Entries from May 2008 ↓

expresso marco. Creative Commons license.

arbejde–work (Danish)
glæde–happiness (Danish)
arbejdsglæde–happiness at work (Danish)

Alexander Kjerulf, Chief Happiness Officer, recently wrote a post entitled Of Brits and Danes and Happiness at Work. Alex tells us the Nordic languages, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish and Icelandic, have a word for happiness at work, but English doesn’t. This fact corresponds to what he noticed when he was working in England recently…the British attitude towards work is completely different from the Danish one. Britons don’t expect to be happy at work, Danes do. Britons don’t value happiness at work, Danes do. So it’s no wonder that a recent University of Cambridge study on happiness concluded that the Danes are the happiest people in Europe, while the British rated 9th.

And, Alex points out, not only are the British less happy, they also work longer hours and are less productive than the Danes. How crazy is that? So Alex issues this challenge to “British companies, managers and employees everywhere”:

Amen to that, I say! It usually takes a lot of effort and patience…it’s sometimes scary…but I can’t conceive of wasting my life feeling trapped in a job I hate. What about you? How do you feel about work? Do you think it’s something that should bring you joy? If so, what are you doing, or have you done, about it? Please share your experience in the comments section.

Thanks to Robin, David, Shilpan, Shamelle, and Darren for comments on last week’s post.

Related posts: Live Your Own Life, It’s a Magical World.

Related articles on Danes and Happiness: You can be as happy as a Dane, Why Danes are smug.

Photo by hangdog. Creative Commons license.
 

Photo by hangdog. Creative Commons license.

A woman, I’ll call her “Joan”, from our local Friends of the Shelter sent a delightful message to the group the other day. She gave an update on the beautiful Rottweiler puppy she adopted from the shelter last November. He’s now a beautiful 60-pound nine-month-old. He’s a wonderful addition to the family…calm, playful, people-oriented and dog-friendly.

He has just one little issue…he wants to be the boss of someone, and he’s chosen her. He wants to tell her when he wants to play and to be fed, and if she doesn’t do what she wants, he chews on her foot, jumps on her and nips. Just a little issue.

And, in fact, the behavioral specialist she took him to says it’s probably easily cured. Don’t scold him or get into a battle of wills. Just quietly take him into another room, preferably with one of his favorite toys, and give him a time out for a bit. He already gets plenty of attention, and reacting to him is positive reinforcement. She’s been trying it and is having good results. And she’s wisely doing that now, when he’s “only” 60 pounds, before he’s full-grown.

Lessons Learned?
So what can we learn from this? For me it’s to remember to keep things in perspective. To remember that we don’t have to be perfect to be lovable. If we’re acting in ways we don’t like, don’t turn it into a moral matter. Just figure out what the payoff for the behavior is, and find a healthier way of satisfying that need. In the Rottweiler’s case, it’s to show him he’s more apt to get attention if he doesn’t try to dominate the woman. For me the big problem years ago was eating junk food, as well as too much of the healthy stuff. The solution wasn’t to mentally beat myself up, it was to find activities that I loved even more than eating. As long as I was dieting I kept thinking about food. The solution was to do something else instead. And a big part of the process was to refuse to stop loving myself just because I had a little issue. Staying loving and nonjudgmental is powerful.

What about you? Have you ever changed some unwanted behaviors? Please share your experience in the comments section.

Thanks to bikehikebabe, Daz, Shauna, Robert and Robin for commenting on last week’s post.

I think that what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the physical plane will have resonances within our own innermost being and reality….
–Joseph Campbell in “The Power of Myth”

Last week I talked about how I stayed up until 3 a.m. taking pictures of my stuffed bear. Even though it seemed a bit crazy at the time, taking the pictures was feeding my soul, so I immersed myself in the process. I now have an idea of why the final picture resonated so deeply. It reminded me of my daughter when she was a newborn. The picture on the left was taken when she was a few months old, but the big eyes and attentive look was the same. And so was the open mouth, as if she were about to say something. I spent a lot of time talking to her when she was little. And even before her eyes could completely focus, she was trying to make that connection. Oh, Lord, that does bring back memories of one of the most profound periods of my life.

She and Torben got married last weekend, and I write a little about the wedding in yesterday’s post at Transforming Stress. I’ll always treasure that time, too. I’ve never been a proud mother, because I’ve never thought of her as “my” daughter. I’ve always thought of her as a separate person that I’ve been privileged to have in my life. It’s an honor to be related to two such wonderful people.

What about you? What touches your heart and stirs your soul? Please share your experiences in the comment section.

Thanks to Shilpan, bikehikebabe, Daz and David for commenting on last week’s post.

You’re only given a little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it.
–Robin Williams

I think that what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the physical plane will have resonances within our own innermost being and reality….
–Joseph Campbell in “The Power of Myth”

It’s a magical world, Hobbes, ol’ buddy…let’s go exploring!
–Calvin to Hobbes

I hesitate to tell you how long I spent taking the above picture for last week’s post. I had the post written by a reasonable hour, and it could have been a nice conclusion to a productive day. All I needed was a simple illustration for the text.

Instead I took picture after picture, varying the lighting, pose and camera angle. From time to time I downloaded the pictures to my computer and noticed what resonated and what didn’t. When I first started getting involved, the “rational” part of my mind said, “This is crazy. The picture you have is plenty good enough. Just let it go and get a good night’s sleep.” And a soft inner voice replied, “Yes, what you say makes sense. It is crazy. I’m doing it anyway, and you can’t stop me.” Once I get in that situation I don’t fight myself. I open myself to the experience.

I ended up going to bed about 3 a.m.

Was that really the best use of my time? When babies lie in their crib experimenting with making sounds, is that a waste of their time? Or when they start exploring their hands and feet, being completely open to the miracle of movement, is that a waste of time? I think not. And I believe that feeling of fascination and discovery shouldn’t be reserved for children. I personally regard that state as sacred space, when one forgets about time and is completely immersed in the present moment. So what if I got to bed late and slept in the next morning? It was a small price to pay for feeding my soul. Sure it was crazy, and I agree with Robin Williams, we’re only given a little spark of madness. We mustn’t lose it.

What about you? Do you have a spark of madness that makes you feel more alive, that lets you slip into sacred space? Please share your thoughts and experience in the comments section.

Thanks to bikehikebabe, David, Daz and Shilpan for commenting on last week’s post.