The eyes of many workers light up only after they depart from their work at the end of the day. Wouldn’t it be nice, though, if what you did at your workplace gave you as much happiness as what you did in your spare time?
If you want to be consistently happy, you will need to take great care in choosing the work you want to do to make a living. Working at a job that you do not find interesting and do not like, perhaps even hate, will create a destructive division and negative dynamics in your life. You will end up enjoying only the time you spend away from your job and regretting the vast amounts of time when you are at it.
To avoid creating a negative dichotomy in your life, you will need to be proactive. You will need to begin as early as possible to reflect on what you really like to do and on the sacrifices you may need to make to do the work you love.
For example, consider what your talents and skills are and then use this knowledge to direct your future educational, training, and occupational choices. Also, decide to what extent you would be willing to accept jobs that would pay less than you had originally planned for, to be able to do the kind of work you genuinely like and find meaningful.,
Getting Personal
Many people say they do not like their jobs. They work only because they need money to be able to survive, buy what they need, and enjoy their time away from work.
Have you personally ever worked at an activity or job where you derived as much happiness from your activity/work as from what you did in your spare time?
If yes, what was involved that made that possible?
If no, do you believe there is anything you can do to someday experience as much happiness from what you do at work as from what you do in your spare time?
“If you have to support yourself, you had bloody well better find some way that is going to be interesting.”
(Katherine Hepburn, American actress)
“I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.” (Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computer, iPhone)
How to approach the challenge of job and career happiness:
**** Top of page image (Happy at Work), from happyatwork_se, mobile.twitter.com
