International Day of Happiness

Today is the International Day of Happiness! Great. But it’s Monday…and it’s still cold, and wet…and you’re still stuck in the same job with the same conversation over the same watercooler/vending machine/car-park space (delete where applicable), so why should today be happier than any other day?

It seems that everyone is hunting for happiness – that elusive, smiling, carefree ‘something’ that is going to make every day so much better, and your relationships so much sweeter, but what is happiness? And more importantly, how can we get some for ourselves?

Happiness is different for each of us. For some, it’s spending time with family; for others, it’s running their 10K Personal Best, and for some people it’s escaping to the sun. But one thing is for sure, with our busy lifestyles and longer working-hours it is often hard to notice that we are happy.

Albert Schweitzer, Nobel Prize winner and philosopher said that “success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success – if you love what you are doing, you will be successful”. This is so true and is summed up in the old saying  – “find a job you love and you’ll never have to work again”.

Essentially, happiness is what you feel when you are satisfied and fulfilled. Happiness comes when your needs are met and you feel content. In the work-place it can come from the people you work with, your clients, the sense of achievement when you smash your targets or the pleasure of enabling others to achieve their goals. But how many of us continue to get that Monday morning feeling on a Sunday night?

Earlier today, I was reading about continuing professional development: what form it can take, how it should be recorded and its purpose. All too often we can perceive CPD or the evidencing of it as time consuming and a tick-box exercise to satisfy the appraisal process. But, being in control of your own career journey and seeking opportunities on your own terms is the first step to achieving YOUR goals and ultimately feeling happy at work. We spend at least 50% of our waking hours at work and it’s important that we make them happy hours!

Ideas to get you on the Road to Happiness might include finding out about opportunities for further training.  Is there a project you could get involved with or a department you could be seconded to? Could you share your knowledge and best practice with others and lead a training course? These new challenges could provide you with the chance to increase success but more importantly improve your levels of happiness at the same time.

So, ask yourself, what is the next step for me? What opportunities are there for me to grow and flourish? And, how can I feel in control of my work-life? Investigate the answers and happiness at work, is yours.