25/02/2022
So, if you have started this year deciding you would like to be happier it is helpful to look at the five areas we mentioned in the last post, and to see how well you can fulfil each of those requirements for happiness. Let’s make a start here.
Does your life have meaning? This is about how you spend your energy. Do you like your job and does it bring you joy? Does your job result in achieving something you feel good about or work towards a cause you really care about?
What do you do if it doesn’t? Well, there are three options: 1) You could move to do something you do care about or to an organisation you believe in, but this is not always possible. 2) You could think about how you do what you do. Being a bus driver can be spiritual if your welcome cheers your passengers up, or working in a chemist can be uplifting if you take extra care to look after all your customers and make sure they really get the help, advice, and products that they need. The third option is a little different and may help if you really cannot see how you could turn your professional skills into something you care deeply about. 3) You can use your job to create the funds which allow you to do hobbies or pass-times or to volunteer for something that you really do care about. Over ten years ago a woman walked into my office and asked for help. She turned out to be the founder of a charity helping orphans and vulnerable children. As we worked together, she asked me if I could help with the reorganisation work in the charity that needed to happen. That was my introduction to working in the voluntary sector and I have been doing that ever since. Without doubt it is the most fulfilling and rewarding work I do. I also volunteer for another NGO too now. This has been such a gift for me personally, as it has created a whole new level of meaning for the organisational work that I do.
