You weren’t born to wake up miserable every Monday, to dread going to a job you hate, and to only enjoy happiness on the weekend. The secret to enjoying what you do is pretty simple, but it will change the way you approach business. You’ll thank us later.
Today, we’re talking about how to be happy in your business and enjoy what you do. Let’s get started!
The power of habit
by Charles Duhigg
⏱ 15 minutes reading time
🎧 Audio version available
Do It For Yourself
The first step towards becoming happy, not just in business, but in life overall? Do it for you. Isn’t that what this is all about, anyway? At the start of the day and at the end of the day, you should love what you do. It’s your business, your ideas, your vision, and as a result, it’s your happiness on the line.
So, stop trying to impress others at a personal cost. And stop putting so much effort into trying to be something that you simply aren’t. On a daily basis, do you find yourself changing who you are and your behavior in an attempt to make others like you?
There goes your genuine enjoyment in what you do, right out the window. Whatever business you have, you’ll find yourself saving dramatic amounts of energy by focusing on pleasing yourself and fulfilling your expectations before anyone elses’. And guess what? People are generally more attracted to authenticity than anything else.
Don’t Over-Commit
The secret to happiness has been there all along, but you’re under too much stress to see it. Right now, you may be in the career you have always wanted, you may be working with some of the best coworkers you have ever met, but overcommitting can overshadow all these enjoyable things.
Why? Rather than enjoying the work, you spend more time stressing about keeping the commitment and worrying about missing deadlines and the consequences of these incompleted tasks.
So, how can you manage these stress levels at work? Stress is inevitable, but if there is room to minimize it, go for it. Start by creating a system that can track your commitments. Make a schedule.
The goal is to be organized enough that you can tell whether or not you have space in your schedule to add more commitments or assignments. If you don’t have enough time, then say “no,” which is actually another key to happiness in business that we’re going to get to in a moment!
Don’t accept the “status quo” that you need to be overworked, constantly stressed out, and dread Mondays.
High Five Yourself on Your Strengths
Are you a champ at making to-do lists? Do you find yourself connecting with customers faster than most? Are you great at keeping track of invoices?
Everyone has an area where they’re on point, and it’s time you acknowledge it! When you find yourself recognizing what you’re good at, take a moment to praise yourself. This encouragement is phenomenal because you’ll remember it later when you need extra motivation– just look back at your strengths and then build on them to advance yourself further in business and life.
Walk Away From Negativity
You could walk into work on a Thursday, full of positivity and happiness, and yet, a negative vibe can wreak your day.
When you see negativity, walk away. A toxic work environment is a happiness leach. No matter how much you may enjoy the actual work, you can grow to hate it if you’re always surrounded by toxicity. People love to hand out the advice to “be happy!” as if the problem always lies within yourself and not from external factors.
The act of choosing to be happy involves taking steps to avoid negativity wherever possible. That means walking away from negative conversations, not partaking in gossip, and avoiding toxic work relationships as much as you can.
If push comes to shove, and you can’t just simply avoid negative behaviors, try redirecting conversations towards more positive topics. If possible, whether you’re the owner of the business or you have a boss or a partner, gather those who are negatively influencing others and talk about creating a new company culture.
A culture that values positivity more than anything. It should value teamwork and cooperation more than competitiveness.
Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Feedback
Yes, feedback can be intimidating, but you’ll never learn and improve without it.
You should not only go out of your way to seek feedback, but you should do so frequently. Why? It’s a win-win.
You can ask for criticism and find yourself receiving positive reinforcements! You’ll walk away from that conversation feeling valued, accomplished, and pleased with yourself.
If not, and you receive constructive criticism instead, well now, you have the necessary tools to fill in these gaps. Which means, you’re able to do your job more skillfully.
Do this with your employees as well. Numerous studies have shown that people who don’t receive feedback often feel undervalued, unhappy, and ultimately unable to successfully do their jobs.
So talk to your employees, your fellow coworkers, your customers, et cetera. The more feedback you receive, the better you’re able to succeed at your job, and the more your sense of happiness at work will increase.
Make Friends At Work
Did you know that people with strong friendships at work, even if those friendships don’t exist outside the workplace, report being happier and more motivated? As much as most entrepreneurs would like it, they can’t always stay behind a desk, working until they’re millionaires.
You need a network of friends, ones who support you, ones you can vent to, and vice versa. Think back to your favorite jobs. A friendly coworker makes all the difference when it comes to a positive work experience. Even if it’s just someone you interact with regularly, feeling heard and valued by even one person can do wonders about making you love your work.
Learn When to Say “No”
When you say “yes” to everyone all the time, you’re succeeding in spreading happiness all around– except for yourself. You’re left feeling stressed, overworked, and stretched too thin in an attempt to please everyone.
As an entrepreneur, a skill that you must learn when to put your foot down and say “no.” This balance means you have to be comfortable with occasionally turning down opportunities. Remember, at the moment, agreeing to take on extra tasks feels good, but later on, when it starts affecting the quality of your work and takes its toll on your happiness and health, you’ll regret it.
Come to Terms With the Fact that Success Isn’t Linear
Success feels amazing, but you can’t expect to keep a winning streak all the time. Even the world’s most successful people experience setbacks on a daily basis. Happiness shouldn’t depend on whether or not you’re the most successful person in the room.
Because you know what? Everyone, whether you’re a business owner, an employee, a freelancer, or even a student, reaches success in different ways and at entirely different speeds. There is no point in growing frustrated and angry when something goes off-plan or fails.
Not every idea is going to be a knockout, not every customer is going to be happy, and not every success will be as fulfilling as you thought.
Appreciate the milestones, celebrate the small victories, and learn from your mistakes. When you focus on enjoying the journey, you’ll find happiness in every stage of business, even the less than savory ones.
Exchange A Scarcity Mindset for an Abundance Mentality
When Stephen Covey wrote
“The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, he hit the nail on the head when it comes to success and happiness.
He says,
“Most people are deeply scripted in what I call the Scarcity Mentality. They see life as having only so much, as though there were only one pie out there. And if someone were to get a big piece of the pie, it would mean less for everybody else.”
He adds,
“People with a Scarcity Mentality have a very difficult time sharing recognition and credit, power or profit – even with those who help in the production. They also have a hard time being genuinely happy for the success of other people.”
The scarcity mindset means that deep down, you believe that there simply isn’t enough to go around– whether that’s power, happiness, recognition, and even money. This mindset can lead to a miserable time for everyone involved. This is short-term thinking and it breeds jealousy, unnecessary competitiveness, and sadness.
Covey adds,
“The Abundance Mentality, on the other hand, flows out of a deep inner sense of personal worth and security. It is the paradigm that there is plenty out there and enough to spare for everybody. This results in sharing of prestige, of recognition, of profits, of decision making. It opens possibilities, options, alternatives, and creativity.”
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