FMD urges others not to allow personal issues to affect their business

May 22, 2013 - PRLog -- FMD explains that whether it is a minor family concern or something more serious, there are steps you can take to keep your personal life private at work so that it does not negatively affect or jeopardise your job.

FMD recommend remaining positive about your personal situation and understand that life often tests your faith, and that you need to see the light at the end of the tunnel if you are ever going to reach it. Leave the "private you" at home and only allow the "professional you" to come to work, whenever possible. The reality is that you don't want to bring personal issues to the office. FMD realise that it is all too easy to get sucked into personal conversations at work with a bunch of known gossiping colleagues. If you are aware of those colleagues who often bring up the kind of personal conversations that reveal themselves to a high degree, then stay away from them.

FMD advises that you understand who its appropriate to confide in or seek mentorship from whilst at work and who you can trust with your personal issues. Ensure you find a mentor or a coach, someone who has the right qualities to guide you in the correct path. You also want to pick a friend with a positive attitude so he can be a motivating listener.
FMD urge you to stay in control of your personal problems at work. Make sure that you are taking care of your personal business and working toward resolving those issues so that you see an end to them, if possible. Even in the case of a death in the family or a divorce, you can still create a plan of action in dealing with the situation. The reality is, if your job means anything to you, you have to find a way out of the hole so you don't lose your job and add to your stress.

FMD have outlined some important steps to take in ensuring that your personal life won't negatively affect your career.

Set Clear Goals - In order to stay on the path intended, you need to know exactly what you want and expect from your career. There is a quote by Yogi Berra that says, "If you don’t know where you’re going, you might not get there.” Remind yourself frequently of where you are going and don’t let your personal problems detour you from this. Your personal problems probably will pan out at some point but your career will be there for the long haul if managed right. Keep the bigger picture in sight.

Know the Steps You Must take - Map out the steps you will have to take and stick with it.

Focus - When you start to get distracted or discouraged, remember where you are headed. Don't let present circumstances sabotage long term success

Prioritise the level of importance the personal issues in your life are. Start from greatest level of importance to the least. What can wait and what can’t? What do you consider more important than your career? What isn’t more important? Start working to resolve one issue at a time.

Get Support - Make sure you have a person in your life that you can be open with about the personal issues.

Try Not To Worry - Anthony D'Angelo was quoted saying,“Focus 90% of your time on solutions and only 10% of your time on problems.”. Instead of worrying so hard about your problems spend that time working on a solution. When you make a habit of this practice, things will start working out a lot sooner. If society would just spend half the amount of time actually doing something about their problems rather than worrying, there is no telling what our world would be like.

Implement Creative Visualisation - Negative thoughts can cause us to be low in self esteem and therefore not perform as well in our personal and professional life.  Lack of self confidence can cause us to go against our better judgment when resolving conflicts and issues. Use the power of creative visualisation to conquer self doubt and nourish a mindset of confidence. Believe you can get through the situations you are facing. You can remain successful in your career, no matter what is going on in your personal life. Your situations will work out.

FMD asks: How hard it is to stop personal issues from affecting your career is largely determined to the degree of how much the personal issues are affecting you, and what they are regarding but generally, it can help by rationalising your thoughts about your personal issues. FMD offers examples, such as if you are going through a difficult time in your relationship, it can be emotionally exhausting and very consuming, But you have to tell yourself that despite what happens as a result of this rough patch, your career is something which will still be there and that you still want.  And you are doing nothing wrong by focusing on work when at work, because even if you didn't, it would not help you personal situation.  

You must not underestimate the importance of giving yourself an emotional break when things are tough, and it can be useful to view your career as a crutch in this area.  Without the emotional break, it will be harder to deal with the personal issues, harder to see clearly through them, and you will be more likely to make bad decisions that are triggered by mental exhaustion.

FMD suggests getting some separation:

Careers can be so consuming that it is easy to blur the lines between work and personal lives.  However, it is important that you try and keep lines of separation there so that you not only have a healthy relationship with both aspects of your life, but also so that one is less likely to detrimentally affect the other.  It helps if you see yourself as a persona when at work, so that when you are at work, you can slip into that metaphorical skin, and put your personal issues to one side.  Equally, when you leave work, you need to leave work at work - you wouldn't want the reverse of letting work issues affect your personal life either.

How do you keep your career from being derailed due to personal issues? A good idea is to use your working hours as a release from your personal demons. No one is going to ask you about your life, no one is going force you to talk about your personal life and all you have to focus on is doing your job. Sure, this is easier said than done, but it is something that you should be working on for the sake of your career. FMD realise that other people have problems too. No one is going to work with a level head for the most part. Everyone has issues with a spouse, kids or money issues. You are not alone, so don't think you are the only one who is dealing with some sort of issue. Instead of taking it out on others and ruining your career, you should simply realise that adversity is a part of everyone's life.

FMD accept that personal issues are a part of life. Life is not easy and no one will get through it without having at least one bad day. However, you should make sure that your personal life doesn't kill your career potential because it isn't necessary to lose your job simply because your social life isn't looking up today.