Happiness – Page 133

The 30 Most Satisfying Simple Pleasures Life Has to Offer

03.23.2008 by Marc Chernoff // 107 Comments

They say the best things in life are free. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the list below proves that statement to be true. Life is filled with simple pleasures, the little satisfying effects you never really anticipate, but always take great pleasure in. They are the gifts of life that we each subconsciously celebrate in our own unique way.

Here are 30 of the most satisfying simple pleasures life has to offer:

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40 Quick Tips for Career Happiness and Success

02.26.2008 by Marc Chernoff // 6 Comments

There is no magic formula for attaining instant career happiness and success. Happiness and success in the working world is more of a strategic goal one must progressively work toward. It’s kind of like building your dream house. You architecturally map out a plan, research all your options, pour a solid foundation, and begin building from the ground up. There are, however, plenty of steps you can take to make your venture a bit more proactive. Here are 40 quick tips that should help push you in the right direction.

Understand that career happiness involves doing what you love.
Understand that career success is excelling at doing what you love.
Invest your emotions into your trade but detach your trade from a specific employer.
A higher salary buys temporary comfort, not prolonged happiness.
Be social and friendly with your boss, but do not attempt to be his or her best friend.
Make at least one good friend at work you can trust.
Follow in the footsteps of a mentor you can learn from.
Be the expert. Never stop perfecting your trade.
Always accept a challenge, especially if your superiors are watching.
If you are really miserable, do not be afraid to make a drastic career change. Just make sure you plan for it.
When it comes to your colleagues… Be patient. Be tolerant.
When it comes to your boss… Be respectful. Go out of your way to assist him or her any chance you get.
You will make mistakes. Learn through each of your mistakes and never allow the fear of making one hold you back.
Do not stall on taking the first step in any task. The first step is always the hardest, and once taken, it sets up the momentum needed to more easily knock out the remaining steps.
Make your own career choices. There is no good reason to let someone else do this for you.
Work for an employer that provides you with the potential for future personal growth within the company.
Employers can have vastly different corporate culture models. Have an open mind and learn to embrace the corporate culture. If you have a solemn distaste for it, you might want to switch employers.
If you are ready for more responsibility, tell your boss you are ready. Also, always ask for performance feedback on your current responsibilities.
Never struggle with reinventing the wheel unless you have to. Most of the time adding your own personal touch on top of the successful ideas already being used by your employer is the best way to go.
Maintain a positive attitude even in moments of stress. It makes you appear confident and in control. Your colleagues and superiors will notice this.
Avoid being entrenched in foolish office gossip.
Get outside and take a walk at lunch time. Also, try to get in a little exercise before or after work. Exercise strengthens both the body and mind.
We are all born with certain strengths and talents. Leverage these against your career goals and objectives.
Learn to communicate effectively with your colleagues and always be honest and clear. “Yes, I can do it.” or “No, I need to complete another task first because…”
Always be cognizant of what people are doing around you. Be vocally grateful if they assist you and assist them when you can. Your superiors will perceive you as being a team player.
Smile on the job every time the opportunity permits.
Take full advantage of your employers 401K retirement match from day one.
Prioritize your objectives every week and enter them into a calendar or planner. Try to split your tasks into two categories: “Must Do This Week” and “Will Do When I Can”.
A super high salary is not the key to a successful career, but you should still feel comfortable with what you are paid.
Have your employer direct deposit 5% – 10% of every paycheck straight into your savings account.
Get enough sleep. You will give up a considerable fraction of your potential ability to successfully do your job if you are exhausted.
Never give up on a task. Instead, learn to readjust your approach when necessary. It is okay to take a break if you are overly frustrated.
Start on your most difficult tasks for the week first thing Monday morning. Once complete, the rest of your week will seem like a breeze.
When you are on deadline for a deliverable unplug your network cable and stay offline. This should help you avoid time sinks like aimless web browsing, instant messaging, and reading miscellaneous emails.
Only attend meetings if you are on schedule with the tasks that are required of you. If you are behind, kindly ask your boss if you can skip it. Just make sure the results you produce are visible.
Network with other people in your industry. Attend conferences. Create a LinkedIn page and maintain it. Regular professional networking will open the door to future career opportunities.
RTFM (Read The F***ing Manual). Whenever you start a new project at work the first thing you should do is read every piece of written material you can find on whatever you will be responsible for.
If it makes you happy and you can maintain productivity, listen to music while you work. Most managers won’t complain about it if you continue to deliver quality output.
Try to keep your commute time to a minimum. One of the most stressful parts of any job is the commute. If possible, find a job near your home or move near your job.
Set realistic, achievable career goals for yourself. Work diligently with the end in mind.

I would love to see some comments with additional tips for career happiness and success if anyone has them to share.

Real Friends Never Grow Apart

09.27.2007 by Marc Chernoff // 12 Comments

I spent 4 hours chatting with my grandmother in-law last night. She’s 79 years old and chock full of 79 years worth of wisdom and life stories. One of the stories she told me really grabbed my attention. It was about the power of true friendship and why real friends always maintain a unique connection even in each other’s prolonged absence. The story went something like this…

I grew up in Jamaica Plain, an urban community located on the outskirts of Boston, Massachusetts. In the 1940’s it was a wholesome, quaint little community. It was my home and I loved it there, back then I thought I would never leave. My best friend Rose and I used to collectively dream about raising a family of our own someday. We had it all planned out to live next door to one another.

Our dream remained alive through grade school, high school, and even beyond. Rose was my maid of honor when I got married in 1953 to the love of my life, Dick. Even then she joked that she was just one perfect guy short of being married, thus bringing us closer to our dream. Meanwhile, Dick aspired to be an Officer in the Marines and I fully supported his ambitions. I realized that he might be stationed far away from Jamaica Plain, but I told him I would relocate and adjust. The idea of experiencing new places together seemed somewhat romantic to me.

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Stop Keeping Score. Happiness is the True Measure of Success.

09.13.2007 by Marc Chernoff // 7 Comments

Too many people try to numerically measure success. Most of these numbers relate to wealth, age, intelligence, and seniority. The problem with trying to numerically calculate success is that it doesn’t account for personal feelings, thoughts, and general happiness. That which makes one person happy does not necessarily make everyone happy. Thus, the qualities that make one person successful do not automatically represent a universal measure for success.

As tragic as it is, you must keep in mind that some of the most famous, wealthy intellects fall victim to addictions and suicide. Why? Because even though these folks possess numerous quantifiable elements that society typically uses to measure success, nobody can accurately estimate how they truly feel about their personal lives.

Take away all the excess minutiae. You cannot be successful if you are unhappy, and happiness cannot be measured in numbers. It is impossible keep an accurate score of success when the game is based on personal feelings and beliefs. The key is to realize that success is multidimensional. Just because someone is visibly successful at something they do, does not always mean that they are successful in life as a whole.

To be truly successful you must never suck it up to being unhappy for extensive periods of time. Life is just too short for that kind of sacrifice.

10 Things We All Celebrate Subconsciously

07.10.2007 by Marc Chernoff // 18 Comments

There are certain intricacies in life that we all repeatedly and unintentionally celebrate on a regular basis. These celebrated incidents are composed of the smaller things in life, those seemingly inconsequential events that instantly place us in a better mood. If you think about it hard enough, I’ll bet that you have taken part in each one of the following acts of subconscious celebration:

Making the Yellow Light – It’s one of those simple pleasures, the act of beating the pack. As you blaze through the yellow light you glance in your rearview to see all the cars behind you stopping at the red light. You made it! Hoorah… You will now arrive at your destination 1 minute sooner! For some reason it just makes you glow inside. Life seems great in that moment of celebration.
Lunch Time – “Yes… its Lunch time!” It happens every weekday at the same time with the same crowd. You know exactly what to expect and yet you celebrate its arrival with eager enthusiasm. That turkey sandwich tastes better at noon on an idle Tuesday than it would in any other setting, under any other circumstances.
Friday Afternoon – Okay, so you probably consider this to be a bit more of a full blown conscious celebration, but it actually does creep up slowly in the subconscious. It starts on Friday afternoon around lunch time. Productivity gradually slows down over the course of a couple hours, and then by 3PM it hits a brick wall. Pretty soon you’re happily chatting away with colleagues that you deliberately avoided all week long. But that’s okay, because you can almost taste the 48 hours of freedom that lay ahead.
The First Sip – …of a beer or mixed drink that is! As long as you are not an addict, there is nothing wrong with having a couple alcoholic beverages in your off-time. And when the events leading up to this breath of freedom are hectic, that first sip is sheer bliss!
Music – There is no better feeling than hearing the right song at the right time. It doesn’t matter what the setting is, hearing the right song in that moment is one of those simple pleasures in life that instantly lifts your spirits. You could be driving home from work, hanging out at a bar with friends, or jogging. When the right song for that moment rattles your ear drums the entire meaning of life momentarily makes complete sense.
Post-Workout – Regardless of your fitness level or fitness goals, I have no doubt that you subconsciously celebrate the completion of a solid workout. It’s a giddy feeling of self accomplishment; the one true activity (without taking hallucinogens) that actually makes you feel better and look better simultaneously. When you walk out the front door of the gym you are on top of the world.
Getting Things Done – Getting a task completed, no matter how big or small, is a conscious endeavor that usually brings you closer to some outstanding objective. However, this endeavor comes with a huge bonus! The bonus comes in the form of a warm subconscious feeling of accomplishment. Getting something done is like hitting 2 birds with one stone… the most important usually being the feeling of self accomplishment.
Sleeping In – Whether you can admit it or not, sleeping in is a celebration of vast proportions. People usually feel guilty for sleeping in because they think they should be out conquering some vital chore. But, you know what? Sometimes it just makes sense to stop and relax. And there is no better feeling of relaxation than sleeping until your eyes just pop open on their own.
Friendship – Friendship is something we persistently celebrate, yet somehow fail to consciously appreciate. How does this make sense? Quite simply, we are always in a rush to socialize, and we celebrate the act of doing so, yet we are not necessarily conscious of its fundamental importance. Friendship is always celebrated; consciously when we are aware of its importance, and subconsciously when we are not.
Telling a Story – One of the most exciting gifts in life is that of a new experience. One of the most enticing roles we all lead in life is that of the storyteller. What good is a new experience if we cannot share the story with others? We are consciously aware of our new experiences, but that’s only half of the thrill. Subconsciously, we can’t wait to tell everyone we know.