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During the global pandemic, organizations around the world had to shift their procedures in order to keep customers and employees safe. Some companies had to quickly learn how to accommodate remote work, others increased the frequency of sanitizing practices, and some just shut down; unable to make any accommodations. All the changes rolled out meant a new environment for the workforce. People, especially in the U.S., have begun to truly appreciate work-life balance. With the traumas of a global pandemic, wasting time at an unsatisfying job is no longer tolerable. The shift in mindset with workers has resulted in many quitting their jobs to seek new fulfilling work.

Workers who are quitting aren’t doing this out of spite. They have learned that their job isn’t meeting specific outcomes which match satisfaction. Workers today are realizing that diversifying their network and finding new employment opportunities can lead to a more fulfilling life. If you’ve had any number of realizations about your work, you may want to consider doing the same:

• The company you work for doesn’t have morals and values that match your own.
• You regularly end your day complaining to your family or friends about how mistreated you feel.
• You’re encouraged not to take a vacation or sick time, and find yourself begging for a day off.
• No matter how hard you work, your accomplishments are never enough to satisfy your team or boss.
• You wake up with dread on the days you need to go to work.
• Being given work that isn’t relevant to large projects, or being bypassed regularly for large projects.
• Not being able to connect with your coworkers, or even fearing them, as they are maybe toxic or retaliatory.

A consequence of a dissatisfied work-life is chronic stress. It is literally a detriment to all employees. Chronic stress doesn’t equal, “just a bad day.” Studies have shown that it can lead to fatigue, irritability, frequent illness, difficulty with concentration, inability to sustain joy, inability to connect with others, as well as a variety of other mental, physical, and emotional ailments. It can even lead to clinical depression or clinical anxiety. Chronic stress can come from an unsupportive work environment, toxic coworkers, inability to access necessary resources, or even monotonous task completion.

In episode 13 of The Happiest Pod on Earth, Stefanie and Ariel discuss the importance of diversifying both an individual’s work experience and network to prevent chronic stress and increase personal life satisfaction. They use the Disney+ show, One Day At Disney, to discuss the variety of jobs the Disney Corporation offers its workers. As the catapult to dive into the conversation of satisfying work-life balance, they each share their own stories around diversified work and networking.

This may be surprising to hear, but research has shown that it’s difficult for us to actually predict how we will feel and respond to various situations. We tend to overestimate our levels of happiness or disappointment. An expectation is a strong belief that a situation will happen a certain way. Having expectations can cause us to look forward, anticipate, or dread a certain experience. Research also shows people do not fully appreciate the moment because they are comparing it to what they believe it should feel like. Or worse, to what we don’t have and instead, highly desire. When we’ve developed a history with an experience, we are skewed regarding the beliefs around the experience. We start to gain unrealistic “certainly,” about that thing.

Expectations can be reasonable, but often they are unrealistic. They are assumptions that feed into our belief systems. They may be crafted from knowledge gained by past history. They may even at times, be correct. Still, expectations are often based on our exaggerated predictions of experiences, as opposed to mindfully experiencing the moment for what it truly is.

So what does this have to do with Disney? As a previous Annual Passholder, I had certain expectations about my Disney parks experience. I grew used to short wait times, discounts, and the ability to have a regulated structured Disney park experience. After a pandemic shut the park down for over a year, and I had gone 532 days without a visit, I knew the outlook I had grown accustomed to, would be different. I had to manage my expectations about my return to the park.

Managing expectations can be one of the most difficult skill-sets to harness. Once obtained, however, it can help create a fulfilling life. Below are three ways to manage expectations:

1. Build awareness of your expectations: Take a moment to pause and look at how your expectations compare to reality. See how your expectations affect your mood, your ability to communicate your needs, and your ability to connect with those around you. When we don’t question our expectations, we can lose out on experiencing the moment. We can also lose out on developing safe secure attachments with those we care about. Therefore, it’s critical that we gathering information from ourselves regarding our expectations. The more we build awareness, the easier it will be to learn to manage our expectations.
   • Ask yourself:
     • “What do I expect to happen?”
     • “Is this expectation grounded in realistic views?”
     • “Where did I develop this belief that I would expect this outcome?”
     • “Would I be willing to share this expectation with others?”
2. Separate your self-worth from outcomes: It can be really damaging to your sense of self when you believe your happiness is obtainable only after a target or goal is achieved. When we start to consider happiness as a benchmark earned or given only after the completion of an achievement, we start to slowly lose an understanding of our intrinsic value. When we define our self-worth through achievements or usefulness, we undermine our happiness and bypass feelings of peace. The emotional-mental harm can feel like a punch in the gut when we’ve finally reached our goal, and yet feel numb to the achievement. Separating ourselves from the outcomes of an experience will allow us to, not only be fully present but find that we are always worthy of joy.
3. Give yourself the gift of grace: Grace is an emotional, mental, and spiritual gift we must give ourselves when expectations aren’t met. Though expectations can lead us to disappointment and grief, it’s still human nature to expect things. Reminding ourselves that we still have honor and value, even after we’ve taken the sting of an unmet expectation, will create healing. Remind yourself that expectations can be changed. Remind yourself that expectations are part of human existence. And lastly, remind yourself that this moment does not define you, because you have intrinsic value. 

Listen to Episode 12 of Happiest Pod on Earth, where Stefanie and I discuss my experience of returning to the Disney parks during the pandemic. I share the fun, the challenges, and the hype. Most importantly, I share how I gave myself grace, as I managed my expectations of the experience.

Self-care. This buzz word that we hear about, but we aren’t really sure what it means. Our jobs may give us career-building workshops, where self-care is in the foreground of the conversation. Or we may hear it from our therapists or the media. But it is never clearly defined. We have a vague idea of its importance but aren’t sure exactly what it is. Often, it becomes synonymous in our minds with being self-indulgent or being selfish. In the 11th episode of The Happiest Pod on Earth, here on the GT Network, Stef and I focus on “Disney-Fying Self-Care.” We dive into tips and tricks, for both professional and personal use, on the different ways we use Disney mediums to incorporate self-care into our everyday lives.

We of course start by defining self-care. We describe it as a conscious act. We believe it is the active engagement and participation in a practice that is meant to establish and maintain specific pillars of wellbeing. When it is actively engaged in, it prevents illness or deterioration. The pillars we lean on are hygiene, lifestyle, nutrition, environment, medical care, mental care, and cultural connection.

The seven pillars of self-care as described by The Happiest Pod On Earth:

• Hygiene: conditions and practices that help sustain health and prevent the spread/contagion of diseases. These practices may include living and working conditions that are sanitized, washing hands, regulated sleep schedules, brushing teeth, etc.
• Lifestyle: the habits, moral standards, attitudes, world view, and economic level that support an individual’s underlying needs. These habits may include travel, attending church, having a collection (such as Funko Pop figures or coins), volunteering, painting, investing, etc.
• Nutrition: the act of a balanced intake that meets the needs of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs. These acts may involve eating a balanced diet, communicating assertively, learning new skill-sets, cooking, prayer, meaningful conversation, etc.
• Environment: having a cultivated space that inspires and promotes well-being, a sense of belonging, and a sense of purpose. These spaces could include a gym, supportive school setting, supportive work setting, creating a comfort corner, playing comforting music, having a decluttered household, room in a relationship to express feelings, affirming friendships, access to childcare, etc.
• Medical Care: the ability to practice and process health information, obtain resources for medical care, and access to medical-based treatment. This could mean both having and using insurance, having a primary care doctor, attending regular check-ups, taking time to heal when sick, engaging in medical needs appropriately (such as taking medication at the prescribed amounts), freedom to discuss medical concerns, having medical conditions fully explained, attending physical therapy, attending acupuncture, etc.
• Mental Care: the ability to practice and process health information, obtain resources for mental care, and access to mental health-based treatment. This could mean both having and using insurance, having a therapist, attending a support group, engaging in mindfulness-based practices, talking to a school counselor, engaging in mental health needs appropriately (such as taking medication at the prescribed amounts), freedom to discuss mental health concerns, supportive relationships, boundaries around mental and emotional labor, etc.
• Cultural Connection: acts that create belonging, attachment, and understanding of the various intersecting parts of an individual and the cultures they define themselves in. These acts may be celebrating holiday gatherings, running programs at local festivals, attending church, teaching traditions to younger family members, visiting family of origin, visiting country of origin, eating culturally impactful foods, wearing culturally significant clothing, ancestry veneration, etc.

There are a variety of tips for self-care practices that we provide for listeners. One that we highlight as crucial includes both learning and engaging in the practice of mindfulness. Mindfulness and meditation have been utilized by numerous religions and secular traditions, such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, and Islam. There are even areas of Christianity that utilize meditative prayer as part of the spiritual and religious engagement. Mindfulness is the practice of being fully present and fully aware of the current moment. This awareness also includes responding to the current moment without judgment or reactivity. Studies have shown regular mindfulness-based practice provides people with a variety of benefits. These include, but are not limited to, decreasing stress, improving academic success, and preventing burnout. Due to mindfulness being an active practice of sustained focus and attention, we find that it is connected to the self-care pillars of mental health, environment, and even lifestyle.

Of course, we kept Disney mediums in mind when providing a specific mindfulness-based practice to include as part of regular self-care. Stef and I identified the use of Disney+’s shorts, Zenimation, to engage in mindful moments. This series of shorts focuses on refreshing the senses using Disney animation and sound for a mindful moment. Each episode, except for the final one, is about seven minutes long and centers around a specific theme. The themes vary from the environment based, like “Ocean,” to feeling states, such as “Discovery.” Each episode takes these themes and combines clips and soothing sounds from Disney movies which would match the theme. The podcast continues on with other Disney-fied self-care suggestions, including practices that involved Disneyland parks or connections with family and friends.