100 Ways to Personally Conquer Chaos at Work

A fractured view of our own character or baggage often appears when we suddenly find ourselves in a state of crisis or chaos, especially in a workplace environment. Taken with our own perspective, the blame game is an easy road to take.

“The problem is them…the issue is really not my concern…the conflict began at that company… things started to head downhill when they got involved,” my mind would comment and then answer, “no let’s take a closer look.”

Since 9/11 many of us, (including myself) came face to face in a new and deeper way with our own mortality, our fate, and our purpose. WorkLife Balance suddenly made an appearance and we learned that the human capital so taken for granted, are really disguised human beings – with a desire to have a more purposeful and meaningful worklife in a 24/7 world.

When I was invited to participate in Luciano Passuello’s Litemind.com group writing project, posting on conquering chaos was a familiar exercise for me as I’ve been writing about chaos in the workplace since that fateful day six years ago. I’ve been brought to my knees in humility, and elated with joy on this journey of navigating through chaos as a news reporter and hospice volunteer.

The greatest revelation was that while most chaos appears to be outside of ourselves, it’s really in the personal response to such events – which can bring about the most peace. Using chaos as fuel for personal transformation, we create a well of stillness to call upon when in crisis. It’s up to us to cultivate resilience within our hearts and minds. So here is my list of 100 Ways to Personally Conquer Chaos:

1. Surrender to the process of self examination; don’t fight it.

2. Forgive instead of condemn.

3. Relinquish anger and replace it with understanding.

4. Burn the pain of your ego and use it as fuel for transformation.

5. Embrace your spiritual nature instead of your ego.

6. Be, act, and respond in the moment.

7. Embrace gratitude in a time of crisis.

8. Practice awareness with those who bother you.

9. Adopt a humble approach in conflict.

10. Practice compassion on a daily basis.

11. Develop a routine of exercise to burn off nervous energy.

12. Relinquish pride in an argument.

13. Know the difference between Righteousness and Self Righteousness.

14. Meditate or just stop everything for 5 minutes every day.

15. Know for yourself when you are acting from the higher or lower ego.

16. Identify meaning in your daily work.

17. Suspend judgment of your co-workers.

18. Devote yourself to a particular volunteer activity or cause.

19. Respond from a place of wisdom instead of reacting from a place of fear.

20. Be silent.

21. Don’t be attached to being right.

22. Use your breath to consume chaos.

23. Practice being nice.

24. Instead of blaming someone else, look at how you participated in a conflict.

25. Relinquish all personal unworthiness no matter how small.

26. Acknowledge how you have been blessed in your life.

27. Remove guilt from your emotional vocabulary.

28. Remember that here is no such thing as perfection.

29. Love your co-workers, even though it’s tough.

30. Do a daily act of kindness.

31. See the sacred in all people.

32. Don’t be seduced by the need for image.

33. Don’t sacrifice authenticity for perceived image.

34. Nurture yourself with a gift.

35. Fulfill obligations with grace.

36. Keep an open space in your heart for moments of understanding others.

37. See others as a reflection of yourself.

38. Cultivate inner peace.

39. Anticipate the divine in your life, know you are being guided.

40. Know the difference between engaging your ego and trusting your intuition.

41. Embrace diversity at work.

42. Speak from the heart.

43. Listen with the heart.

44. Purify your negative thoughts by breathing them out.

45. Remember sometimes, “It’s not about me.”

46. Manage your time efficiently.

47. Split the tension by writing about a conflict and then ripping up the paper.

48. Battle

    anxiety with a desktop slideshow of your favorite pictures and music.

49. Make choices without agonizing about them afterwards.

50. Don’t buy into the dramas of others.

51. Desire to be more understanding of those in crisis.

52. Make consciousness choices about who you spend time with.

53. Be unconditionally loving

54. Be discriminating when choosing to share personal information at work.

55. Let go of grief.

56. Eliminate any thoughts of revenge.

57. Hesitate before speaking.

58. Remember that you were born perfect, you just forgot the essence of who you are.

59. Start your day with an intention.

60. Remember that your thoughts influence your words and actions.

61. When a negative thought arises, tell yourself, “not now.”

62. Go beyond your comfort zone to embrace someone in need.

63. Consciously change your perception.

64. Release tension from your body with desk chair exercises.

65. Do an act of service for a co-worker spontaneously.

66. When adversity brings uncertainty, just be a witness to it instead of reacting.

67. Expand your vision of a person at work.

68. Be compassionately detached when a co-worker is in an emotional crisis.

69. Write a list of your strengths.

70. Create daily work habits that foster creativity.

71. Phone a co-worker instead of e-mailing.

72. Develop a personal method of cultivating resilience.

73. Effectively communicate your needs at work

74. Don’t gossip.

75. Avoid accusatory statements.

76. Mobilize your workers for a group project.

77. Keep an open mind.

78. Embrace change, do not run from it.

79. Promise yourself to count to three in conflict.

80. Visualize yourself being kind.

81. Keep your complaints to yourself unless you can positively effect change.

82. Don’t always try to fix people or situations.

83. Allow people to be who they are without trying to change them.

84. Monitor your behavior and words when speaking with workers.

85. Don’t tolerate cruelty or disrespect toward yourself or another.

86. Create boundaries at work.

87. Ask a colleague about what’s bothering them and just listen.

88. Don’t send unnecessary e-mails.

89. Limit your personal phone time.

90. Take a walk.

91. Create internet surfing rules for yourself at work.

92. When in doubt, wait it out. If there is no immediate solution to a conflict at work give it time.

93. Do not send confidential information through e-mail.

94. Schedule more time than needed for an important project.

95. Identify when you personally sabotage yourself at work.

96. Look into worklife balance initiatives at work.

97. Plan a vacation.

98. Limit your working hours.

99. Create your own personal worklife balance commandments.

100. Don’t answer the black berry with every bing.