnecessary bad treatment towards you, you must:
1. Speak Up!
You’ve got your plate more than full for the upcoming week and suddenly you don’t feel that well. Maybe you catch a nasty cold or flu and you now feel sicker than a dog. Just wonderful.
The reality here is that you cannot swim into your PJ’s and forget your projects and tasks that are sitting on your shoulders for the coming week. So how can you get through this one?
Following are few tips I’ve learned along the way:
1. Take it easy
When you first start to feel sick, do not panic. Get some rest. If you want to beat the Flu Devil, you can beat it at the starting line. The work will be waiting for you, trust me, and getting some power rest will help you tackle the tasks in the long-run, guaranteed.
2. Take in the H2O, vitamins and your grandmother’s cures
Drink a gallon of water, take some C- vitamins and think of those good old cures you’re grandma told you about.
Here’s one from my lovely Granny for you cold sufferers:
Boil the milk, add chopped garlic and honey. Boil until garlic until it softens. Ready to enjoy! Enjoy here is the wrong word but I promise, this stuff works like a miracle!
3. Do whatever it takes to get better
Get hot showers, drink herbal teas, rest and eat as healthy as you can (Drink that garlic milk!). Service your body.
3. Take one step at a time
By taking frequent breaks and working in shorter segments, you’ll give your body the time needed to get energized.
4. Stay positive!
That’s right, don’t sink into a funk, that’s what the Flu Devil loves. Staying positive will help your body and mind fight the sickness with more vigor!
How do you stay productive when you’re not feeling top-notch?
Don’t get me wrong, I love my warm and fuzzy comfort zone as much as you probably do. But sometimes, in order for us to grow and live the lives we want to live, we simply have to break out of our zones.
Breaking out of your comfort zone, to me, means taking upon challenges that are outside of my skill set and participating in activities that are outside of my personality. Basically to me, it means doing things that you want to do, and not letting your own fears hold you back. For many of us, facing uncertainties and our own fears is easier said than done, but ultimately, I think it’s what life is about. It is then that we find the truly unique and exciting experiences and opportunities!
What are the benefits of stepping out of your comfort realm?
I wanted to share my favorite life advice with you all from Baz Luhrmann. Take it in with great care. Truly powerful.
Here we go:
Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’97. Wear sunscreen.
If I could offer you one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience… I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh, never mind, you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until
they’ve faded. But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now, how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are NOT as fat as you imagine.
Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by
chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blind side you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing everyday that scares you.
Sing.
Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts. Don’t put up with people who are reckless with your’s.
Floss.
Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. The race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.
Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch.
Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22
what they wanted to do with their lives; some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.
Get plenty of calcium.
Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.
Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll divorce at 40. Maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s.
Enjoy your body, use it every way you can… don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it… it’s the greatest instrument
you’ll ever own.
Dance… even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.
Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.
Do NOT read beauty magazines they will only make you feel UGLY.
Brother and sister together we’ll make it through.Someday your spirit will take you and guide you there. I know you’ve been hurting, but I’ve been waiting to be there for you. And I’ll be there just helping you out whenever I can.
Get to know your parents, you never know when they might be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings; they’re your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography
and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths. Prices will rise, Politicians will philander, you too will get old. And when you do, you’ll
fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you’ll have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.
Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you’re 40, it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia; dispensing it is a way of
fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts, and recycling it for more than it’s worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen.
Everybody’s free. Everybody’s free.
Don’t you just LOVE this?!
Artist(Band): Baz Luhrmann
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