Category: Employee Development

We all want to stand out in a crowded job market, and it’s no secret that tailoring a résumé that sets us apart is crucial to boosting our chances of catching a potential employer’s eye.

While many hiring experts will tell us that we need to be scientific about certain fonts—and others will tell us that we need to highlight achievements in a specific way—we’d like to emphasize the importance of something equally, if not more, powerful: communicating our personal WHYs clearly at the top of our résumés and tying those WHY’s to the organization’s larger brand purpose.

Now, if you know anything about our Chief Optimist, Simon Sinek, you’re probably familiar with his concept of The Golden Circle. According to Simon, applying the Golden Circle to our résumés is an incredibly powerful tool.

When we apply this strategy to our résumés, we’re not just presenting our qualifications; we’re also showcasing our unique contributions and cultural fit—factors increasingly important in the hiring process. 

Here’s how to do it.

Step One: Identify Your WHY Statement:

Reflect on what drives you. What are the core values and passions that motivate you? This might relate to personal growth, a commitment to innovation, or a desire to contribute to societal change. (For more help on discovering your WHY, see here and here.)

Our WHY statements are the articulation of who we are at our natural best. It’s what we’re doing when we’re the most inspired, most passionate, and most fulfilled. 

For example, Simon’s WHY is “to inspire people to do the things that inspire them, so that together we can change the world for the better.” 

Other examples of WHY statements could be:

• “To empower those who are next so that together we can give the world new potential.”
• “To curate joy, so that we can all inhabit happiness.”
• “To connect authenticity with communication, so that together we can create meaningful relationships.”

Step Two: Research the Company’s Brand Purpose:

We need to understand the mission, vision, and values of the companies we’re applying to. This information is usually found on their website, whether it be in their mission statement or recent press releases.

Now, our personal WHYs and the company’s WHY needn’t be a one-to-one match. But hopefully, we can find something about the company’s purpose that resonates with us. If not, it could be a red flag that the company isn’t the right fit. (After all, a survey by SelectOne found that 72% of workers consider corporate culture a key factor in their decision to stay with a company, and 32% of those who left a job within the first 90 days cited a mismatch in company culture as the reason for their departure.)

Step Three: Align Your WHY with the Company’s Brand Purpose:

Let’s say we’re applying for a role at Adidas. Their brand purpose statement is clear: “Through sport, we have the power to change lives. We will always strive to expand the limits of human possibilities.”

At the top of our résumé, we should explain in one sentence how our WHY is complementary to the company’s goals. As an example, if Simon were applying for a role at Adidas, he could say something like this:

“Driven by a passion to inspire, I believe in harnessing the power of sport to elevate human potential and create meaningful change in the world.”

Instantly, the Adidas hiring manager will know that Simon might be a good cultural fit.

Remember: Résumés reflecting our values are more likely to catch an employer’s attention, especially when we’re applying to highly competitive roles. 

Mondays—the day Garfield hates and The Mamas & The Papas sing about. We’ve all dreaded a Monday or two, haven’t we? According to Forbes Health, a whopping 80% of all working professionals and over 90% of Millennial and Gen-Z workers suffer from what’s more recently been coined as the “Sunday scaries.” 

Even we at Team Simon aren’t immune to the occasional Monday blues. But, being the Optimists we are, we’ve made it our mission to add a little positivity to your Mondays. So, in the spirit of helping others and spreading some joy, we are sharing some of our favorite Monday survival strategies that you may or may not find useful.

If you’ve found any of them helpful—or wish to share your own better-Monday strategies—we’d love to hear from you at [email protected]. 

1. Prep Your Morning Coffee on Sunday Night

“Did you know we literally make thousands of decisions a day? One way I reduce my Monday-morning decision-making is by prepping my coffee ahead of time. I take some time on Sunday afternoons to make a pitcher of cold brew so it’s steeped and in the fridge, ready to go. With iced coffee in hand, I can start the week feeling ahead of the game.” —Rebekah, Marketing

2. Take 15-Minutes to Walk Around the Block

“I’ve gotten in the habit of starting my week with a walk around the block, typically just before breakfast. It’s like fresh air for the soul. Too often we can overlook the enormous benefits of a simple stroll. Also, it’s excellent for your creativity and thinking through problems. If you’re feeling stuck on something, my advice is to try walking it off.”  —Sara, Empowerment

3. Try a Special Monday Self-Care Routine

“I swear by my feel-good Monday self-care routine: I wait for the sun to rise, and then go for a walk with my cat. After work in the evening, I take another long walk with my cat. When we get back, I play music and do yoga in a sunlit room. Afterward, I meditate! By this point, I am feeling really happy regardless of how the day went. It’s about being kind to yourself. On an extra special day, I’ll soak in the hot tub in the evening too.” —Lisa, Tech

4. Take 5 Minutes to Tidy Your Workspace First Thing in the Morning

“As a remote worker, I’ve found that incorporating small rituals into my Monday routine makes a big difference in my productivity and mood. I always start by taking a few minutes to ensure that my workspace is clean and organized. Yes, it’s a small thing, but science has my back on this: Studies show that a clean desk can help with productivity, creativity, and a calm and clear mind. What’s more, it can instantly make you feel more professional and ready to get down to business.” — Pai, Experiences

5. Embrace “N.M.M.M.” (“No Meetings Monday Mornings”)

“I love my job, but I also love sleeping, so sometimes Mondays can be hard, even for me. I’ve been trying to uphold the hard rule of ‘No Meeting Monday Mornings.’ So, unless something is absolutely urgent and completely on fire, the calendar is blocked off. It feels like a nice soft landing into the work week, and I can focus on setting up my week for maximum success without having to rush to grab that extra Monday morning coffee between client calls.” —Sharin, Experiences

6.Take $10 to the Grocery Store and Treat Yourself

“I live within walking distance of my grocery store, so to brighten my Mondays, I usually go for a ‘superfluous’ snacks and beverage run. Anything I otherwise wouldn’t buy, I treat myself to. I will avail myself of Kettle Chips, La Croix, Outshine popsicles, or a chocolate croissant. Yes, it’s a simple pleasure, but it can make all of the difference to your mood.” —David, Production

7. Try Some High-Intensity Exercise

“Monday mornings are when I set aside time for a 45-minute virtual fitness class that I find on YouTube, usually a mix of cardio and light resistance training. I choose high-intensity routines to essentially shock my body into a higher gear to start my week, which leaves me feeling sharper, more energetic, and alert. Afterward, I’m fully prepared to dive headlong into work.” —Henrietta, CEO

8. Create a Special Monday Soundtrack

“I make my Mondays fun with music. I start my day with my favorite Spotify playlist of Animal Crossing lo-fi to trick myself into thinking that being productive matches the vibe of the music. (Am I inadvertently classical conditioning myself? Who’s to say—but all I know is I feel better doing work if my mind thinks that I’m doing that work for my little animal villager neighbors on my five-star-rated island.) Then, in the afternoon, when go for a walk, I try to listen to a new album each time. It’s the perfect combo of familiar favorites in the morning and something new and exciting to look forward to in the afternoon.” —Emily, Marketing

9. Plan a Social Outing for Monday Night 

“Just because it’s Monday doesn’t mean you can’t have fun plans! It can be a game night with friends, a movie, a dinner reservation, or a bike ride. I think sprinkling activities throughout the weekdays, in general, is a great way to get out of the house (especially if you work fully remote) and a way to ensure you aren’t trying to cram all your fun into just the weekends!” —Olivia, Operations

10. Save Your Fave Food for Monday Night

“I love to indulge in a more weekend-appropriate dinner on Monday nights, like pizza, a burger, or pad Thai. I find that having something to look forward to early in the week is a real mood-booster. In terms of nutrition, Tuesdays feel like my Mondays.” —Keenan, Marketing

11. Attack Your Biggest Project Head-On

“After I’ve caught up with my team and held my morning meetings, I’ll always block out as much time as I can on Monday afternoons to hyper-focus on the biggest project that will make the rest of the week feel better once it’s complete.” —Greg, Content

12. Create a Light Landing Into Your Work Day

“Move easier meetings first, harder meetings to later in the morning. This allows me the space to embrace my weekend catch-up first and plan my day and week out a bit. It also creates space for me to relax on Sunday night knowing I don’t need to be prepped for anything first thing in the morning.”  —Molly, Experiences

13. Have a Quick Catchup with Your Teammates

“Having a quick status meeting each Monday always starts the week off on a really nice foot. I get to see my awesome team, be reminded of all of the brilliant things they do, and we get clarity on who’s doing what for that week. It’s a great way to connect, say hi, support each other, and give everyone autonomy to execute from that point forward.” —Joi, Operations

14. Touch Grass!

“Yes, I know it’s a meme online, but it’s especially for remote workers to get out into the world, even if it’s for a very short amount of time. You’ve got to feel some sunshine and talk to someone—even a gas station attendant!” —Zach, Production

We would all love to go to work each day feeling unburdened by stress and unhelpful thoughts—those that hold us back from trying new things, getting more done, and embracing difficult situations. 

But we also know that our brains can be set in their ways, what with their roughly 100 trillion synaptic connections, some of which actively undermine our productivity every minute. 

That’s why, according to Dr. Stu Farrimond, Optimist Instructor and acclaimed author of Science of Living, we often hold ourselves back at work without even realizing it. Some of our worst behaviors—like procrastinating, under-communicating, or being indecisive—stem from letting our deeply ingrained habits take control and switch our brains to autopilot.

Here are three ways Dr. Stu says your brain acts as your own personal saboteur, with the hope that knowing about them will help you in replacing your brain’s bad habits with better ones. (For more, check out Dr. Stu’s class, “The Neuroscience of Success at Work,” in The Optimism Library.)

 1. Your gut instincts are trustworthy only in familiar situations

“Our brain’s amygdala, an area deeply involved in emotional responses, helps forge ‘emotional memories’ that can guide instinctive reactions in familiar situations,” says Dr. Stu. 

This can be a good thing. For example, a seasoned manager might successfully rely on gut feelings to make quick decisions during routine operations or when resolving conflicts they’ve navigated before, leveraging past experiences encoded in their emotional memory.

In these familiar moments, Dr. Stu says it’s great to “trust your gut.” 

He cautions, however, trusting your gut in unfamiliar or unpredictable situations. Maybe you’re facing a new problem, trying to manage a new sort of conflict, or trying to work through a task you’ve never done before, like implementing an entirely new technology in the office.

“Your hunches can only be trusted in areas of life that are fairly predictable and repeatable, like driving or cooking,” he says. “However, in unfamiliar or unpredictable situations, relying on gut feelings can lead you astray. This insight is underpinned by studies showing the unreliability of eyewitness testimonies in stressful situations, which often result in wrongful convictions.”

2. Our brains are often too quick to make assumptions

Dr. Stu describes the brain as a “sophisticated guessing machine.”

Our vision, for instance, isn’t as reliable as we might think. “Our brain fills in gaps in our peripheral vision, creating a continuous image from sparse data,” he says. “This mechanism, while efficient, makes us very unreliable witnesses, a fact supported by research showing a high percentage of wrongful convictions based on inaccurate eyewitness testimonies.”

The same concept can be found in the workplace, especially in intrateam communication. Consider a scenario where a manager asks for updates on a complex process with many moving parts. They might believe they have a full understanding of the project status based on quick visual scans of progress charts and brief updates from team members, but in reality, their brain is filling in gaps and creating a seemingly coherent picture from incomplete information. This can lead to overconfidence in the project’s progress or unforeseen issues that were never actually communicated but were assumed to be resolved. 

When it comes to collaborating with your team, Dr. Stu says it’s best to over-communicate to the point of obviousness—because what is often obvious to you is not always clear to the rest of the team or your superiors.

3. You can teach an old brain new tricks.

Sure, humans can get stuck in their ways. But bad habits, we’re thrilled to say, can be broken—or, more accurately, bad habits can be replaced with good ones.  

According to Dr. Stu, the brain can be reprogrammed to foster better workplace behaviors and decision-making. 

“The concept of schemas,” he says, “are rooted in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Essentially, we know schemas as a sort of bodily autopilot. They are the patterns of thought and behavior that we default to after repeated learned behavior. The good news is, schemas can be adjusted.”

Our brain’s neuroplasticity and ability to adapt can significantly alter our responses to workplace challenges, “leading to more effective and adaptive behaviors,” says Dr. Stu. “It can take time, but if we repeat and reinforce better habits at work, we can replace one habit with another.”

A workplace example here could be how we handle feedback. 

Imagine a scenario where an employee typically reacts defensively to constructive criticism, viewing it as a personal attack rather than an opportunity for growth. This reaction is a schema—a learned behavior based on past experiences. By recognizing this schema and treating it like a habit, the employee can begin to replace the defensive response with a more productive one, such as asking clarifying questions or considering the feedback as a path to professional development. 

Over time, with conscious effort and repetition, this new approach can become the default, demonstrating the brain’s remarkable capacity to adapt.

For more, check out The Optimism Library.

• Statistics reveal that 47% of workers consider meetings the top “time waster” at work, while 45% of all working professionals feel overwhelmed by their meeting schedules.
• The essentials for productive meetings include assigning three specific roles within your team, establishing clear goals, and consistently concluding meetings on times ending in “5” (e.g., 1:55pm, not 2pm).
• Communication expert and Optimist Instructor Lori Zukin explains these tips and more.

Meetings: love them or loathe them, they’re with us to stay. If you’re lucky enough to rise through the ranks, statistics suggest that a significant chunk of your work hours—up to 50% for upper management—could be spent in meetings. That’s a staggering 30,000 to 45,000 hours over an entire career, akin to watching the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy nearly 4,000 times from start to finish. 

No wonder the refrain “this could’ve been an email” is so common.

But what if meetings didn’t have to be a drain on time and productivity? According to communication expert Lori Zukin—who teaches a popular course in The Optimism Library called “Make Meetings Efficient and Productive”—the key to great meetings lies in one word: structure. With the right framework, meetings can become more than just hum-drum gatherings—they can be opportunities for collaboration, clarity, and progress.

Here are three simple tips from Lori to get you started:

1. Assign Exactly Three Roles Among Your Team for Every Meeting

“Knowing who owns the meeting can drastically improve its effectiveness,” says Lori. “Having clarity on who is the owner, even if it’s a fast meeting, is helpful, especially if you want to keep it fast in the first place.”

Note: This ownership also means owning all follow-up actions. 

Alongside a meeting owner, Lori recommends designated a notetaker and a timekeeper, as well. 

“Assigning someone to take notes and another as a timekeeper ensures that A) important decisions and details are remembered and B) the meeting runs smoothly and respects everyone’s time,” she says. 

2. Schedule Your Meetings to Conclude on Numbers That End in “5”

Instead of scheduling a meeting to run from 1:00pm to 2:00pm, Lori recommends a simple yet effective hack: Schedule it to run from 1:00pm to 1:55pm. Instead of hosting a meeting that runs from 2pm to 2:30, make it 2pm to 2:25pm. 

This slight adjustment provides crucial buffer time between meetings, allowing participants to decompress, address urgent tasks, or simply take a breather. In a remote-work world filled with Zoom calls, this could simply mean giving your team the opportunity to use the bathroom. 

These short breaks are vital for sustaining energy and concentration throughout the day, enhancing productivity and reducing the strain of consecutive meetings. 

“Having 5 minutes in between meetings can significantly enhance productivity and reduce the stress associated with back-to-back scheduling,” says Lori.

3. Yes, Every Meeting Needs a Stated Goal Agreed Upon Beforehand

Every meeting should begin with a clear agenda that acts as a roadmap for the discussion, ensuring that all participants are aligned with the meeting’s objectives. 

“Ideally you’ve done it before,” says Lori, highlighting the importance of preparation. “A well-planned agenda includes the meeting’s title, date, time, location, and participants, along with a detailed outline of what will be discussed.” 

This transparency ensures that everyone understands the purpose of the meeting and is prepared to contribute effectively. This agenda can also be where the aforementioned notetaker can compile the takeaways from the meeting in a place everyone can see them. 

Oh, and if you don’t have a clear goal you want to achieve for your meeting? According to Lori, that’s a surefire sign that the meeting could’ve been an email. 

For more, check out The Optimism Library. 

• Learn how your brain is hardwired to skew towards negative thoughts, and why practicing gratitude helps.
• Gain insights from Omar Brownson, an Optimist Instructor, successful entrepreneur, civic leader, and expert in gratitude and mindfulness. 
• Omar reveals step-by-step instructions for his helpful, one-minute breathing exercise to calm your mind.

Are you stressed out these days? You’re hardly alone. In fact, if you believe the folks at Bloomberg, the single biggest unifying force in America right now is our collective stress level. 

According to LA-based entrepreneur, civic leader, and Optimist Instructor Omar Brownson (who is also one of the most trusted authorities on the subject of gratitude and mindfulness), there are plenty of effective ways you can better cope with your stress on a day-to-day basis. He details them all in “The Gratitude Class,” which you can access in The Optimism Library. But we took the liberty of laying out his go-to one-minute breathing exercise for chilling out that you can try at work—or anywhere else—below.

The Importance of Gratitude

Omar categorizes gratitude as a critical lens through which we can view our experiences in a more positive light. He explains, “If meditation helps us notice each breath, and mindfulness helps us notice change, then gratitude helps us notice good.”

Our brains naturally skew towards negativity. For whatever reason, stress and negativity tend to stack up and store in our thoughts. Gratitude acts as an essential counterbalance. Omar describes it as “an antidote to that negative orientation,” which is vital for emotional well-being and resilience.

This mindset isn’t just about ignoring the negative but rather about recalibrating our focus to appreciate the positive, thereby “rewiring our brains and even rewilding our hearts.” Practicing gratitude should not only be recognizing good but also fostering an environment where positive emotions are triggered more readily than negative ones.

Step-by-Step Breathing Exercise to Cultivate Gratitude

Here’s Omar’s simple yet profound breathing exercise to help individuals anchor themselves in the present moment and foster gratitude. Below is a guided walkthrough from Omar’s class on how to conduct this practice. And the best part? It only needs to take a minute or two:

1. Get Comfortable

“I invite you to get comfortable in a way that works for you. Whether you want to close your eyes or just gently rest them away from the screen, find a position that allows you to feel at ease.”

2. Notice Your Breath

“We’re just going to take a few moments to notice our breath. Notice the seat that is holding us. Notice our feet on the ground.”

3. Focus on the Details of Breathing

“With each breath, maybe bring some attention to where you feel it entering. Maybe you feel it in your nostrils, your throat, your chest, or your belly. And maybe focus on the exhale. Do you feel the heat of the exhale in your nose?”

4. Awareness of Tension

“Bring some attention to your body. Notice your shoulders wherever there might be some tension. No need to do anything about it. Just bring some awareness to it.”

5. Heart Awareness

“The last place we’re going to bring some awareness to is just our hearts. Notice, is it beating fast? Beating slow? Does it have a feeling attached to it?”

6. Return to the Room

“As this last breath invites you to bring your attention back into the room, I came to this space. And open your eyes when you’re ready.”

This practice is designed to slow down the mind, allowing you to shift from a state of doing to a state of being. It’s not just about relaxation but about cultivating an acute awareness of the present, which is crucial for gratitude.

Omar’s perspective on gratitude goes beyond simple thankfulness. It’s a practice that can profoundly affect our emotional and psychological health, helping us to navigate the complexities of life with a more positive, resilient outlook on the days to come.

Use this quick breathing exercise at the point in your day when you feel the most stressed. 

For more, check out The Optimism Library.