On one thing we can agree:  for the average individual, the workplace has its challenges.  What is critical is how you confront those challenges. People bring their emotions to work.  They can be unhappy.  Insecure. Jealous.  Angry.  Depressed.  Or just plain unpleasant.

I wonder what would happen if you infused the workplace with your faith? What if you decided to bring your most loving, compassionate, calming, forgiving, self-assured ego to work?  How would you go about doing that? What impact would it have on the lives you touch?

As a consultant, I have been up close and personal with a variety of organizations over the past two plus decades and observed a range of workplace behaviors. In many ways, as adults, we haven’t made much progress since kindergarten.  In a down economy and with unemployment high, people feel pressured to keep their jobs and to look good to their superiors—even at someone else’s expense.  According to a CBS News special report, workplace sabotage has increased.  This ranges from pranks to malicious attacks.  Someone steals your work and takes credit for it. A colleague covers up their mistake by blaming you.

Here are three steps you can take to become the person you are meant to be at work—a human being with the nature of Christ in you.

Step One:  Every day, as you enter the work environment, see yourself as nothing less than your “best spiritual self.”  God wants to be present in everything we do. See yourself as God’s trophy in your workplace.  If your light is hidden, uncover it. Cultivate it. Be prayerful.  Dr. Norman Vincent Peale once spoke of looking at the backs of people’s heads and praying for them, silently.

Step Two:  Do the right thing.  Whatever others say or do, make your response positive. If you’re provoked, don’t be quick to retaliate. Sometimes retaliation backfires and you end up looking as culpable as the other person.  Even if the situation is challenging, bring out your best smile. Years ago, someone gave me this advice: “Smile; hold your head up, even if you’re dying hard.”

Step Three:  Be solid and stable.  My son, Randy, is a firefighter and emergency medical technician who faces crises every day.  The people he attends encounter life-threatening situations and, sometimes, he puts himself at risk to aid them.  Every day brings an unexpected surprise. The one consistency is his compassionate spirit. I’m convinced Randy was born for this work. You may not fight fires or use the Jaws of Life to rescue a victim from a wrecked automobile, but you can still experience what it is like to bring spiritual values to work.

As of this day, make this your mantra:  Faith is not just my Sunday pursuit!