American writer and lecturer Dale Carnegie, creator of courses on personal development, corporate training and public speaking, and his method for overcoming boredom, causing fatigue, anxiety and resentment.
Interest in work
It is common knowledge that our emotional set-up causes fatigue to a much greater extent than physical tension. But the whole metabolism improves immediately, as soon as a person begins to feel interest in his work and derive pleasure from it.
We rarely get tired doing something interesting and attractive. For example, I was once on vacation in the Canadian Rockies, near the village of Louise. I spent several days trout fishing in Coral Creek. I had to crawl through bushes bigger than my height, trip over fallen tree trunks, and regardless, I didn’t feel exhausted after the entire 8 hour journey. Why? Because I was in a good mood and felt that I had successfully spent my day: I had caught six huge trout! However, let’s say that I found fishing to be a boring activity – then how do you think that would affect my physical condition? I would feel overwhelmed by this stressful day at an altitude of nearly four thousand meters.
If you engage in mental work, you rarely tire of the amount of work done. You may get tired of the work you have not been able to do. For example, you probably remember how once last week you were constantly distracted from the work process. You didn’t answer the letters. You didn’t make the scheduled appointments. Trouble was everywhere. On that day, everything went with the feet up. You didn’t feel like doing anything, instead you went home exhausted and with a headache.
The next day everything went smoothly in the office. You were committed to complete more tasks on time than you did yesterday. You came home refreshed and looking fresh. Has this ever happened to you? Me too.
What lesson should we learn? Fatigue is not caused by work, but by anxiety, despair and a sense of offense.
William James advises us to act “as if” we are brave and will become brave; act like we’re happy and we’ll feel happy, etc. Act like you’re interested in working. At first it will be a game, and later you may show a real interest in your work. It will also reduce fatigue, tension and anxiety.
By talking to yourself every hour of the day, you can learn to manage your thoughts. You think about happiness, strength, and peace… By talking to yourself about things you should be grateful for, you will gain courage and your soul will sing.
Set your thoughts on a positive wave and any job will seem less unpleasant. Your boss wants you to take an interest in your work because his income depends on it. But let’s forget about what the boss wants. Think only of what you will gain if you feel interest in your work. Remind yourself that your sense of the joy in your every day life will be doubled because about half of your active life is spent at work. Therefore, if it does not bring you joy, you may never find it anywhere.
Remind yourself that your interest in the job will save you from anxiety, and in the end, it’s quite possible that a promotion or salary increase awaits you. Even if this does not happen, your interest in work will reduce your fatigue to a minimum and help you enjoy your free time better.
