Confession: I like to give myself pep talks in the morning when I'm getting ready for work. Dorky? Extremely. Effective? I think so. In all seriousness, I feel more focused and more energetic and positive on days when I give myself a bit of coaching and encouragement bright and early.

Mind you, this is not me staring at my reflection in the mirror engaging in some kind of solo abusive Glengarry Glenross monologue, and it's no New Age hippy-dippy shit. I'll be brushing my teeth or putting on mascara, and I'm thinking..."Yep...I'm going to kick ass today."

Then I'll think of a couple specific challenging things I've got coming up; i.e. a tough client call that's in my calendar, or a horribly tedious document I need to piece together, and I'll tell myself "The call's going to go really well. I'm going to put notes together beforehand and we'll just go through the list and it'll be over before I know it. I'm going to finish my report by 3:00 and then I'm gonna have coffee with hot chocolate in it while it's being proofed. In nine hours this will all be over and I'll be home watching The City and wondering why I was stressed at all."

Guess what? That's usually exactly what happens. I don't know why, or how, but that 90 seconds of thinking good thoughts in the morning can make all the difference and keep a crazy day from going completely off the rails.

I think thinking positive thoughts has much the same effect as receiving a compliment or encouragement from a friend or coworker. It can be just the boost you need to get through a tricky situation. And the best part is, in nine or 10 or 14 hours, your workday WILL be over. The document that seemed so daunting on Monday is a thing of the past come Thursday. Next week, you probably won't even remember the client meeting that's giving you so much grief today.

When all else fails, bribery is golden. For me, it's hot chocolate in my coffee--that's my big work reward for doing my shitty task du jour. Until the job is done, it's water or regular coffee or green tea (gag) but once the worst item is off my to-do list, get the eff out of the kitchen because mama's coming in and she wants her hot chocolate fix. The exception is Friday afternoons, when beer o'clock rolls around (yes, we have a beer keg at the agency). On Friday afternoons I sometimes reward myself with a nice cold brewski or three just for surviving another week.

So go ahead...give yourself a nerdy pep talk in the morning, stick a smiley Post-It on your bathroom mirror, or write yourself a little note of encouragement on your desk calendar. There is nothing wrong with some positive reinforcement and good vibes, no matter what the source. You're awesome, capable, intelligent, and you're going to kick today's ass, no questions asked. There's a hot chocolate/beer/Diet Coke in the kitchen with your name on it!