6 Ways to Find Happiness in the Simple 9-5 Life

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Happiness is a choice.

Every moment of everyday, you make a decision, whether you realize it or not. It’s the result of your attitude towards life. And whatever it is—positive or negative—it affects all the people, relationships, situation and basically whatever is in your world.

So, if you’re living a complicated life with so many things to do and no time for yourself, it’s your fault.

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If you have exactly what you’ve wanted and are thankful for it every day, you’re the one to blame.

If you’re surrounded by negative people, have a job you hate and can’t even sleep at night because of the many thoughts that pop up in your head constantly, no one else is responsible for that but you.

If you’re doing what you love, work hard but still find time for yourself and those you love, it’s due to a choice you’ve made at some point.

But there’s good news. Whatever your situation is, you can change it.

Happiness is absolutely possible at any time. It’s free, whether you have gone far in a terrible career or not, earn an unsuitable income or not.

Unemployment: the Happiness Killer

Every year, tens of thousands of graduates join the labour market.  Recently, an analysis of the survey’s results found that unemployment has a long-term negative impact on life satisfaction, regardless of the personality of those affected. Yet the influx of graduates in the labour market cannot be stopped.

So if finding a job is important to the esteem and ultimate fulfillment of a individual, why are many people unhappy in their work places?

Most people’s day from Monday to Friday looks something like this:

–      Wake up early. Too early
–      Get stuck in traffic on the way to work.
–      Be stressed all day at work
–      Go home, drop down on the couch and lay there because you’re too tired to do anything else.
–      Go to bed later than you mean to.
–      Repeat.

One of the worst things about being unhappy at work is that the unhappiness affects your free time. If you’ve had a lousy day at work, it’s difficult to go home and have a great evening. If your week sucked, it’s hard to have a fun, relaxed, carefree weekend. Sunday evening, you are already dreading the fresh  week.

How do you then ensure your happiness in your day job?

1. Be grateful.

Remember that your day job is providing you with financial support so that you can go for what you really want.

Consider yourself lucky that you have the means to put food on the table. Spend five minutes at the end of every day writing down three things for which you’re grateful.

This technique allows you to look past the annoying things in your job and appreciate what’s really important.

2. Find a way to weave your passion into your day job

If your current 9–5 is not your idea of a perfect job – the one that gives you the space to mix your creative juices- then think about how you can apply your skills to your present job.

Be creative! Fuel the fire where your energy and passion burns, and remove all negative feelings around the other tasks by taking new approaches, mixing up your attitude and changing the habitual behaviour that makes you feel ‘stuck’ or in a rut.

For instance, if you’re an artist working working at a restaurant, maybe you can redesign the menus with some style. If you have flair for Public Relations but you got a job as a common social media publicist, spice it up! All by yourself, you can make a mundane job become quite catchy.

3. Increase your goodwill.

Most of us are happy when people say good things about us. When you do good things for other people, you create happiness for them and set the stage to receive it in return.

For example, compliments are so simple that we often forget about them, but they are so powerful that we should never take them for granted.

If you want to gain the respect of your co-worker, then send them a note about the great presentation they gave last week. If you want to receive the praise of your boss, then praise him first. If you want to catch the eye of the new CEO, then compliment her on the job she has done so far.

You can take this strategy a step further by not being as picky as well. For example, if you’re giving a presentation and your co-worker gets their part 80% right, then don’t worry about correcting them. In the vast majority of situations, it’s far more important to remain a united team than it is to correct every detail.

Try spending a day giving out compliments instead of criticizing people. Gaining respect and happiness in the workplace is easy when good will is abundant.

4. Have enough courage to ask

Ask, ask, ask. If you hate something about your job, have the courage to ask if you can change it.

If you sit around and expect someone else to change your situation, then you’re going to be sitting for a long time. People are too busy with their own jobs to worry about whether or not you’re satisfied with your role.

Want to get away from a co-worker who annoys you? Ask if you can move to a different department. Want to work on a different project? Ask if you can help out with something new. Want a promotion? Ask your boss what you can do to start working towards it. Want a raise? Ask if you can take on more responsibility and prove that you’re worth more.

You can’t be overbearing or nagging, of course, but you’ll be surprised by how easily you can get what you want if you start asking for it.

5. Be not afraid to accept your situation

To accept is to be okay with things, people, events and yourself. It doesn’t mean you give up on trying to achieve what you’ve wanted; it means that you trust the natural flow and don’t interfere.

It shows that you’re in peace and aren’t obsessed with control and change. It allows you to go through life and be at ease, to have joy and satisfaction.

You need to realize that whatever happens right now is the best for that exact moment. Then, something else will happen. And you’ll be okay with it because that’s how things should be. You need to trust and believe.

Only then will you be free from anxiety, the need to always do something, the discontent and stress.

6. Search for other jobs

If you’re using your 9-5 as a comfort zone, but know deep inside that right now, you are ready to leave, you might as well do it.

A great way to start is to use social media platforms like LinkedIn. Once you’re happy with your profile, start looking at the profiles of people you want to work with; Nowadays, social media is filled with prospects and employers connecting. If the employer does not contact you, make yourself accessible to suitable employment opportunities being thrown everyday on social media platforms.  Also, let friends, family, and acquaintances know that you’re looking for new opportunities — you never know from where a lead will appear!

What’s more important, your job or your well-being? Find and create the necessary balance for your work-life but do not, do not sacrifice your happiness for a job!

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