Technology Can’t Fix Everything

I’ve been in a bad mood this week, and have been having a hard time shaking it. Normally, when I can’t fix something myself (or I know there just has to be a better way to do what I’m trying to do), I look for a piece of software. I found Taskbar Shuffle 2.0, for example, when I was frustrated with the inability to change the order of my taskbar items (this seems small, but can make a big difference!).

Unfortunately, there’s no software to get me out of a bad mood. Short of turning to cybernetic implants and performing a reboot, I have to rely on myself to fix the problem. Of course, that’s easier said than done. When you’re frustrated and in a bad mood, it makes fixing the fact that you’re frustrated and in a bad mood that much more difficult.

To digress from my usual subject matter, one of my favorite blogs — and it has been for some time now — is Chief Happiness Officer by Alexander Kjerulf. Alex is also the author of Happy Hour is 9 to 5, a book on happiness at work (which I luckily won a copy of, and highly recommend). The basic idea behind the site, the book, and Alex in general, if that everyone should be happy — not just satisfied — at work. And I totally agree.

I talked to several friends about some of the contributing factors to my bad mood and got great advice from them, but implementing it has been the hard part. I also decided to check out Alex’s blog and see what he had to say on the subject. I came across three articles which I wanted to share — they cover a lot of what my friends said, but sometimes it helps hearing it from another source, you know?

Great points made in all three of these articles. I’ve already accepted that I’m having a bad week, so now I’m going with “this too shall pass” and trying to be more positive.

I’m hopeful that a weekend unplugged, with my friends advice and Alex’s advice, will lend to a better week next week. And if not, maybe we can replace everyone with robots… that would solve it, right? =)

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Before the robots take over, be sure to check out Alex’s blog. He’s on vacation right now (snowboarding! I’m so jealous), but has a guest blogger while he’s out. And anyway, how awesome is the title Chief Happiness Officer? I want that title (or even one of the cool titles they have at Quicken Loans now).

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