The key to creating change at any level you might wish is to start by looking in the mirror and asking yourself one simple question: "What can I do to make a difference that requires no one's permission other than my own?"

Have any work-related stress these days? Imagine doing even more than you already are and winding up both more relaxed and with more energy. Sounds beyond counterintuitive, I know, but bear with me.

The goal of this workaround is to turn the negative aspect of the complaint into something positive that you and the one complaining can use to make improvements.

As 2011 gets underway, Russell Bishop, Senior Editor at Large of The Huffington Post and author of "Workarounds That Work," draws on his own times of adversity as sources of strength, optimism and creativity.