How to Transform Your Work Life Into a Source of Happiness

Are you feeling as ecstatic as you were when you first started your business?

Is your workplace a space you look forward to spending your day?

Starting a business can be exhilarating. But, when the initial excitement fades out and the reality of managing employees, chasing clients and struggling to keep the business afloat sinks in, true joy can become particularly elusive.

At the same time, stressful working environments, office politics and job insecurity can make going to work quite dreadful.

But, is it possible to re-experience that joy of starting a business or finding a new job? Even if the sense of happiness does not come close to it, is it possible to feel energized to go to the office and to smile through it all?

There is an option to exit

A lot of people are stuck in work that is completely un-meaningful.  Your work does not have to be all happy all the time but you need have a sense of meaningful contribution, service to others.

If you are feeling as though you are caught up in a meaningless routine, it is time to find another line of work or to seek out other opportunities.

The reason why many people choose to stay in meaningless, unhappy jobs is the idea that there are no other opportunities or that there is no exit.

There is an exit—you just need to be bold enough to create a plan, an exit plan.

Pay others to do it for you

A recent Gallup Healthways study showed that business owners outrank employed people in overall happiness and well-being in spite of them working longer and earning less than other professionals do.

However, entrepreneurs are often prone to stress and overwhelm especially at the early start-up stages of the business.

There is a reason why you started the business; it is likely that you were passionate about offering a certain service or product before all the accounting, tax and operational tasks became too much that you lost the joy of operating your own business.

A great way to be able to focus on your product or service is to hire others to help with the operational tasks. Outsourcing platforms now make it easy to hire virtual assistants, legal and tax experts and accountants at an affordable rate.

Just the simple act of eliminating non-rewarding work and spending more time on your core business can make you feel less stressed and more passionate about your product.

Make peace with imperfection

Everyone wants to look their best in the eyes of their colleagues, boss or employees.

In an effort to please others and to look like the perfect manager, employer or employee, do you take up more than you can possibly handle? There is no such thing as joyous multi-tasking—handling more than one project at a time can be highly stressful.

Give up the idea of wanting to be seen as perfect or wanting to please everyone. Do what you can at any given time and learn when to say ‘no’ to people who want to pile too much responsibility on you.

Making peace with imperfection is not about being complacent, being lethargic or avoiding responsibility—it is about coming to the realization that you are able to give your best when you are mindful and are focusing on one thing at a time.

Prepare for a downgrade and change in lifestyle

If you were honest with yourself, you would probably realize that most of your work-related stress is tied up with your finances and lifestyle.

Millions of employees and some business owners work, work, work and work even harder to support their consumerist lifestyle.

If you are working just to feed your purchases, you are likely working night, day and overtime just to earn more. This is obviously a dead-end rat race that only gets you exhausted and takes away the joy of work.

To stop working to support your purchases or expensive lifestyle, you will have to give up some things on which you are spending too much money. Spend only on things that improve your life in a positive way.

It may be painful to give up your daily Starbucks coffee, or move to a less expensive neighborhood. However, simplicity comes with a lot of freedom and ultimately, greater happiness.

Finding Happiness

Finding happiness from work is almost paradoxical. The prevailing belief is that work is never joyous; that’s why it is work. Even then, finding ways to bring meaning to your time at the office can greatly increase your level of happiness and overall wellbeing.