The Pursuit of Happiness

“No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.”

That’s one of my favourite sayings in business and in life, and I firmly believe it to be true. Here, visiting this site and reading things I’ve written, I hope you do care about the things I know. Why do I care? Because happiness matters.

I learned early in my career that I wasn’t going to be happy at work unless I was helping people. No matter how much money I could make, no matter how prestigious a company or position was, I just wouldn’t find any satisfaction in the job unless, at least most days, I could go home knowing I had helped make someone’s life better in some way.

A few times (only a few, thankfully) over the past two and a half decades or so, I’ ve taken jobs that haven’t worked out. If I hadn’t figured out early on what really matters to me in my work, I likely would have found myself bouncing around between jobs like that more often. I might have stayed longer in them, tolerating my work instead of truly enjoying it, since I wouldn’t have known what I was missing.

Why are so many people unhappy?

I know the symptoms: a gnawing dread growing in my stomach on Sunday thinking about the week ahead. And I’ve seen it in others. I can’t count the number of these kinds of conversations I’ve overheard in office elevators and hallways …

“Ugh … Mondays, right?”

“Hump day. Halfway there.”

“Thank goodness it’s Friday at last.”

Nobody should have to live their lives like that.

Thankfully, I’ve experienced the opposite as well; more of it, in fact. I know what it feels like to be happy and excited about the week ahead, to wake up (almost) every morning looking forward to the work I got to do that day, to genuinely like and care about the people I had the chance to work with, to be constantly bubbling over with energy, and with ideas about how to make my work, and the organization I did it for, better. I’ve also experienced the joy of seeing that full engagement in others, and there’s nothing quite like it.

This is why I do what I do.

That’s really at the heart of everything I’m doing here. Why is it important to invest time and effort in self-reflection about yourself as an employee, to understand the full range of your skills and strengths, and what kind of companies you would truly be happy working for? Why do I want to arm you with the tactical skills and knowledge that can help you compete more strongly for the jobs you really want to land? Because I care. Because I want you to be happy, and because in my own way, I know I can help.

What would change in your life if you woke up each morning looking forward to going to work, had fun working together alongside your colleagues, if you had the opportunity every day to do the best work you can do, and if you left each day knowing you’d made a contribution to your company that was valued and appreciated? I’d be willing to bet that would change a lot of things about your life – both inside and outside of work.

So sure, I talk a lot here about finding and competing for a job. But I hope you do more than just pursue your next job. Pursue happiness. It matters, it’s worth it. And I care.

 

 

Photo by Denise Jones on Unsplash