Happiness + Meaningfulness = SUCCESS!
The common theme in being successful is to have a balanced work and personal life. What does “balance” truly mean? Does that mean that the individuals that are seeking #success must churn out long hours at the office, while still making time for a personal life? Does that mean that you become the go to person within the workplace to build your reputation and income to afford your dream lifestyle? Or does that mean that you become a muse and fulfill the ideas of your mentor(s) and others you admire?
Of course not, the key to “balance” is a #happy and #meaningful life based on YOUR level of satisfaction with both your work and personal life. In order to truly be successful and able to attain your goals is to follow the golden rule established by Beth Cabrera (in her book, Beyond Happy: Women, Work, and Well-being) is to forget about balance and focus on well-being (happiness). Understanding how you truly feel and how satisfied you are with a situation(s) is the key to your personal and professional success.
Why is it important to be satisfied in both your personal and professional life?
Satisfaction within your personal and professional life leads to high levels of well-being (feelings of happiness), as described by Cabrera (2015) and Sirgy and Wu (2009). Sirgy and Wu (2009) explained various studies that showed that high levels of satisfaction and well-being can only be attained when survival (safety and economic needs, which are fulfilled by your career) and growth needs (social/love & belonging, self-esteem, self-actualization, knowledge, & aesthetics which are based on personal acceptance within both you personal and professional life) are met. These needs are important to your fulfillment and satisfaction with life. If these needs are not met within either your personal or professional life you are not fulfilled and not living a happy life. In order for you to be happy with your decisions and behaviors within both your professional and personal life they must have a meaningful purpose to you.
Enjoying the work you do professionally, so much so that it is viewed as your career and not a job! One reason you may enjoy your profession is because you are good at what you do or have a passion for the purpose of your work! Your ability to be good at a specific skill(s) or knowledgeable in a specific area(s) is your strength. The use of your strengths increases your level of satisfaction. For example you could be deciding to leave your job to start a new career based on your passion and strengths, or focusing on learning a new strength to enter a new profession, or to become a stay-at-home parent or caretaker, or even to come back to the workforce after being a stay-at-home parent or caretaker.
Essentially, your actions should be based on your values and strengths that will lead to a positive influence in your life. Resulting in a happy life that is based on your ability to be focused on the present, grateful for all your blessings, and hopeful for the future.
Only then will you be able to thrive and achieve any goal that you set because you will have the energy, confidence, creativity, and resilience to deal with any obstacle or difficulties. The key is to understand that balance is not about equality or fairness, but about being satisfied and fulfilled within various areas of your life. Success is based on your happiness with what you are doing or have achieved. How you view success differs from others and it is important to focus on YOUR perception, forget everyone else! Only you can achieve the goals that you have set for yourself and if you are dissatisfied with an area in your life you will lack the needed energy, confidence, creativity, and resilience to deal with the never-ending obstacles that come with life. Leaving you languished with feelings of hopelessness and depression. True success is based on YOUR happiness. Remember your #wealth is in your #health!
References
Cabrera, B. (2015). Beyond happy: Women, work, and well-being. Alexandria, VA: ATD.
Joseph Sirgy, M., & Wu, J. (2009). The pleasant life, the engaged life, and the meaningful life: What about the balanced life? Journal of Happiness Studies, 10(2), 183-196. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10902-007-9074-1