The 9 a.m. Cocktail: Career, Motivation and Happiness
Posted on June 25, 2015 by Alaisha Capers, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.
Do you say yes even when you really don’t want to do something? Do you go out of your way to avoid dealing with difficult situations that involve conf
" When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”
~ John Lennon
Despite many professional accomplishments, many people are dissatisfied with their careers and life. You may be one of them. It seems many people pick positions for the wrong reasons and live unhappy lives. They settle and accept that work will never become enjoyable and never lucrative. Stuck in a rut, people unhappy with their careers suffer a lack of motivation, find it hard to reach their goals, and start to become agitated with other pieces of their life. If this sounds familiar, consider my 9 a.m. cocktail solution. This cocktail consist of career, motivation and happiness all mixed in together. This cocktail will help to improve your situation.
Understanding Motivation
Do you have a misunderstanding of what really motivates you? A better salary? A better compensation package? A corner office over a cubicle? A prestigious title? Often times these things do not motivate people long-term and the results are short-lived. The reality is many have poor judgment when considering what matters most when accepting positions or taking on new business ventures. Higher income with longer hours doesn’t tend to boost positivity.
Spending quality time with family and friends may be closer aligned with the things in life that make you happy. Or maybe, you would like to play golf more often, go to the theatre, travel and explore the world, but you made commitments to work that keep you from living the life you truly want. The challenge is sometimes we don’t realize what we want until we are miserable and have made decisions that bind us for longer periods of time, e.g. a mortgage. This is why it is important to never lose connection to the things that truly mean something to you! Here are some important questions to ask yourself when you are at the breakfast bar selecting your morning cocktail:
Questions to Ask Ourselves….
• Is this work meaningful to me?
• Is this job going to give me a chance to develop skills or knowledge or talent?
• Will I learn new and exciting facts and skills o will I regret working there?
• Will I be recognized for making a difference in the lives of others?
• Will I be given more responsibility for improving the business or helping others?
Follow Your Career Dreams
Some may feel “stuck” in their circumstances as a result of decisions they made. But even all realities have creative solutions or lifestyle changes that can help improve the situation. We may be challenged to ask important questions going forward and make decisions that are purposeful and deliberate. Doing meaningful work will create long lasting motivation and happiness in your careers. This is the best 9 a.m. cocktail. We should continue to wonder, dream, and believe to find whatever it is that excites us in both our personal and professional lives.
Author: Alaisha Capers
Alaisha Capers is a Life Coach and the Founder of Life Works Success Coaching, LLC in the Washington, D.C. metro area. She helps women fill in the gap between where they are now and where they want to be. She offers flexible options for sessions which can be conducted in person, via telephone or Skype to coach those local and across the miles. Visit her website and blog at alaishacapers dot com for more information.
