Het (bijna) Vrolijkste Land van de Wereld.

Je zou het na alle gebeurtenissen van de laatste tijd, sterker nog: van de laatste jaren, niet (meer) verwachten maar: Nederland is het 3e Vrolijkste Land van de Wereld! Proficiat!!

Dit resultaat komt naar voren uit een recent onderzoek van FORBES: 'In Depth: World's Happiest Places'. De cijfers, waaraan wij dit resultaat te danken hebben, zijn: Satisfaction With Present Life: 85.1; Predicted Satisfaction With Future Life: 88.2; 2009 Gross Domestic Product Per Capita: $55,453; Unemployment Rate: 4.5%. Mooie resultaten, toch? De 2e plaats is er voor Finland (cijfers zijn resp.: tevreden op dit moment: 85,9; tevreden over de toekomst: 88,0; BNP: $ 55,344; werkeloosheid: 6,4%)  en de 1e plaats is er voor Denemarken (cijfers zijn resp.: 90,1; 92,3; $ 68.362; 2%).

Feitelijk zijn het opmerkelijke cijfers als je weet dat Nederland en Finland ook hoog ogen scoren in een ander onderzoek. Meer daarover leest u in de entry 'Zeg's eerlijk, Pest U?'. Los van dat alles is het natuurlijk interessant om te zien: hoe houden we onze Vrolijkheid vast nu we zo langzamerhand wel weten wat ons de komende maanden nog te wachten staat? Daarom enkele tips.

1. (glim)Lach; 2. Maak/Heb Geen Zorgen!; 3. Neem een Vrije Dag.; 4. Doe eens Anders dan Normaal; 5. Stop met Managen & Begin met Leiden; 6. Delegeer; 7. Maak Plezier.

Tips zijn afkomstig van Jeffrey M. Stibel, CEO van Web.Com. Jeff schreef ze n.a.v. het feit dat zijn land, de VS van Amerika, niet eens in de Top 10 van Vrolijkheid voorkomt.....

1. Smile. Turns out, smiling is directly linked to happiness. It may have started as a correlation but, over time, the brain linked the two. Don't believe me? Try this: smile (a nice big smile) and attempt to think of something negative. Either you will stop smiling or you won't be able to hold the negative thought.

2. Stop worrying. Worrying happens to be one of humanity's best traits. It is the underlying emotion behind foresight, planning, and forecasting. We worry because some future event is uncertain and that feeling is a cue for us to start thinking about how to address it. The problem is, we worry too much about things that are out of our control (like the economy, stupid). The US has one of the highest rates for mental disease and yes, worry is among the leading indicators. While it's true that there are plenty of things to worry about these days, take a deep breath, America, and stop sweating the small stuff.

3. Take a break. The US is one of the most overworked industrialized nations. But this is counterproductive for a nation of "knowledge workers." Overworking people to exhaustion is a horrible way to extract knowledge from people. Taking a break provides an opportunity to reflect and often it is during such times when the best ideas, our deepest insights, emerge. I insist on taking lunches out of the office; I insist that my colleagues do the same. Call it a siesta, naptime, or a mini-vacation. It works for many of the happier nations too.

4. Do things differently. Part of the problem at work for many people is boredom. We are stuck in a rut where we come in and do the same thing over and over and over again. Get your enthusiasm back by doing things differently. Make every effort to learn, to grow, and to challenge yourself. Take on more responsibility or attempt something you never thought you were capable of doing. Even if your responsibilities don't allow for much flexibility, try a different approach to your existing responsibilities.

5. Stop managing and start leading. If you're in management, you need to find ways to motivate and stimulate your employees. How? Stretch their minds. Empower your team by giving them more responsibility, more decision-making power, more autonomy. Equally important: be inclusive. Explain what is happening in the company as a whole and give your employees a broader perspective on how their jobs influence the overall business.

6. Delegate. One of the most destructive and counterproductive byproducts of the downsizing era is fear - many managers are scared to let go of control for fear that doing so will make them obsolete. I have news for you: if you feel that way, you already are obsolete. Being controlling is bad for business, not to mention bad for your physical and mental health. The best leaders always look for people better, smarter, and more capable than themselves.

7. Have fun. Here is some tough advice: If you don't like what you are doing, stop doing it. Life is too short to not have fun. I love what I do and when I stop loving it, I do something else. Even in this economy, you will be in high demand if you are good at what you do - and can do it with a smile on your face.

& Zijn ze voor u nog niet genoeg, deze tips, kijk dan ook eens naar Max Weinstein's 'Managing to Have Fun'. Veel Plezier. :-)