1.      Smile. Be pleasant to everyone, from the doorman to the highest supervisor to the stranger you meet in the elevator. (You never know, he might be the company president.) Don’t be overly chatty, but greet everyone you meet with a friendly smile and say hello when appropriate.

2.      Don’t waste time. When you have a break, take it away from your desk or work station. Don’t look like you are sitting around on company time. When you are at work, work. In some jobs, such as a call center, you may have idle time, but you can use it to read a professionally-oriented book, do some writing or otherwise look and be productive.  If you use it for idle chit-chat, will it make you a better employee and improve your skills? How will it look if the boss comes through? How will it lead to a better position? Do your chatting on your breaks, away from your work station.

3.      Be on time. Better yet, be early. When it is time to start, you will be relaxed and do a better job. If you are rushing in at the last moment, shedding your coat, gloves, and lunchbox as you race to the time clock, you are going to be stressed. This translates to being unhappy and starting your day doing poor work.  If you plan on being at least fifteen minutes early every day, you will be able to handle traffic delays, talkative coworkers, and other stressors, and still get to the time clock in plenty of time to start your day on a positive note.

4.      Learn when to say yes and no.  Allow space to say yes to the boss when something unexpected comes up. Say no to the coworker that wants to chat beyond break time. Say no to the colleague who begs favors that will put you behind in your own work. Say yes to hard work!

If you could reinvent yourself, what job would you have? How do you decide when there are so many options out there?  There are many good books on identifying your skills, work styles, and learning styles that may lead to a career, but here’s a simple exercise to get your started.

Close your eyes and go back in time in your mind. Bounce quickly back to age ten or twelve. What did you love to do then? Don’t think about what you did to survive socially, but what you did for yourself, what you really loved to do. Picture yourself doing that, whatever it is. Try to remember any and all activities that you really felt happy doing. What piqued your interest? Now, you’ve read the paragraph. Close your eyes and think about this before you read any further.

When your eyes are open again, quickly write down all the things you thought of. Start with a list. After that, write a paragraph or two describing each activity. If you listed painting, write about what kind of painting. Was it helping Dad paint the house, finger painting, or dabbling in watercolors or oils?  Do this writing for each thing you loved to do. Identify what made you happy about the activity.

The next step is to figure out how you can apply those things to a career. Ryan, who loved to climb trees, play in the dirt, and make friends with animals, is trying out a career in organic farming. Linda did math in her head for fun. She is now a tutor. Donald spent his allowance on Lego sets, loved reading about ancient civilizations, and dressed as a Roman for Halloween. He is now majoring in history and geography with a focus on applying technology to the field.

What made you happy at ten? If it satisfies your inner soul, you can use it as a springboard for your dream career.