Have you felt steam explode from your ears when that “prickly pear” at your boardroom table tries to sabotage a project? Do you sense that some folks don’t want to budge from comfort zones even if it would improve their work? Problem is, our gut gets tight and the steam shoots from our ears while the prickly pear remains calm.
Steaming ears or tightness in the belly show that you're drowning in Cortisol, a hormone which floods our brain when we need to react quickly in a crisis. Cortisol comes through emotional stress. Take NOTE! Too much Cortisol takes years off your life. So, we need strategies to step out of our emotions the minute we’re cognizant of them. But how, when we’re so-o-o consumed and so-o-o angry?
Anger or anxiety in the workplace breaks down with a belly laugh. For instance, look at this Dilbert cartoon. Ever had this feeling?
Are people more productive when Dilbert is part of the mix? Let’s sit back for a minute and think where Dilbert or Bill Belew’s, A Man Walks into an Office takes us.
Fact is, when I looked for a photo of Bill Belew on Google, all I could find was an Elvis designer. I asked Bill if these were actually his photos. He responded, "My dad was a big Elvis fan and my older sister by about 10 years once stripped naked at one of his concerts BEFORE that became the norm. So...my dad named me after Elvis' Bill Belew...who actually was Elvis' personal costume and wardrobe designer.But, then none of that is true. I was named after my grandfather and a great uncle." Just conversing with Bill is a stress buster!!
How might personal cartooning or even writing short Red Neck jokes take you and your associates beyond the prickly pear you face at work? Try your hand at portraying the prickly pear as Dilbert or Bill Belew would through absurdity. Cut to the chase and cut the Cortisol!
Best responses deserve a dinner with the boss!
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