https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6Sxv-sUYtM
I can't clap yet.
In an email exchange with a friend, I wrote this:
I keep debating about how to define happiness, if that's what we're all trying to achieve in our lifetimes. What really makes me happy? How do I get that? Why do people think you have to suffer to get what you want and be happy? Sure the road can be challenging but it shouldn't be miserable, right?
I guess some of it boils down to what you want (e.g.,if you want to be a bazillionaire, you probably have to work your ass off at some start up) and what you're willing to suffer for (e.g.,, we are willing to suffer to achieve our personal athletic goals).
I think if I could just figure out how to discern between hard because it's getting me to a goal I want to achieve and hard because it's not something I really want, I would be much happier.
So the job I have right now which is NOT making me happy currently... is it hard because I'm doing stuff that's new and someday I'll be happy that I stayed in the role because I learned a ton, or is it hard because I'm doing things I don't like doing and don't really care about? I'm not sure yet. In the meantime, my level of unhappiness is pretty high, especially because I'm not particularly good at growth and change, and working for a perfectionist makes me question everything I do and get down on myself on pretty much a daily basis. (Note this perfectionist isn't perfect but he's damn good at what he does, is way smarter than me, and is respectful to boot, so it's not like he's an ogre, he just pushes everyone's buttons in terms of having a super high quality bar. So I sit at presentations he's giving and collect every mistake I've made on his PPT slides...)
Here's a list of what I know makes me happy, as silly as some of these things may be: sunsets, cute animals, swimming, yoga, hanging out with friends, watching funny TV and movies, music, driving fast, doing a good job on a project at work, spending time with my family, being warm, the beach, snorkeling, turtles, doing novel things (see my iFly video on FB), cooking, food (ok, that's a love/hate relationship right now), connecting with people, seeing the Microsoft logo lit up at night, laughing, making a good salary, other people thinking I'm smart, me doing something clever, waxing poetic about brand crap, traveling, challenging myself in small athletic ways, massages, taking goofy photos...
So how do I gather these up and make them into a credo for how to live my happy life?
Highs for today:
- Fun in the wind tunnel!
- Spending time with a new(ish) friend and her husband and really enjoying it
Having spent seven years under the grey skies of Seattle--and there is so much about Seattle to love--I can't tell you how much the sun of DC has helped. The city itself is button-downed and anemic, but there's SUN. I wake up to it nearly every morning, and take a walk under it during my lunch break, and walk home while it dwindles. It ain't California, but it has been enough to catapult me out of the goddamn grey and pissing rain of the PNW. That hot heat on my face during the winter months has made an enormous difference. Thoughts?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see you add High's for the Day.
ReplyDelete