Happier New Year

In the ad biz, misery is not good for your company.

It always surprises me how many people in the ad business are unhappy, and yet they wear their misery like some kind of badge of honor. They think that their success and value is measured by how many nights each week that they stay past 9PM at the office, how many Saturdays they work through, and how many take-out meals they eat at their desk instead of at home with their loved ones.

Hey, if that’s you, well, I hate to have to clue you in. You’re doing it wrong.

Before we talk about how to do it right, let’s look a little deeper at the problem. As someone who has freelanced in over 30 different creative departments, I’ve seen a lot of fearful creatives. A number of angry ad people who throw things or raise their voices. I’ve seen folks who have gone from enjoying a drink after work to needing a drink after work to needing a drink before work. These people are allowing the business they are in to drain the joy from their lives and in some cases, shorten those lives.

Case in point: I have been thinking for months about this chilling blog post by a now-deceased New Zealander art director, Linds Redding who, after being diagnosed with cancer, came to the cold conclusion that his life in advertising was, essentially, just not worth it. The late nights. The missed family activities. The obsession with meaningless awards. The anguish over ideas to sell disposable products. He warns his former colleagues and others not to delude themselves that they are doing anything of any lasting value. “It turns out I didn’t actually like my old life nearly as much as I thought I did,” he said.

Don’t get me wrong. My message is not, “Don't work so hard.” Hard work is (as they say) its own reward and it’s part of the deal when you get into the ad business. Being creative (as opposed to recycling someone else’s ideas over and over again) requires a Sisyphusian dedication to the process. I have yet to know a good creative person who could churn out winning ideas in seconds instead of a mixture of great, good and awful ideas in hours, and then spend another hour or two sorting it all out. That’s the process. And it works. But the goal is to get something real out of pushing that rock up the hill every day. To find value in it and know what that value is ahead of time. Or else, like Linds Redding, by all accounts a gifted and clever craftsman, you wake up one day with esophageal cancer and a heap of regret.

So how do you do it right? Here are some things to try. I may not have all the answers, but I am a pretty happy and positive dude, and these may provide you with a good start toward your happiness goal.

1. Curiosity > skepticism > cynicism. Curiosity goes a long way in our business. You have to know how to ask the right questions and dig for insights. And that’s where skepticism comes in. Testing your answers and demanding proof is a great trait as well. It’s when skepticism turns into cynicism that problems arise. A small amount of cynicism is natural but a player who is always negative about the work and the people doing it can never be happy, and the people around him or her suffer as well. A good rule of thumb: Say four positive things for every negative thing you say. Do it for a while and it becomes habit.
2. Breathe. There’s a growing body of scientific evidence that shows that learning to breathe in a calming and cleansing way can increase testosterone (the hormone that makes us feel powerful and in control) and decrease cortisol (the hormone that stresses us out). In a study at Stamford University, Iraq and Afghanistan veterans suffering from PTSD were instructed in Kriya yoga and meditation, which involves measured, mindful breathing techniques. After treatment, the vets showed a dramatic decrease in stress, startle response and flashbacks. And the effects were lasting. Restorative yoga is another good way to get similar results.

1. Strike a pose. In her 2015 book, Presence, and in her landmark Ted Talk, Harvard Professor, Amy Cuddy talks about how body language and striking a heroic or triumphant pose, even for a short time, can increase ones ability to perform and manage stress. Respondents in Cuddy’s research showed increased problem solving ability and the willingness to take chances after holding a “Wonder Woman” pose for two minutes. Want to combine breathing with strong poses? Check out a yoga class. I have found yoga is a great way to bring good feelings to the fore.
2. Do something (else) of value. At Mintz + Hoke, we do a good amount of pro bono work. Just this year, we’ve helped Habitat for Humanity in Hartford, Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence, Connecticut Forum and Fidelco. We’re currently conducting an online food drive for the Connecticut Food Bank (Check out the video!) and working on a web site for premier arts organization, The White Heron Theatre Company. We also do a good amount of paid work for state social services and transportation agencies on programs and projects that help make a lot of lives better. If you can’t do this kind of meaningful work at work, then volunteer your talents to help a local non-profit. It feels good.
3. Create another life for yourself. If you can’t find joy in your work life, then find some joy in another part of your life. Paint. Write. Throw yourself into parenting. Build furniture. Put up a firewall between your work and the rest of your life and make something out of the other half of your existence. Not only is this a good way to save your sanity if you find work to be a challenge, it can help you better understand where your passions lie, and then you can develop that passion into another job if you want to. I have a friend who wore a tie every day, but was not all that happy unless he was baking bread. Now he bakes and sells bread from his home.

1. Sing. Singing requires the same kind of breathing discipline as yoga and other kinds of meditation. Noted 19th century psychologist and philosopher William James once hypothesized, “I don’t sing because I’m happy, I’m happy because I sing.” In other words, the act of doing something joyful, creates the feeling of joy. Like striking a pose, singing has been shown to reduce cortisol levels and therefore stress. When I get home after a long day, nothing makes me feel quite so good as grabbing a guitar and belting out an acoustic version of Pixies, Where is my mind? Can’t carry a tune? Then hum. Softly. Over there.
2. Don’t stay late, get in early. The work is the work. And there’s only so much time for you to do it. So if you have to put in extra hours, do it after a good night’s sleep and a half a pot of coffee. The morning is the most productive and creative part of the day, after all. Not a morning person? Yeah. I wasn’t either. Until I started getting up at 4:45AM every day. It’s made a huge difference in my productivity.
3. Quit (drinking). Alcohol is a downer. Literally. And there is plenty of evidence to show that the milder withdrawal symptoms of alcohol use (anxiety, edginess, sleeplessness) is what causes us to “need a drink” at the end of the day. Which makes drinking a downward spiraling situation for many people. It was true for me. Without getting all preachy, if you are having a tough time and you drink more than ten drinks a week, look into quitting for a while to see how it makes you feel. Give it 21 days (The time it takes for the withdrawal symptoms to subside). Just be sure to eat well and take a vitamin supplement in the process.

1. Quit (your job). Sometimes it’s not you. It’s the job. Some environments are more stressful than they need to be. Some cultures are negative and toxic. And some bosses are not happy unless everyone else is living in fear. And unless your boss is delivering a wheelbarrow filled with gold bullion to your car at the end of every day, very few jobs are worth feeling miserable. So get out. But don’t do so until you have read Jon Acuff’s book, Quitter. He’s quit more jobs than anyone I know and his writing style is fun, informative and inspirational.

There. Now go forth into 2016 smiling, optimistic and ready for anything. Happy new year. And I mean that.