Read This If You Want Your Job To Make You Happy
I have really bad news.
But first, I'm going to tell you a quick story.
When I was in college, I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do after graduation. I pulled a few graduate students together, into a panel, and asked them questions.
One grad student said something that really resonated with me.
She said:
"there's no job in the world that will make you happy, unless you're already happy."
- Helen G.
Whoa. That really stood out.
Let's be clear, if you're a coal miner and you get the black lung, I think we can agree that you have a crummy job and you'd be much happier somewhere else.
The point that this grad student was making was that I had only considered external factors in the creation of my happiness. I had never considered all of the internal factors, and those were even more powerful.
My point in telling you this story is to ask you a question about your work, your productivity, and your impact.
It's not the job that makes us happy, it's how we see ourselves in our jobs.
It's not the career that makes us happy, it's all of the experiences we have and relationships we build that make us feel happy.
2 Minute Action:
So, today, I'd like you to take 2 minutes out of your day and consider some of the things that truly make you happy. Look outside yourself, but also look inside yourself.
Go ahead, make a list. I love lists.
When you see the full scope of what makes you feel alive, you'll be able to diversify your sources of happiness.
I know it's scary, but it's important.
Understand These 3 Concepts And Move On From Anything
Sometimes you just take a beating.
It’s not always because of anything you can control—it’s just part of operating in a world with other sentient beings and physical forces.
Pretending it didn’t hurt or avoiding the process of understanding where the pain comes from just makes it worse later on.
What’s difficult is spending your whole life converting the operations around you into processes you can control, being successful at it, and then facing something painful and uncontrollable.
Learning to let things go and move on is just one of those things that takes a lifetime to which to adjust.
Sure there are some skills we can master while we’re here, but there’s really no end point.
The only "point of arrival" is the end of life, really.
- You can get in shape, but you can’t ever finish eating healthily.
- You can work nights to pay for college, but you can’t ever spend enough on your kid’s education.
- You can become a race car driver, but you can still get rear-ended at a stop sign.
The goal then, shouldn’t just be to take control of everything, but to understand what we can and can’t achieve—and then spend our resources moving toward those achievable goals.
In the meantime, while we’re moving, it’s good to remember that we sometimes take a beating regardless of how reasonable the goal is.
In fact, we might get beat up just sitting at home where we thought it was safe.
So, it’s not useful to drop out when it hurts. Pain just doesn’t have a good enough correlation with circumstance to be the only factor in our decision.
It also helps, while we’re moving, to remember that adjusting to pain isn’t like flipping a light switch. It takes time and the amount of time it takes varies based on circumstance, personal experience, and predisposition.
Some lessons to take away from this:
- Pain feels like an indication that we should change direction or hide but that’s not always the case.
- Staying at home or avoiding risk can still lead to pain, so you might as well work hard to achieve what you want.
- Being at peace with an imperfect world doesn’t mean you are eternally and outwardly happy, it just means you accept the often unfair pains of life.
2 Minute Action
Reach out to someone who is in pain and let them know you’re on their team.
Take a risk (it can be a small one) that you have been considering or avoiding.
Execute a small and possibly random act of kindness.
I promise you don’t need more than 2 minutes to do any of these.
That part is all in your head.
Today is up to you and you can completely transform your outlook and chances of success in 2 minutes or less.
One Known Route To Happiness
It’s Saturday. Most people have the day off.
It’s okay if you’re working but you may want to consider getting into the flow of something completely unrelated to work.People who report being the most happy often are also people who spend a lot of time in a state of “flow.”Flow is that place where time disappears and all that matters is exactly what’s in front of you.
Flow is that place where distractions disappear and you are consumed by total focus.
When was the last time you were in flow?It could be a puzzle, a rock climb, or a game of air hockey.No matter what it is, people who get more of it end up happier.
2 Minute Action
Pick something that makes you feel alive and removes distractions.Bowling? Writing? Swimming?If you can’t set aside time today, take 2 minutes to carve out the time for this activity on your calendar.It might feel unnecessary now, but you’ll thank yourself later.