JobPage Career & Jobs Blog

Last week as part of our Happiness at Work and in Life series, ’Step 5 – Start Small’, I outlined how to start making small but significant changes to improve your life. The next step is start within by concentrating on your inner self.  Are you ready to live the dream?

Start Within

We all know that eating healthier, drinking more water and exercising regularly is good for us. But how many times do we conveniently ‘forget’ or simply not bother? Having a healthy mind, body and spirit enhances your happiness and overall well being dramatically. Start a healthier regime today and get your body pumping and the ‘happiness’ endorphins flowing!

How do you achieve this? Here are 6 simple steps to guide you on your path to a healthier mind, body and spirit:

1) Drink more water

Water is essential for a healthy life as the body consists of 2/3rds water, so drinking plenty of water is important. The brain alone is 90% water! Water is therefore vital for our organs, functions and systems to work efficiently. Without it, we can feel tired, ill, cold, dehydrated and generally run down. Water makes your body happy, which in turn makes you feel happier!

2) Get active

Exercising is not only a great way to keep our bodies fit, it is also good for improving our mind and spirit. Keeping active is known to combat depression and anxiety as well as reduce muscle tension and stress. It can improve quality of sleep and increases natural pain killers and ‘happy’ feelings through the stimulation of endorphins. Getting active does not necessarily mean you have to become a gym bunny! Simple changes such as taking the stairs instead of the lift, or going for a brisk walk or a swim will also get your heart and body pumping. Make endorphins your new best friend today and feel the difference!

3) Regular sleep

Sleep is the body’s natural way of regenerating and recuperating. It is essential to maintain a regular sleep pattern in order for our bodies to continue coping with daily life. When we are well rested, we perform more efficiently. I certainly do!

Lack of sleep causes multiple problems and long term sleep deprivation is obviously more harmful to the growth and development of our bodies and minds.

To maintain a healthy body and mind, you need sleep! We all need a different amount but find your natural routine and amount, and reap the benefits.

Common ways to do this include:

• Relax your mind
• Exercise regularly (if you can)
• Keep your bedroom calm (I refuse to have a TV in the bedroom)
• Avoid alcohol and caffeine several hours before bed
• Set a regular bedtime and waking time

However you find your zzzz’s, make them count!

4) Lots of fresh air

We underestimate the importance of getting ‘fresh’ air. Indoors, we breathe stale and stagnant air. But outdoors, it is clearer and pure (unless you are in the city centre!). Fresh air helps our lungs clear and improves our circulation – it reduces the need for our bodies to work harder to get the pure oxygen it needs. Taking a walk therefore can combat this as well as improve your activity levels!

5) Eat regularly and healthy

We all know that we need to eat regularly and healthy – our body and mind need energy to survive and more importantly, to thrive. Unfortunately it is becoming more difficult to get adequate nutrition from our diet these days with all the pre-processed and pre-packaged foods available. A few basic additions to your daily diet will ensure you’re always getting the right nutritional balance:

• Meat
• Cheese
• Fresh Fruit and Vegetables
• Frozen vegetables

The tip is to eat a big breakfast (it’s the most important meal of the day), and a light lunch and dinner with regular healthy snacks throughout the day. It is often said that ‘You are what you eat’ so make sure you are providing your body and mind with the right energy foods to maximise your efficiency!

6)    Practice good posture

To maintain a healthy body, you need a healthy and fit frame. Poor posture can interfere with your body’s natural systems and balance, and cause undue stress on your frame.  The key is to walk and sit erect with shoulders back. No crossed legs!

Remember: Stand Tall. Walk tall. Sit Tall. Think Tall.

So finally again, ask yourself is “What action will you take today to start being happy and healthy?”

About Claire Mason

Claire is our fabulous Community Manager at JobPage, and has a wealth of experience having worked in various different industries, from global corporate companies, public sector, SME’s to even setting up her own business. Claire has a recruitment background and is a keen blogger and budding author. She is passionate about inspiring others to follow their heart to find the lifestyle they deserve.

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In my previous article in this series -  Are You Seeking a Job, or a Lifestyle? 10 Tips to Achieve Happiness in Both - i outlined how to create your ‘Must Have and Must Do’ Lists. The next step is to start making some small positive changes to your attitude, work and life in order to achieve the lifestyle you want, and deserve. Are you ready to live the dream?

Start Small

Achieving the idealistic lifestyle we all dream of sounds like a daunting and almost impossible undertaking, but it really isn’t! Most of us seem to think that to be truly happy, we have to go ‘all out’ with big dramatic changes – a career change, a new haircut, move house, new car etc. However this is not always necessary and is more likely to stress you out even more! Life changing decisions don’t have to be massive but they do have to be manageable. Otherwise you could be setting yourself up for failure before you’ve even started the challenge!

The key is to start small – keep your end goals in mind but break them down into daily or weekly goals. Quality, not quantity is important here. Small changes can make a BIG difference to your overall wellbeing.

So how do you achieve happiness in small steps?

1)    Small positive changes to your daily routine

Review your daily routine to see what small positive steps you can make to improve your life overall. Start today and watch how quickly those small steps become the norm for a happier lifestyle! I’ll be discussing these in more detail next week but to get you started, here are  my top 4 tips:

1. Eat regularly and healthily
2. Regular sleep pattern
3. Exercise a little every day – walk the stairs instead of taking the lift, get off a stop early on your way to work
4. Plan your day but remain flexible – this will eliminate negatives feelings of failure and pressure

2)    Feel good

Learn to feel good about yourself – accept and love yourself.

1. Do something good each day for someone else. Helping others is a excellent way to boost your own wellbeing
2. Pamper yourself – do something for yourself every day that you enjoy
3. Stay focused and aware of your feelings, goals and desires
4. Spend quality time with your family and friends. Pro-actively seek interactions with positive people  - this promotes your inner positivity

3)    Eliminate the negatives

Start eliminating all the negatives in your life and focus on your positive physical and mental wellbeing.

1. Wherever possible, minimise controlling and negative influences and change your reaction to them. Remember your attitude and reaction is important, and not the action of others
2. Eliminate fear and worry. They serve no productive purpose!
3. Bad habits by nature are not good for us so by eliminating these, you will automatically start feeling happier and in control

4)    Appreciate the small things

Sometimes in life, we take things for granted. The small and seemingly insignificant things often get overlooked but actually they are just as important. Learning to appreciate the world around us in all its glory and variety is key to inner peace. The same applies for making small changes – celebrating the little steps is just as important as celebrating the big steps. They all matter and every little step is a step closer to your end goal.

5)    Manage yourself

You manage your priorities at work and try and impress your colleagues and boss, but do you do this at home?

How often have you got home and neglected your family, duties, finances etc because you’re too tired, you feel you don’t need to or can’t be bothered?

It’s just as important to take responsibility and manage your time, finances, and relationships effectively at home, as it is at work. Take time to focus on every area of your life in a constructive and positive way, and reap the benefits!

6)    Remember – one small step at a time

The journey you are undertaking is just as relevant as the end goal you are aiming for. So slow down! Take one step at a time and focus on living in the moment. Achieving happiness does not happen instantly. There is no quick fix to long term happiness.

As long as you are making the small changes to improve your life; the small steps will make a big difference and ultimately lead you down the path to achieve your end goal.

Perhaps the elusive dream of achieving happiness at work and in life is not so overwhelming after all?

So finally again, ask yourself is “What action will you take today to start being happy?”

About Claire Mason

Claire is our fabulous Community Manager at JobPage, and has a wealth of experience having worked in various different industries, from global corporate companies, public sector, SME’s to even setting up her own business. Claire has a recruitment background and is a keen blogger and budding author. She is passionate about inspiring others to follow their heart to find the lifestyle they deserve.

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One of the first rules for a successful job interview is always ask questions. Even if you genuinely can’t think of anything else you want to know at that point in time, always have a question handy for the end of the interview. It’ll stand you in good stead when it comes to the final decision and it could be the difference between you getting the job and being second-best.

Here are 4 handy questions to take along to your next interview should you get stuck – and 4 to avoid at all costs:

Good questions

‘How would you describe a typical day in this role?’

This is a nice simple question which will allow you the chance to learn more about the job you are going for. Job descriptions can be very informative but they won’t always give you an idea of precisely what you will be doing day-to-day. Asking this will let the employer know that you are keen and that you are thinking about how you would go about performing your role.

‘Where do you see the company in five years time?’

Employers often ask the ‘where do you see yourself in five years?’ question so now’s your chance to turn it around on them. This is a good way to suss out the possible future of the role and show you would be committed to the company if offered the job.

‘In your opinion, what is the difference between someone who will be all right at this job… and someone who will be great at it?’

This is a question which will likely impress your prospective employer – it shows initiative, it’s clever and it’ll likely take them by surprise. If you’re looking to make an impression, give this one a try – and listen carefully to the response.

‘Are there any other questions I can answer for you?’

Finally, it’s always a nice gesture to give your interviewer a chance to ask you any questions they might have missed during the interview. It could be that they’d like the chance to follow up on something you said earlier on and it gives you another chance to talk about how brilliant you’d be in the job!

Not-so-good questions

‘What does your company do?’

The key to having a good interview is research, so if you’ve prepared correctly, you shouldn’t need to ask general questions about what the company does. Asking things like ‘What does your company do?’ or ‘How long have you been established?’ will make you seem like you’re not actually interested in the role.

‘Can I take time off for X?’

It’s best not to mention prior commitments until an offer of employment is actually made. If you get the job, they’ll more than likely allow flexibility for pre-booked holidays, dentist appointments and so forth. It’s just not a good idea to bring this up at interview – they want to know that you’re on board, not thinking about fleeing as soon as possible!

‘How much is the pay?’

This is another detail which will likely be on the job description but it’s also generally considered to be bad form to ask about pay at a job interview. Even if you’re flat broke, living with your parents and interviewing for your first job, don’t ask about pay. They’ll tell you what it is and (if they don’t) you can talk about it if a job offer is made.

‘Did I get the job?’

Be patient! In the movies, people get hired on the spot but in real life you will rarely hear the words “Welcome aboard” in an interview. There will likely be lots of other people interviewing for the same position and the panel will need time to make a decision.

Don’t worry – most employers will make a choice quickly and let you know as soon as possible.

About Sarah Rudston

Sarah graduated with a degree in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University in 2009. She now works as a freelance copywriter and comms assistant for charity Alive! (www.aliveactivities.org). Outside of work, she enjoys running, swimming and poetry. Her personal blog can be found at http://whatrhymeswithsarah.wordpress.com and of course can also be found on JobPage

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