5) When you work for inner satisfaction, not for external material fulfillment. We are expected to bring home a large paycheck but our hearts want something more than money. We know what it’s like to feel happy inside and we want that at our work. When we work for an inner satisfaction — an eternal reward — any amount of external compensation, in any form, never suffices.
4) When time flies at work and you aren’t bored or waiting to run out. No matter how challenging, you don’t feel that your work is taking a toll on your body and mind. You feel that it is nourishing who you are and helping you learn and grow every minute. Your work changes your attitude about work. The day goes by so fast, you want more time to finish the work, and it is a complete, comfortable feeling. The work you do is never a burden.
3) The fruits of your effort are your joy and happiness. If you have clients, their joy and happiness is your joy and happiness. That moment when you finish the work and deliver, your client is so grateful for all that you’ve done. That feeling of knowing others are happy because of your hard work and success — nothing beats it. We live in a community where we offer our services to make other lives feel better and do better. There is nothing better than being the person who constantly works to see everyone around them happy as a result of their own happiness.
2) You find a higher meaning and a higher sense of purpose with your work. Whatever it is that you do, when you find a higher meaning and a higher sense of purpose with your work, your mind is not stuck on petty little issues. Your perspective of your work is cosmic. You know the big picture. You know why you are doing, what you are doing when you walk through that door. This higher sense of belongingness with something deeper in the work you do is what keeps you coming back for another day.
1) Your work is your passion and your passion becomes your obsession. I was once told by a mentor, “eat, sleep, and drink whatever you do — if you are not the best at it, get the hell out.” When your passion becomes your obsession, you become the absolute best at what you do. People flock to you, you are recognized, and you are the center of the work you do. This ultimately drives your success. And you do it not because of some temporal desire, you do it because there is a fire in you that is eternally burning. As one of my mentor’s always tells me, ‘keep the flame burning.’
Ultimately, finding a career that meets the above five points is a process. Some know exactly what they want to do and become in life quickly, others take their own time. Some, rarely, land the job they love on the first try, for others it takes years of jumping from one job to another. It is okay to change professions, pursue degrees or jobs that are unconventional, and defy the societal norms to achieve what one is made to do. After all, success is defined not by one’s net worth, success is defined by how well one sleep’s at night after a long day at work.
Happiness is fleeting, find peace.
Originally published at medium.com