lighten up! overcoming terminal professionalism

Lighten Up!Overcoming

Terminal Professionalism

Presented by: Jennifer Medley – Student Loan Xpress B.J. Moncure – Jackson State University

What’s Up With TP

• Badge of honor• TP undermines productivity, creativity,

adaptability, morale• Symptoms

– Inability to distinguish between who you are & your career, your children…

– Chronic fatigue

– 110% syndrome

– Job dissatisfaction

Effects of “TP”

• Emotion

•Anger

•Anxiety

•Impatience

•Irritability

•Low Self Esteem

• Physical

•Increased blood pressure

•Depressed immune system

•Chronic fatigue

•Head or neck ache

•Sleep disorders

• Behavior

•Inability to concentrate

•Trouble with relationships

•Anxiety or panic attacks

•Memory loss

•Excessive consumption

Lighten Up & Live

• Grace under pressure• Relieve stress• Attitude & outlook• Humor skills• Get SERIOUS about silliness

– Difference between stupid & silly

Tighten Up & Leave

• Fear of foolishness

• Anger or dread

• Life’s a bummer– Stuck in General Adaptation Syndrome

General Adaptation Syndrome (aka GAS)

• Stage 1: The Alarm Reaction

• Stage 2: Resistance

• Stage 3: Exhaustion

How Do You Spell Relief?

• Valve 1: Attitude

• Valve 2: Physical Release

• Valve 3: Mental Discipline

• Valve 4: Humor

Dare To Be Foolish!Practice Humorobics!!• Humorobics #1

– Stand– Breathe– Smile

• Humorobics #2– Photo Funnies

Develop Humor Skills– Escape from Center of the

Universe– Take Yourself Lightly and Your

Work/Challenges Seriously– Misery & Pain Are Free – Joy

Has A Price

Are we

cute or

what!

Humor Skill #1Escape from the Center of the Universe

• Rise equal to or above problems through humor perspective

• Understand your true place in the scheme of the universe!

Scheme of the Universe

The Known Universe

Center

We are here!

Top 3 Warning Signs Center of the Universe-itis

• Number 3: It’s NEVER your fault!• Number 2: It’s ALWAYS your fault!• Number 1: Combination of #2 & #3 !!

Help Me Escape!

• Humor library– Funny file/notebook

• Humor inventory– Aka “My Miserable

Life” or “How I Lost My Humor Perspective” by (your name)

• Humorobics #3– Nose job

Humor Skill #2Take Yourself Lightly & Your Work/Challenges Seriously

• When the going gets tough…• What’s the cause?• What do we do?• Why do we do it?• What can we control?

How ‘Ya Doing?

Terminal Professional

OR

Serious Player

Tell Me How!

• The 1% Solution

• Plus conversations

• Mini-vacations

FREE time for you!

• Find 5 minutes every day to be alone with all your senses.• Relax through deep breathing, visualization• Exercise minimum 20 minutes every day.• Enjoy humor - laugh frequently!

Weekends Only Calendar

Take me away

Humor Skill #3Misery & Pain Are Free – Joy Has A Price!

• Disciplined sense in joy of being alive

• Joy list

• Learn to play

• Weekends only calendar

Help for the TP Employee

• Draw the line

• Desk training

• Secret silliness

Help for the TP Employer

• Don’t cultivate workaholics– Recognize difference between hard worker & workaholic

• Work, YES – let it be fun– NUTS

– Lighten Up! techniques

• Align best interest of business in line with workers’ best interest– “Best Place”

Today’s “Best Place” Corporation

• Fosters creativity• Matches people’s work with

their passion• Capitalizes on ideas &

innovation• Meets professional &

emotional needs• Develops emotional

intelligence• Taps into cultural capital

Humor Etiquette

• Know your audience• Don’t use humor as a hammer• Use jokes that

– Bond, not separate

– Relieve tension, not create it

Thank You, Friends &

Colleagues!Enjoy your day & remember

to…

Lighten Up!