Posted on October 22, 2013 by Cynthia Gunsinger

This article has been adapted with permission from the author.

What makes me happy?

Things that usually don’t make people happy are money and material things. Things that do make people happy are having meaningful relationships with friends and family, helping others, making a difference, exercising, searching for personal growth and becoming the person you were meant to be.

These are the things that make me happy in my work. Hopefully it will inspire you to also think about your life and work and focus on the things that do make you happy in the upcoming year.

1. Using my interests

I discovered my interests in an assessment I took at my company a year ago. My high interests are coaching, mentoring and influencing others. I love that I am doing more of what I am interested in now but I do know that it took me a long time to figure it out.

Your interests stay with you since you were a child so I can remember times as a child when I was always the go-to person in my group of friends to help them get through through relationship problems. I was always helping my friends with their college applications and improving their grades. I remember trying to influence others when I started the save the earth club in 2nd grade and I told my family that they needed to make their showers shorter and turn off the lights because I was saving the earth!

It’s fun to be able to go back to your childhood and make that connection from who you were then to who you are today. For a long time I wasn’t happy in my job because my career interests didn’t match my job.

2. Having a career I am motivated by

The other thing that makes me happy is when my job fits my motivations. My motivations are altruism (helping people), autonomy and lifestyle. I love being trusted to complete a task on my own which is great because I now work for my clients from home most days of the week. I am also motivated by helping people which I get to do everyday on my blog!

3. Exercise

Towards the end of this year I did a 60-day Insanity challenge and right now I am working on a P90x 90-day challenge. It’s amazing how much happier I get just from working out every morning. I always used to work out in the evening after work and then I would be so tired when I would get home from work that I would fail miserably at keeping a workout routine.

This summer, I challenged myself to work out every morning. Now I have been working out at 6am every morning for 3 months and it has literally changed my happiness and energy level. I am more energized even by doing some simple stretching and yoga poses in the morning than I have been in the past.

What makes you happy at work?

[Noomii Editor] Anna Runyan, the original author of this post and career coach for professional women, managed to list 20 things that make her happy in her work such as:

• The sunrise
• Her quiet time every morning
• Checking off her do-do list
• Receiving thank yous from clients and readers
• And more.

What we like about this post is her introspective approach to looking at what makes her happy at work. It’s not uncommon for books and blogs to profess to know the “secrets” to happiness and yet, it’s different for everyone.

What about you? What makes you happy at work?

Start to find those things by answering the following questions, inspired by Anna Runyan:

1. What interests did you have as a child that show up in your work now?
2. How are you motivated by your career?
3. Name the things that you do in your work that energize you.

Need help getting clear on what makes you happy at work? Want to confidently take steps to achieve your career goals? Browse hundreds of career coaches.

Read the rest of Anna’s article here: 20 Things that Make Me Happy at Work

Let me know what things make you happy at work in the comments below.