I'd like my project, however, to focus on an area that typically is not thought of as "fun"... In fact, in thesaurus.com, "fun" is listed as one of the antonyms.
Here are the words listed as the synonyms of the word, "work.":
None of these words sound appealing, yet many of us are spending a major chunk of our lives working. Though the meaning of life continues to be a mystery, one thing I've decided for myself: I want to spend my life being happy, wherever I am and whatever I'm doing. Don't we all? Why shouldn't we be as happy at work as we are when we are on vacation?
My temptation, whenever I start a new project (whether it's at home or at work) is to avoid starting before I know exactly what I want to do. I also often am a perfectionist and want to make sure I've done all my "homework" and research before beginning. This often keeps me from starting.
So today, I am just taking the first step by starting this blog. I'm not going to worry about having a whole outline about how often I will blog or how I will measure happiness at work or the benefits or exactly how I will execute this project. There are tons of ideas in my head about how we can be happier at work, but I will follow Gretchen's lead when she started her Happiness Project blog and just consider the creation of the blog as that important first step.
So, while I'd like to have a new "theme" as Gretchen did in her book, I'm going to start with this one learning for myself about how I can be happier at work: Just start! Let go of that feeling that I can't start until I know how to finish and just take a first step, even if I'll have to change or refine over time.
So... here it is. The first step!
Happiness v. work is an interesting place to start, Yvette. I believe it's a gender thing. Most men equate happiness WITH work - and consider vacations somewhat annoying. We're happiest when we've got a project, a problem to solve, wood to chop, or water to carry. Dave Barry: "Men like to do stuff. This explains both the Space Shuttle and mailbox vandalism."
ReplyDeleteThanks for being the first to comment on this blog, Dog! (Is Dog your real name? I love it!)
DeleteInteresting observation... I hadn't even thought about gender differences, but yes, I guess guys typically do like to "do/fix/solve/chop" etc. (Dave Barry is one of my favorite humorists). That being said, I'm guessing that whether or not you love your job is more about being the right "fit" than gender. For example, I'm very logical and analytical so I love fixing problems (I was an engineering major... so I'm more like a "guy" in that respect.) However, women who might enjoy care-giving rather than problem-solving, may become a nurse. And, of course, even though it's more traditionally a female job, there are male nurses... some who are happy and some who aren't. I would guess, whether you're a man or woman, you'd have to like caring for people to be happy in nursing.
I'm curious, though, whether people's happiness at work is affected when they are in a job that is dominated by the other gender. Are male nurses less happy than female nurses, for example, because of gender stereotypes? I've actually liked being a minority female in a male-dominated job, but other women may have had different experiences.
This will be a good topic to explore in the future! Thanks for bringing it up!