James Smith’s Info Serv

When most of us will spend most our lives at a job we may or may not enjoy, it seems odd that there isn’t more discussion as to why we work. And I don’t mean because we have to pay the rent, but why do we work the way we do? Working does help us to pay the rent. That much is clear. And that’s why pretty much all of us have jobs. But coupled with all of us having a job comes a whole list of issues: overwork, debt, consumerism, problems of technology, the environment, traffic problems, fast food lunches, missing your kids soccer game, the list goes on. Suddenly the nature of “work” or a “job” becomes quite important. But what is the nature of work? And what does it mean for a society whose people, it seems, do nothing but work?

For most of us to work means to be part of a business whose goal of course is profit. Having toiled some years in retail, I can attest to this pursuit of profit and all the things that go along with it. Here are a few of those things:

One. The cult of efficiency. Spend any amount of time in any number of workplaces concerned with the bottom line and you will quickly hear the same things over and over again. The goals of efficiency, productivity, and being competitive, not to mention others, are all bandied about as hallmarks. We must be more efficient. We have to be more competitive. The goal of these of course is to drive sales. What is the goal of driving sales? That depends. Sometimes there is talk of more hours for employees. Get in the right company or into management and there may be a form of profit sharing. Be good at driving sales and you will get promoted. You will make money for your shareholders and maybe they will open another store somewhere. But from the perspective of the person on the floor, it’s just more of the same. We have to be even more efficient, even more productive than we were last year or yesterday. There doesn’t seem to be any real goal.
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I’ve come to the conclusion that to be successful - really successful - you’ve got to love what you do.

Not like it okay. Not do it because you know how. Not do it because you’ve invested so much time and energy into it. I mean LOVE it! The kind of love that makes you want to get up in the morning and get going. Because your work has meaning, significance, and fulfillment. If these aren’t words that describe what you do day-in and day-out, then perhaps this year is the time to make a change, to step up to your big, bodacious moment - or BoMo as I call it.

How satisfied are you with your career on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being extremely satisfied?

That’s the question I kept asking myself during my ten and a half years at AOL during the 1990s. Year after year my answer was a 7, 8, or higher. The vast majority of time I felt passionate about what I was doing; I believed my contribution truly mattered. When my score dipped I asked myself serious questions as to why. Was my current role not longer interesting? Did I like the people I worked with everyday? Did I feel I was being fairly compensated?
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How do you define your work?

Do you look to your work to define meaning and joy or just to collect a paycheck? Each carries a different result. Those who seek meaning and joy in their work tend to choose carefully what they do; they know what they do helps determine who they are. For others who work just for the money, there is little expectation of meaning or joyjust as long as the paycheck rolls in.

Career vs. vocational passion

In my work, I am often asked, What is the difference between Career and Vocational Passion?
Jobs are just an exchange of services for money.
Careers are the same but with a better title.

Sadly, for many people, jobs=careers=retirement=death.

Can you avoid death?
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by: Arthur Buchanan

Work plays an important role for a person recovering from a mental illness. The workplace provides a social support system and the opportunity for people to regain their sense of self-esteem, control and self-worth.

Although in some more severe instances a return to work is not possible, once on the path to recovery, many individuals can benefit tremendously from working again. A supportive workplace can offer a sense of stability that is otherwise hard to find.

The reintegration of an employee into the workplace after recovery again requires the employer’s flexibility. Often the process has to be gradual. The workload may have to change temporarily and hours and days worked may have to be altered. Job sharing and people working with an emergency fill-in person are considerations depending on the individual’s and employer’s needs.

The benefits of understanding

The benefits to the employer of accommodating the return of an employee are many. They avoid the added costs of hiring a new employee, and training and raising him or her to d level of productivity comparable to that of an experienced worker. Overall morale will rise as employees see the care placed on the individual, and coworkers share in the challenges faced by the returning staff member.

Employers and employees alike will always benefit from breaking down the stigma attached to mental illness in the workplace. Removing the barriers to education, open discussion, flexibility and acceptance will ultimately allow those needing medical attention and social support to seek help and receive it.

Everyone knows when to go to the hospital in a physical emergency, but what are the warning signs of emotional emergencies? When and how do we get help for these urgent conditions? Most of us fear and/or dread mental illness, so it’s hardly surprising that emotional emergency is a widely taboo topic. This accounts for why many of us lack the insight and resources to deal with urgent emotional situations in our own lives, or in the lives of our friends and families.

It benefits all of us, however, to understand how we can respond to these events, which can be just as life-threatening as severe accidents or physical illnesses. According to Roderic Gorney, M.D., a Los Angeles, Calif. psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and professor of psychiatry at UCLA Medical School, “Not only are friends and family members very capable of handling these crises that come along, but every once in a while, you run into someone who has a great understanding of human nature.” Although most people may not be experienced with mental illness, says Dr. Gorney, “They have had decades of experience trying to figure out people’s minds. Never undersell your own intuition and never ignore your own experience,” he advises.

Before you can help the situation, it helps to have a diagnosis. “In mental health,” Dr. Gorney says, “the average person doesn’t realize that there are very specific diagnoses for feeling terrible emotionally.” What you do about your condition, or someone else’s, depends on the diagnosis. “A generalized anxiety state could have a medical basis, a stress basis, or could be a result of a conflict that the individual is placed in by someone else,” Dr. Gorney explains.

While traumatic life changes, such as loss of a spouse, parent, job or health often trigger emotional emergencies, physical illnesses may also precipitate them, says Dr. Gorney. “Certain sudden anxiety experiences may be due to physical causes, such as the rare adrenal tumor,” he says. In the case of sudden manic psychosis, such as when someone with a very high fever is deluded and is physically combative, they may need acute medical care to save them from a fatality. Dr. Gorney advises restraining the individual and calling 911 for paramedics in these cases. Individuals who become suicidal or show signs of acute onset depressive psychosis must also be restrained while someone calls 911 for help.

In less dramatic emotional emergencies, such as when people experience modest depression or anxiety and/or start exhibiting changes in diet, weight, sleep, job attendance, mood and behavior, individuals can seek a psychiatric referral from a primary care provider. “If you’re not getting referred,” Dr. Gorney says, “you have to push on it. Speak with your care manager in the HMO or insurance person who can authorize that kind of a consultation.”

Many health insurance plans fail to cover psychiatric referrals and some people lack insurance altogether, but low-cost resources can be located via your local or state psychiatric society. Your local hospital and county medical association are other possible sources for information on low-cost mental health clinics.

About The Author
“Art Buchanan’s story of personal revival absolutely inspiring! He’s one of the foremost experts in overcoming mental illness and what he knows can transform your life!” Mike Litman Host - Worlds #1 Personal Developmental Radio Show (http://www.out-of-darkness.com)

They are calling Arthur Buchanan’s methods of recovering from mental illness REVOLUTIONARY! (MEDICAL COLLEGE OF MICHIGAN) ‘Arthur Buchanan has given us a revolutionary blue print for recovery in these uncertain times, when Mental Illness at a all time high in the United States of America, yet if you follow this young mans methods, we assure you of positive results and I QUOTE ‘If these methods are followed precisely, their is no way you can’t see positive results with whatever illness you have’ Dr. Herbert Palos Detroit, Michigan’

Listen to Arthur Buchanan on the Mike Litman Show!

http://freesuccessaudios.com/Artlive.mp3 THIS LINK WORKS, LISTEN TODAY!

With Much Love,

Arthur Buchanan
President/CEO Out of Darkness & Into the Light
209 Ellis Ave. Suite 1313 Bellevue Ohio, 44811,
http://www.out-of-darkness.com
http://www.AHHDandME.com
http://www.biologicalhappiness.com
http://www.mentalillness.com
http://www.everyonehurts.com

by: BZ Riger-Hull

It’s easy to waste time on things that seem urgent but are not important, and even easier to get slowed down by clutter and distractions. Here are 5 solutions.

1. Carefully examine what factors you are using to set project deadlines. Then set realistic deadlines. Start with the most important things first and rearrange projects that are within your control. Then set acceptable time limits for completion.

2. Be on the lookout for time sinkholes. Those little pesky tasks that steal valuable time from your day but that don’t really help you get much accomplished. Look at the activities you routinely perform each day and see which ones you can skip or limit to once or twice a week.

3. Get regular exercise at work- every day. Daily exercise even in short intervals can keep you alert, productive, and healthy. This regular exercise greatly contributes to mental and emotional fitness. Do stretches, biceps curls, and squats for 2 minutes 3 or 4 times each day.
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