So how did you do with incorporating vibe shifters #1 & 2 to shift the vibe in your office? If you missed last week’s post, you can find it here. And now for part two of the series.
Ready?
Vibe Shifter #3: Infuse Your Days with a Spirit of Generosity
Last week, I had to take a family member to a doctor’s appointment and while waiting in the lobby, I got to witness the work of one of the members of the support staff who had been tasked with putting up the office Christmas tree. She complained so much about having to do so, that I couldn’t help but to casually insert myself.
And so, I did what I could to playfully encourage her to get into the spirit and try to make it a joyful experience. It didn’t work. She simply wasn’t interested in shifting her mood or her mindset.
But what if she had embraced this task as an opportunity to add joy to someone else’s experience? What if she had infused this piece of her work with a spirit of generosity and even celebration in knowing that the decorated tree might actually brighten someone’s day and add to office cheer?
The irony is she cheated herself with her own lack of generosity, missing an opportunity to engage in what could have been a much sweeter experience.
And she also missed an opportunity to create a piece of joy for those who witnessed her work (myself included) and her co-workers who only received her complaints.
When we work, we can frame our tasks in any way that we choose. We decide if we’re going to begrudge the entire process or if we’ll really put our hearts into our work.
When we choose to give and infuse the experience with a bit of ourselves, somehow what we create (regardless of whether it’s a product or service) is somehow a bit sweeter and those who witness our work are also enriched.
One of my all-time favorite passages is by the Lebanese poet, Kahlil Gibran where he speaks on the topic of work. The entire poem is quite illuminating and powerful, so if you have time, I encourage you to read it in its entirety.
However, for our purposes, I wanted to share the following excerpts:
“And what is it to work with love?
It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart, even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth.
It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.
It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy, even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit.
It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit . . .
Work is love made visible.
And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.
For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man’s hunger.
And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distils a poison in the wine.
And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man’s ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night.”
When it comes to work and conversations about it, I am admittedly a sap. This is, in part, because I don’t believe we have come anywhere close to reaching our fullest potential.
And honestly, I have to sometimes pull back and settle my own heart down a bit as I try to remember that this process is one that must unfold in its own time.
But, Gibran absolutely nails it in his attempt to speak to the powerful potential of work. And the essential ingredient, as he points out, rests on infusing one’s work with this spirit of generosity of which I speak.
If you’re feeling particularly challenged by this, one useful technique that you can try is to simply practice being fully present with whatever it is that you’re doing when you’re working.
When you’re present, there’s no room for a whole bunch of mental chatter about the process. You set your intention, i.e. to do it with a generous spirit and then you engage. Master your mind, don’t allow it to master you.
So feel free to play with this particular vibe shifter and look for opportunities and ways to implement it.
Choose to be helpful.
Choose to encourage (and not jump on every negative bandwagon).
Choose to be grateful for your work, your talents and your co-workers.
Challenge yourself to think of even more ways to liberally lead with kindness and watch the magic unfold.
What better time of year to put this and all of the vibe shifters to work?
Next week, I’ll share the final post in the series. Stay tuned!
Quote of the Week: “No one can occupy your generosity except you. Who can occupy your patience when impatience roars through you? Who except you can choose not to act with judgment when all of your thoughts are judgmental? Your life is yours to live, no matter how you choose to live it. When you do not think about how you intend to live it, it lives you.” — Gary Zukav
Monica Moody
Monica Moody
