26th October 2017

You don’t have to eat a Troll to be happy!

My youngest child is obsessed with a film he insists on watching every day, so by now I can recite the script by heart. The movie is ‘Trolls’ and the basic premise is that a group of super cute, insanely positive multi coloured creatures called Trolls, these are on the run from chronically pessimistic Bergens, who are only happy when they have Trolls in their stomach. The entire movie swings from chase to chase as the Bergens strive to eat the Trolls, who they perceive as their only route to happiness, ignoring all else including family, friends and their surroundings.

Starting to ring a bell with anyone?

The sad fact is many of us spend our lives searching for our own ‘Trolls’ in the wrong direction and ignore what could make us happy. We would be far better emotionally and professionally if we found what I call our ‘happy meal’.

Let me explain what I mean by this.

Most people have been pestered by their children or grandchildren to take them for a fast food meal.

When the meal arrives what is it that makes the kids so happy? Is it the burger or the chicken nuggets or even the fizzy sugary drink? Most of the time, it’s none of these, but the brightly coloured box and that toy inside usually promoting the film of the moment.  

Put yourself in these children’s shoes, what is it that makes you happy in your role, or have you forgotten what it was? This is what I call your business happy meal.

Sometimes it's difficult to identify what actually motivates people and it's not always what you might expect.  Ultimately, if we want to be positive and motivated in what we do, then we all have to rediscover our own ‘happy meal’.

This is important because on average, we could all end up spending up to 1776 of our precious hours every year not watching TV, not on holiday or not even doing our favourite hobbies but working. So shouldn’t we at least enjoy the time we spend in our work environment?

It’s a positive exercise for every one of us to reengage on a regular basis with what it was that inspired us to take the career direction we have taken or what encouraged us to start our own business.

I often challenge attendees at my seminars to write down in plain English exactly what it is they do in their role. Because let’s face it, we've to know what it is we do before we can decide if we still enjoy doing it.

Have you ever tried it, not easy is it? We tend to slip into the jargon that has become the everyday vocabulary of the modern work place. The problem is, this means nothing to most people, including ourselves. So when doing this it’s time to abandon buzzwords and start to use words and phrases we can all identify with.

The key things we do in our roles and what our clients want from us, should drive the description of what we do.

This exercise will help you reconnect and identify with the aspects of your career that makes you happy, motivated and gives you the drive to succeed?

If you already know, that’s great. If not, it’s time to rediscover your very own happy meal.

Now life happens and sometimes necessity drives what we have to do, but we can all embrace elements of our happy meal in both life and business.

Life is too short to live someone else’s life or to suffer disappointment to keep others happy.  I’d urge you to consider what business structure you can grow, evolve or develop that makes you happy and motivated in the thousands of hours you'll spend in your career?

Why don’t you try it this simple exercise now?

Take time to answer these questions in honest and plain language, avoiding jargon.

When you have done this it’s time to take what I call the vision test. This is simply stepping back from what you have written and considering:

• Does it seem real now or do you need to make major changes to make it achievable?
• Does it excite and motivate you?
• Does it make you happy?
• Do you have the necessary skill sets to achieve this or do you need to consider retraining
• Will it enthuse new and existing clients?
• Is it achievable at a profit going forward?

If it fails any of these criteria, especially the motivation factor, then perhaps you may have to reconsider what you do and why. It doesn’t mean you give up completely, as the answers you have given should give you the ideas you need to amend and enhance what you do to ensure you create your own business and life happy meal.

This would then allow you to enjoy these 1776 working hours every year or will you have to continually hunt for those pesky Trolls to make you happy?

John Joe McGinley October 2017 

Business Development, John Joe McGinley, Glassagh Consulting