Stop working yourself into a lather over the job you dislike going to on Mondays. Get a fresh perspective about your career by adopting these feng shui-friendly tips for the home and office
QUESTION OF THE WEEK: I don’t like going to work. What suggestions do you have when it comes to someone who dreads Monday mornings?
You are not alone. A large percentage of America’s working population admits that it does not enjoy going to work on Monday morning. Lessen the dread of the “Monday morning blues” by understanding exactly why you do not like your work. Get clear, reframe your thoughts, set new intentions, and make changes to your home and office environment to support a new vision.
Consider the advice that best fits your circumstance:
If you dislike the work you do, be honest with yourself about the reasons why. Is the job not challenging enough? Are you in the wrong type of job? Are you shy and introverted, yet work in sales? Do you need movement and communication, yet work in a stationary and silent environment? Do you even believe in the work you do? It may be time to discover what you do like and pursue a change.
Feng Shui Support: Bring in more light. Light represents ideas, illumination, clarity and opportunities. Also, bring in more water. Water is associated with “flow” and career opportunities. Place a fountain or an image of water in the entryway of your home to symbolize and influence the flow of positive movement and energy.
If you have to deal with difficult people, look into taking courses to develop skills to deal with challenging personalities or look within to discover what it is you are really reacting to. Perhaps you are part of the problem. Learn skills to control your emotions around them, set stronger boundaries and especially learn how not to take things personally. Meanwhile, place your focus on the areas of your work that are rewarding.
Feng Shui Support: Get two of the same kind of plant for visual and energetic support. Place one at home and the other in your office to create balance and to anchor you when you are in either space. Choose red blossoms or place them in red pots to boost personal power.
If you dislike the negativity of the people, it may just be a matter of seeing things from a new perspective. For a greater sense of appreciation, write down the positive attributes of your job. What do you love about it? For example, is it the regular income, stability, inner-satisfaction, or positive work-related challenges? If you can find nothing positive, it may be time for change.
Feng Shui Support: Use color in your clothing or accessories to help dissipate negativity. To help burn off negativity, wear “fire” colors such as red, orange, coral, burgundy and purple; and, to ground you, use “earth” colors such as brown, tan and gold.
If you feel over worked and underpaid, communicate with management about the need for more resources and how they would benefit the business. Are you doing other people’s work out of habit? If so, learn to let others take responsibility for themselves. If working long hours is typical of the industry in which you work and you feel burnt out, maybe you need a change or a vacation.
Feng Shui Support: Sometimes what you feel at work reflects what needs tending to at home. Do some repair work around the house. Fix leaky faucets and unclog drains. Replace burned out and flickering lights to stop the loss of energy. Also, add green to your environment. Green represents “wood” energy and will help to add the energy of vitality to your environment.
If you feel that people take advantage of you, changing jobs is not the answer. More than likely, you have developed a pattern of behavior that needs to change. If you don’t value yourself, no one else will.
Seek resources that help you learn how to say “no” when it is appropriate and then follow through.
Feng Shui Support: First, place the element of metal around you in some form. Metal is strong and firm and does not easily bend. Second, get an elephant figurine and put it near a window or door. Elephants have strong trunks and represent power and strength. Third, keep such things as your purse, briefcase, or other personal items off the floor. These items represent you, and things placed on the floor get stepped on. Promote yourself to a higher position.
Above all, find a way to change your situation whether by changing your job, your habits or your perspective. Don’t let your circumstances dictate your life. We spend over half our lives at work. Make it a top priority to find work that truly fits who you are and makes a difference in this world.
Alice Inoue is a life guide at Alice Inoue Life Guidance, LLC, a company committed to assisting people in living empowered lives. Alice shares her wisdom, as a professional speaker and personal consultant and offers a series of instructional DVDs and award-winning books on feng shui, happiness and spiritual life wisdom. Visit www.aliceinspired.com to read her blog, sign up for her newsletters, and download useful feng shui tips.
Alice’s Nice Advice: Banish Your Overwhelm
Subtract something from your environment this week. The less you see visually, the less mentally and emotionally overwhelmed you will feel. What can you take away this week? Junk mail? Old magazines? Clutter on your desk? Old files on your computer screen?