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You don’t need more willpower, you just need more of this…

Blog · Your Body


Can you believe Thanksgiving is a week away?  Crazypants.  I’ll be heading to Cleveland to spend the holiday with Jonathan’s family and I’m getting super excited.  I love that this holiday is centered around delicious, seasonal, homemade food. I’ve been pinning my fav recipes here, like our famous Jenksgiving dish: cornbread stuffing.  If you’re looking for some Thanksgiving inspiration, just click here to get pinning.


Also, I wanted to let you know that Sunday is a very special day.  My mentors, Marie Forleo and Gabby Bernstein along with Mastin Kipp, the founder of my fav personal development site – The Daily Love are going to be on OPRAH! I attribute so much of my happiness and success to these three people, and I would love for you to tune into Super Soul Sunday this week on OWN to get a slice of their awesomeness.

Now, today I want to talk to you about your J-O-B. Did you cringe a little?  Awesome. Keep reading.

This is what most of my clients’ days look like before we started working together:

Get up
Work
Eat Dinner
Go to sleep
Repeat

Ugh. When you think about it, it’s a little depressing, right?

So I want to ask you a question, is your work fun and fulfilling?

If the answer is yes, you can stop reading and tell us what your secret is by leaving a comment below. You’re a rockstar, please share your juju.

If your answer is no.  Let’s have a little chat… If you’re spending 80% of your waking hours at work, and it’s not fun and fulfilling, then your life is going to get pretty miserable really fast, if it hasn’t already.  And when life is miserable, you’re going to find the easiest, cheapest way to get a jolt of happiness – eating. Usually in the form of cookie dough and endless bbq chips.

If you’re wondering why you keep finding your fist in a bag of Doritos even though you want to lose weight so badly, and you keep crying yourself to sleep every night wondering, “why can’t I just have more willpower?” I need you to understand something really important:

The problem is not your willpower. The problem is your job. Tweet it!

The key to ending emotional eating is to pinpoint the source of our misery.  For many of us it’s a draining, uninspiring job.

Here’s the good news, there is something you can do about it.  And it doesn’t involve quitting your job or work on finding your purpose. I’m going to give you 3 easy things you can do this week to make your job more fun, more fulfilling and less draining even if you dread going to work every day.

Learn your co-worker’s dog’s name
Do you know the names of your co-workers kids? What they’re up to this weekend? Have you ever gone to drinks and made a point to not talk about work?

No? Start getting to know the person in the next cubicle. Real human connection makes our days more meaningful and helps them go by supah fast.

Take time for yourself besides the detour to the candy bowl
The 10 minutes you spend deciding between Wheat Thins and Oreos in the break room does not count as a break.  Normally the only breaks we take during the day are to eat, and that’s usually because we feel guilty for pausing, or we honestly have no idea what to do.

Instead, bring in a stack of magazines to work to peruse throughout the day, open the window and take 10 deep breaths, check out your fav blog, walk around the block, get a 10-minute back massage at your local nail salon (this one helped me lose my first 15 pounds).

One time, when I worked in advertising, my boss came up to me when I was reading Martha Stewart Living at my desk and said sarcastically, “working hard I see.”  I responded politely by saying, “I’m actually two days ahead of schedule on my projects for you and I find that when I rest my brain for a few minutes I produce much better work. While you’re here, is there anything else you’d like me to do for you?”

I never got shit again for taking a break.

Spruce up your space
Your mood, productivity and happiness is directly linked to your environment.  If you’re spending 80% of your time in an ugly, messy, dark, depressing office or cubicle, then you’re gonna be ugly, messy and depressed.  Brighten things up!  Organize your papers, buy pretty folders, put fresh flowers on your desk.  The prettier your space, the prettier you will be.  I’m serious, give it a shot.

This is my ultimate dream office. Every week I try to create this feel in my home office so one day I can have something that looks exactly like Drew’s from Domino Magazine.


Alright, I know  it can be so easy to just passively go through the motions of your day and do things like you’ve always done them, but if you really want to start liking your job and stop feeling the need to snack all day, then you need to follow the 3 steps above.

To keep yourself accountable, I want you to post the three things you’re gonna do next week in the comments below, so we can all cheer you on.

I know that if you get to know the people around you, take fun breaks and spruce up your space that your work is going to start being fun and fulfilling even if you currently hate your job.

I can’t wait to hear about your plans!

xo

Sarah

PS. My interview with Kavita for her Done with Being Single video event is live today!  Make sure to sign up here to get free access.  It’s a juicy one.


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