Is it really possible to find a state of “paradise” or “bliss” at work when everything seems chaotic and you’re scared to death about the security of your job? Absolutely! says Vicki Hess. Now more than ever, she says, Professional Paradise™ is alive and well.
Professional Paradise is not just a feel-good concept, Hess says. It is a solid, business-altering paradigm that revolutionizes the way you feel and think about work, and therefore, how you perform.
Vicki Hess, RN, MS, CSP, the "Escape Artist," is a professional speaker, author and consultant who helps individuals, leaders and organizations escape to Professional Paradise. Hess was the keynote speaker at BLR®‘s National Employment Law Update, held recently in Las Vegas.
Professional Paradise is created when you experience a series of workplace “WOWs” day-in and day-out. A WOW is something internal or external that creates a positive outcome, result or emotion. An external WOW might be a sincere “thank you” from a satisfied client. An example of an internal WOW is solving a difficult problem or creating a great new process.
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On the opposite end of the paradise continuum is Professional Prison. People end up in Professional Prison when they don’t manage the “POWs” they experience at work, Hess says. A POW is something internal or external that feels like a “heavy blow”— it is upsetting and leads to poor results or negative outcomes. An internal POW could be making a mistake in a report that leads to extra work. Getting stuck in a traffic jam on the way to an important meeting is an example of an external POW.
You might not always be able to control the POWs, but you can always control your response to them, Hess says. A key component of getting to—and staying in—Professional Paradise is transforming negative workplace experiences into positive ones. Or in other words, SHIFTing your POWs to WOWs.
What does SHIFT stand for?
- Stop and breathe.
- Harness knee-jerk reactions.
- Identify and manage negative emotions.
- Find new options.
- Take one positive action.
1. Stop and breathe. Notice that you’ve been hit with a POW and actually say, “Stop!” When you think or say “Stop,” the messages that are firing throughout the brain are literally interrupted, allowing you to replace them with calmer, more rational thoughts, Hess says.
Then take a deep cleansing breath and capture the benefits of deep breathing. This step gives you the time you need to collect yourself.
2. Harness harmful knee-jerk reactions. In short, knee-jerk reactions are our automatic, unthinking responses to POWs. They can range from storming out of the room to becoming a “shrinking violet” and anything in between, such as raising your voice, complaining, sulking, talking fast, name calling, blaming others and talking about people behind their back.
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3. Identify and manage negative emotions. POWs always create negative emotions! The first part of “I” is to identify the negative emotions you’re experiencing.
The second part of this step is to manage the negative emotions. So you might be wondering, “How do I flip the switch and turn off my negative emotions?” Talk to yourself in a calm rational manner such as, “I’m not going to get worked up over this” or “I don’t know what’s going on, so I’m going to gather more information before I respond negatively.”
4. Find new options. This step puts you in a proactive position instead of a reactive one. When you take a few minutes to consider new options, you move closer to WOW and closer to Professional Paradise. Having a choice provides a feeling of being in control that most people appreciate. Being creative and thinking of a variety of options opens up possibilities which may have gone unnoticed in the past.
5. Take one positive action. Once you’ve discovered new options, the final step is to choose at least one that feels right for the situation and implement it. You must act if you want a better outcome.
That’s it! says Hess. With those five steps, you can SHIFT any POW to a WOW.