Every now and then you read about a research study that has looked at what makes people happy (or not). Whenever I read these I am amazed by the numbers. According to some research, a staggering 70% of the people in employment in the UK are not happy with their jobs. As work represents crudely half our waking lives, that seems to me to be a tragedy of some scale. But it is not one we discus too often is it? We talk about wanting to be happy quite a bit, but very few of those conversations get to the nub of the issue – what really makes you happy.
That’s the way life is?
It seems to me that we grow up to learn ‘that’s the way life is’ (the implication is that being unhappy is a natural, inescapable part of life). Work is often talked about as something to be tolerated rather than enjoyed and conversations about work often degenerate into ‘I’m even worse off than you’.
Why can’t people be more happy?
It worries me that most people seem to be spending most of their lives being less happy than they could be – whether that is at work or home. As you spend almost a third of your life in bed, I recommend you get a nice bed. A nice bedroom is even better, but a nice bed is top priority.
I digress. From where I sit, I have noticed that most people want much the same out of life. Tastes differ slightly but most dreams revolve around:
- Winning the lottery
- Having fantastic holidays and (perhaps even more satisfying) ensuring as many people as possible know about them
- Buying stuff
- Getting thinner
But while most people have dreams, many remain less well off than they want to be (don’t win the lottery), recount holiday disasters rather than triumphs, have homes full of stuff which gives them little pleasure and are overweight.
Which is why I wrote Design for Life – it is not a magic wand and it may not solve every problem you may have, but I guarantee it will help solve a few by encouraging you to think through what is best for you. It has a lot of unique characteristics, but the main one is the ability to help you through the process of understanding what really makes you happy and encouraging you to do more of it by creating your own unique Life Plan – a LifeDesign™.
Why languish where you are when you could be taking steps to move to a better place? Find out what makes you happy.
Ready to change your life?