Your work is not your life: the importance of not taking work too personally

Work provides us with more than just money: it offers a sense of fulfilment, fun and the opportunity to learn or express ourselves creatively. But at the same time, if you take your work too seriously and personally, you risk frustration, burnout and disappointment. How not to take work too personally? Here are some tips.

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These tips were published by the prestigious Harvard Business Review.

Remember that emotional decision-making does not have the best results

Why should you not take work too personally? One reason is that if you do this and experience everything with deep emotions, your results will be worse. This is because you will be unable to make rational and objective decisions as you will be strongly influenced by your subjective feelings.

Do not take negative things personally

Quite often at work you may encounter heated situations, stress, blame games or political, corporate fights. Those who take these situations too much to heart will sooner or later pay the price in physical or mental health. Tell yourself that everything which is happening has nothing at all to do with you as a person, and do not take any of it too seriously.

Try to take things humorously

Try to keep your perspective. Take things with a sense of humour and find something amusing in everything that happens at work. Try to teach this attitude to the people around you and lighten up the work environment.

Do things more your own way - one that suits you

One way not to take work too seriously or things too personally, and not to become frustrated and stressed is to find something you enjoy about your work and adjust your workflow so that you find it comfortable and easy to do.



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Article source Harvard Business Review - flagship magazine of Harvard Business School
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