Striving For Happiness Is Not For Wimps

I recently read an article in Men’s Health about guaranteed income for life. Really, Men’s Health? Guaranteed income? For life? I don’t know what you’re selling, but I’m not buying.

The article goes on to give this little tidbit of wisdom:

Aim for excellence, not happiness

Ummmm, what? Apparently their justification is that you get paid to work, not be happy.  So, yeah, that’s true, I’ll give them that, but I have a HUGE problem with this bit of advice.

At Its Essence It Promotes Playing it Safe

Here’s the key. What good is it to be excellent at something if you aren’t happy doing it? We’re human beings, not robots. If you’re a salesman and you work your ass off to excel at selling will you have greater job security? Yes, definitely. Will you be happy? It depends.

At our core we all want to do amazing things. We all want to put our mark on the world in our own, unique way. To do this, there has to be underlying passion in our endeavors. You know, that feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you’re on to something. The rising tide that overwhelms and consumes you with such force that you can’t think straight.

Now, that’s getting into scary territory. It’s personal. Some people might not understand it. You might have to put yourself out there to go after it and there sure as hell is a chance you could fail.

That’s what you want.

Playing it safe in the short term works. It’s comfortable. It feels good. It feeds your family. I get that, but I want you to really look in the mirror and question what you are doing with your life.

Do you like what you see? Are you a robot churning out some form of output with crazy efficiency, but no passion behind it?

Excellence and Happiness are Inextricably Linked

You can strive for excellence at what you’re doing now and get there, but it won’t last if you’re not happy. Eventually you’ll run out of steam. You’ll burn out. In extreme cases you’ll go batshit crazy a la Milton in Office Space.

It’s happiness and passion that fuels the fire. When times are tough and you face bumps in the road, it’s your passion that will keep you on your path. When times are good, your happiness and passion will push you to the next level to go above and beyond what you thought you were capable of doing.

People want to work with passionate and happy people. Your family wants you to be happy. The world wants you to be happy. Don’t believe the societal hype that excellence leads to greater job security, which leads to more money, which leads to happiness.

You need to rearrange the equation. Happiness/passion leads to excellence, which leads to greater job security, which leads to more money.

What’s Your Song?

Picture yourself 20 years from now. Hell, picture yourself on your deathbed. Will you look back and be happy that you rocked it at a job that you despised on the inside?

Henry David Thoreau captures the essence of playing it safe: “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.”

Is your song still in you or is it a flickering ember slowly burning away never to return again? I beg of you to tend that fire. Nurture it. Go after it and never give up.

Photo Credit: SashaW