Finding Happy

I am huge fan of Oprah, which is somewhat puzzling since I rarely watch the show. I’ve been working pretty much 8AM to 5PM every working day of the past 10 years and the show comes on at 4PM where I live. I did watch it regularly from as early as I can remember up to the point I entered the workforce so I have some pretty solid history with Oprah regardless. To make up for missing the actual broadcasts, I get as much as I can from the web, subscribe to her site, listen to Oprah Radio, etc.

Imagine my delight at seeing that the eNewsletter articles and quotes all centered around the topic of happiness. Just in time for me since I rolled out of bed this morning under a cloud of regret, misery and otherwise unpleasant thoughts of work and career. One of the articles, here, talks about how most of us want to be happy but don't really know what it is that would bring about said happiness. The author, Phillip C. McGraw, Ph.D., says "Most people do not know how to describe what they want, because they don't have a clue what it really is."

Interesting . . .

Over the course of a typical day choc full of routines and deadlines, requirements and expectations, the last thing that thing that generally crosses my mind is whether or not I'm happy. Of course, there are pockets of time here and there when I'm absolutely elated; laughing with coworkers in the break room, listening to my children attempt to carry on supposedly important conversations in the back seat, prowling Facebook before bed. These are clear high points of my day. But the happiness this article is referring to is that wide reaching, all encompassing, deep and abiding contentment with life in general. How many of us even think about happiness on this level? The more I read, the more I felt the need to do a quick self-assessment!

Working Girls, is your work fulfilling? Do you have a job or career? Are goals clear and attainable? Where do you want to be in 5, 10, even 15 years? Are you as happy as you can possibly be? As you want to be? Those are just a few questions to start with. . .