My cousin, Belinda, owns and runs a small suburban florist shop in Melbourne, Australia. For the past couple of years I have helped out on the two busiest days of her business year - Valentine's Day and Mothers' Day.
Okay, I have no artistic ability at all in flower arrangement (Belinda has a fine arts degree), so I help out with the deliveries.
And, do you know what, it's one of the most enjoyable jobs I have ever had.
Imagine this ... Everyone you deal with during your workday is happy to see you. They smile. They blush. They thank you.
And do you know something else, it gets even better.
Because it's not that they're happy to see Belinda's (very) part time delivery driver.
And it's not just that they're happy with the product they get - but that is part of it.
It's because they are happy about the thought behind someone sending them some flowers.
Is all this happiness over-rated?
No way.
There's been a fair amount of research conducted on happiness (sounds like another terrific part-time job for me), and some of the benefits of being happy include:
* Living longer.
* Making more friends.
* Making more money.
* Feeling better.
* Being more creative.
My old school friend, Michael Stanier, a former Rhodes Scholar and Canadian Coach of the Year has more to say about the benefits of happiness and positive psychology here.
But every day isn't Valentine's Day with a van full of red roses, cuddly bears and balloons ... or is it?
Imagine how good it would be, if all of your interactions with your workmates, your clients and customers, your friends and loved ones were happy and positive ones.
Imagine also if we each gave something of ourselves to each of these interactions. I'm not talking about flowers. How about a smile? A word of praise? A hello? A joke?
Try it. Go on. I'll be trying to beat you to it!
Okay, I have no artistic ability at all in flower arrangement (Belinda has a fine arts degree), so I help out with the deliveries.
And, do you know what, it's one of the most enjoyable jobs I have ever had.
Imagine this ... Everyone you deal with during your workday is happy to see you. They smile. They blush. They thank you.
And do you know something else, it gets even better.
Because it's not that they're happy to see Belinda's (very) part time delivery driver.
And it's not just that they're happy with the product they get - but that is part of it.
It's because they are happy about the thought behind someone sending them some flowers.
Is all this happiness over-rated?
No way.
There's been a fair amount of research conducted on happiness (sounds like another terrific part-time job for me), and some of the benefits of being happy include:
* Living longer.
* Making more friends.
* Making more money.
* Feeling better.
* Being more creative.
My old school friend, Michael Stanier, a former Rhodes Scholar and Canadian Coach of the Year has more to say about the benefits of happiness and positive psychology here.
But every day isn't Valentine's Day with a van full of red roses, cuddly bears and balloons ... or is it?
Imagine how good it would be, if all of your interactions with your workmates, your clients and customers, your friends and loved ones were happy and positive ones.
Imagine also if we each gave something of ourselves to each of these interactions. I'm not talking about flowers. How about a smile? A word of praise? A hello? A joke?
Try it. Go on. I'll be trying to beat you to it!
No comments:
Post a Comment