I have a friend who finished his doctorate a couple of years ago in business. He studied how employers can predict who is the best candidate for a given job. What he found out was that good workers are satisfied at most any jobs they do. In other words, those who say they hate their jobs and are always looking for something better, are rarely happy. Those who learn how to enjoy even the most menial jobs are happy no matter what they are doing whether it be digging ditches or working on Wall Street. There is a great exercise on page 104 where we are asked to make three lists: meaning, pleasure, and strengths. I did this, and here's what I got: I derive meaning from working with others, music, spending time with my family, exercise, and working around the house. I enjoy running, cycling, hiking, traveling, playing guitar, making stuff, and reading. My strengths are perseverance, listening, solving problems, working with others, and reflection. For me, I think it would probably be best to make another list, my weaknesses: I am not very organized. I'm not on time. I get distracted easily. I have a hard time working within time constraints. So let's see how my job at East Shore works within these constraints. Our schedule is not nearly as rigid as a regular school. At East Shore and especially in Service Corps, we can adjust our schedule to meet more pressing demands. I definitely get the opportunity to work with others. I get to read the kind of stuff I enjoy and use it at work. I have plenty of spare time to spend on my hobbies and my family. I even get to exercise on the job, which is a huge plus. So, as you can see, this is a great job for me. It does require me to be more structured than I would be in my private life, but that's o.k. That's good for me.
Here's my favorite quotation from this chapter. It's on page 107:
"Happiness is not merely contingent on what we do or where we are but on what we choose to perceive. There are people who are unhappy regardless of the work they do or the relationship they are in, and they continuously fool themselves into thinking that an external makeover will affect them internally."
Let's not kid ourselves. I don't necessarily believe that perception is reality, but I do believe one can find joy and meaning in much of what he might percieve as boring or misery. We all need to find out what it is we are good at, and what we enjoy doing, and go for it! I would add that it would be helpful for us to find the source of any unhappiness in our lives and figure out a way to overcome it.
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On page 105 it's still talking about the MPS process and in the 3rd paragraph it says, "The MPS process might even be useful for a manager selecting new employee's. Not every workplace can satisfy the needs and tap the strenghts of every person. It is important for the manager to create, from the outset, a fit between those she hires and what the workplace has to offer." That reminded me of the 6th grade citizenship reports Willis has talked to us about seveal times. To me the MPS process gives you, in general, the same results and information as looking at how you were in grade school. I think the MPS would work well with helping to choose new employee's. I like how it implies that using the MPS process in this situation is for everybody's best interest. If a manager found somebody who had the skill, but they knew they wouldn't enjoy the job, it only seems fair that the manager would find somebody else who had the skill and who would look at the job more as a "calling." That's just my opinion though. The MPS process activity the book gives was hard for me. I feel like I'm conceited when I have to list strengths. Oh well. This is what I have so far: What gives me meaning - Helping others, interactive relationships with other people, playing with kids, learning, pushing myself physically, being with my family, art, and creating/making/building things. What gives me pleasure- Camping, reading, exercising, going to school, dancing with my 4yr. old niece, cooking, sewing, and more... (I could go on for a long time with the pleasure one) What are my strengths - Hard working, dedicated, organized, good listener, open minded and cooperative. On page 106 in the first paragraph I highlighted, "Wrzesniewski's research illustrates that employee's who are higher in the organizational hierarchy are more likely to experience their work as a calling." I thought that contradicted what Ben-Shahar talked about beforehand. I thought that those higher up we more likely to be "rat racers" and look at their jobs as chores along with being focused on the material things/hard currency. Maybe it's just me. Did I miss something? Can anybody explain it so I'm not out of the loop? Anyway, here are some of my favorite quotations from chapter 7:
*Pg. 108 in the second paragraph, "there is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so."
*Pg. 107 in the third paragraph, "To different minds, the same world is a hell, and heaven. - I found the last paragraph on page 107 with this quote and into page 108 really interesting. Obviously everybody has their own perspective on things, but when I read that and thought about it I saw a new perspective on things myself. I was thinking of two people who had the same exact lives and I was trying to see how different each of them would react. Goodness gracious.
*Pg 108 at the bottom of the second paragraph, "Happiness is a product of the external as well as of the internal, of what we choose to pursue as well as of what we choose to perceive." - I think that is the simplified recipe for happiness.
*Pg. 100 at the bottom of the second paragraph, "And courage is not about not having fear but about having fear and going ahead anyway." - This might sound totally lame, but that reminded me of The Lion King when (please excuse my spelling of their names) Simba has just been rescued by Mufasa (his father) from the hyenas and is getting his "scolding." Simba says that he just wants to be brave like his dad and his dad's response is that he feels afraid at times and is only brave when he has to be.
This isn't another quotation; just another opinion of mine. I liked how much power this chapter gave us. Before I started reading HAPPIER I knew each individual played a part in their own "well-being" but I think chapter 7 really emphasizes it in parts. We're given the ingredients and it's up to us how to use them and what to make.
It is amazing that we read Ch. 7 the same day that Scott Rogers came to speak to our class. Seriously, there is something freaky going on in the cosmos. Ben-Shahar begins the chapter talking about the young lawyer who wants to work in an art gallery yet continues in law because it would “entail a steep loss of income and lowered standard of living.” Scott Rogers explained that he was making huge amounts of money in the gas/oil industry, but that his heart told him he could create bronze statues. He specifically said it was his heart, not his head. Ben-Shahar ends the chapter by saying, “Finding a calling is about heeding the call of our inner voice. That call leads us to our calling; that voice guides us to our vocation.” Sitting here tonight I am still blown away by Scott Rogers and his courage to go for it -- to fulfill his calling.
When I first decided I wanted to be a teacher and began taking education classes in college, I had an education professor who made me take a career inventory assessment. He said that I wasn’t cut out for teaching and wanted me to take the test to find a career that would better suit me. The test said I should be a bus driver. Nothing against bus drivers, but I’m very glad that I stuck with teaching. I enjoyed Scott’s (Willis) post and the insightful and reflective look he shared with each of us. Scott and I are very similar in the passion and meaning circles, but we have different strengths. I think we compliment each other very well in the classroom. I absolutely love teaching with him. I can’t imagine co-teaching a class like Service Corps with any other teacher. Hopefully the rest of you are enjoying this class as much as we are.
I think it will be interesting to see how we function in our entrepreneurship and SR2S teams. I sense some excitement building as we discuss the possibilities together. These activities can certainly provide more meaning than traditional learning opportunities in school.
By the way, I’ve stayed up about as late as I can, it is nearing midnight, and only Scott and Karissa have posted. It really bums me out. Judging by your failure to respond, I would say that most of you are missing Ben-Shahar’s key points.
Also, Karissa, I loved your post as always. Your question is a great one. I think that the “higher ups” may be more invested (both financially and emotionally) and engaged (especially considering that they are calling the shots). They also enjoy a greater degree of autonomy and independence that I think could make their positions less of a job and more of a calling. In my opinion, however, this doesn’t mean that they are not rat-racers (at least some of the time). I think that for many the rat racing aspect of business/work/professional life adds just enough competition to keep them interested and feeling good about themselves. Who knows?
I know it may sound like old news but I love when it says on page 98, third paragraph, "Whether or not our subjective experience of work is of freedom depends on whether we choose to be slaves to material wealth or to emotional prosperity, slaves to other's expectations or to our passions."
In the margin I wrote, "It is better to do what you love and sacrifice material wealth, than it is to do something you don't care about in order to gain more material wealth."
I think this is an important statement. It is something to keep with you all your life to remind you of what will truly make you happy. I just finished a long talk with a close friend about the future. He brought up something I had said previously. I said, "I am willing to work a crappy job I hate in order to go tour with my band across the world [which i love]."
I wouldn't want to make money from my passion. It's a moral issue I have. I don't like business. I don't to mix up my internal wealth- passions- with external wealth-money, social status, etc. In an ideal society I would like for everyone to engage in what they love to do and trade with other people, IE: I love to fix bikes, but I want a chair, my friend Leroy loves to build chairs but wants a bike to ride to his shop. We arrange a trade of our passions.
Sorry about this post. It's choppy, take the time of night into consideration.
On page 107 i found a qoute that can mean alot o different things..."To different minds, the same world is a hell, and a heaven...It shows that to everyone who can think what they want to think, there's still a heaven and a hell.
"even if we do not need to work for our survival, we are enslaved by our nature"
i like this because that it is so true When u get a job and are geting mony you want to get alot of it then you dont have a life because u are working all the time just to get money in other word you are being a slave to work
I thouht that it was interesting when he said that only 50% of people were happy in their jobs I thought that it was interesting because I havent had a job that Im unhappy in yet m word was avoda and I know what it means and I used it because its a cool different way to say a word. I also thought that it was interesting my quote is work should draw out the talents and skills of a person. I thought this was a good qoute because I think that it is true.
I am going to do the exercise of ch.7.
1.Reading is one of the things I find most enjoyable in my life it gives me a sense of purpose to know I can read as much as I can.
2.I find pleasure in playing video games........and reading. I also like to ride my dirtbike and play paintball.
3.I am good at playing video games.......and reading. I also am good at paintball.
Wow there is a lot of overlapping in the things I enjoy doing and what I am good at doing.
I think if I ever became a writer I would be good at it because I enjoy writing too.
On page 101; the first paragraph. The psychologist Abraham Maslow once wrote that "the most beautiful fate, the most wonderful good fortune that can happen to any human being, is to be paid for doing that which he passionately loves to do."It is not always easy to discover what sort of work might yield this "good fortune" in the ultimate corrency. Reading this makes me think about my future careers that i want to persue. Will i be happy? or how about you cougar and scott? is this what you guys thought you would be doing when you guys where in high school. I love this book and pass it on to who would need it.
There is a quote in the book that i dont agree with very much. the unknown stated this quote from the book earlier, "even if you dont need to work for our survival, we are enslaved by our nature." I kinda disagree with this quote. When you have a job and your use to having all that money, its really hard to go with out it even if you dont have any bills to pay so we try to work even more to get that money so we really are enslaved by the money more the actual work is what i think. That is more rat racer point of view but it really is how much of the world works
on page 107 is says " In zen and the art of motorcycle Maintenance, Roert M. Pirsig writes, "The truth knocks on the door and you say, Go away, I'm looking for the truth and so it goes away." We very ofen fail to recognize the rich sources of pleasur and meaning that are right in front of us in our work. I like how it is saying we need to reconize and know or basically appreciate what we have and what not. da mof king
The quoet i liked in ch. 7 was "Courage is not about not having fear but about having fear and going ahead anyway" Because it's so true you can just let fear rule your life. You have to just go for things reguardless of what could happen sometimes.I like to think of it is sorta living out side of your comfort zone like thinking out side of the box.You just have to set your mind to something and do it and leave your fear behind.
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My favorite quote from chapter 7 and probably from the book so far says "to different minds, the same world is a hell, and a heaven". This quote without thinking about it made me stop and say when has that happend to me? Its basically saying that everyone takes happiness from different things. What can be a pleasurable and meaningful experience for one person can be a hard and torturous experience for another.
I liked in chaptor 7 when he says, "The truth knocks on the door and you say 'Go away, I'm looking for the truth' and so it goes away" This is so true in so many situations. It seems like it always happens to someone else but never notice it happening to you.
all who would win joy must share it, happiness was born a twin i liked this paragraph because i agree with what the quote says and i think that who ever made it up is very smart
"Courage is not about not having fear but about having fear and going ahead anyway."
I feel this to be true. How can you be courageous if you don't conquer the fear that is preventing you to do what you would never do if you were afraid. Without fear, you are just doing something that you are comfortable with. There is nothing preventing you to do it, you're just doing it.
on page 101 on the 3rd paragraph. it says"the most beautiful fate, the ost wonderful good fortune that can happan to any human being, is to be paid for doing that whitch he pasionately loves to do." i think this it true cause i wanna be paid for something i like to do so it wont even be like a job. like getting paid to play football or something
In chapter 7 in page 98 it said "Slave to Passions" I think it means that to be happy you need to work and you become a slave to your jobs.
I really liked on page 98 in the Slave to Passions section paragraph 1 where Ben-Shahar writes:
"In hebrew, the word for 'work' (avoda) stems from the same root as the word for 'slave' (eved). Most of us have no choice but to work for a living. Even if we do not need to work for our survival, we are enslaved by our nature: we are constituted to want to be happy, and to be happy we need to work."
This is true about a lot of people. A lot of us think that to be happy we have to have a great job and make tons of money. So we think we have to work all the time. I know that is very true about myself a lot of the time. I catch myself thinking about how that the more I work, the more money I get paid and then I can get the things that I want and then I will be happy. But in reality, this is what happens most of the time: I get my paycheck, go buy whatever it is that I have been waiting to get the money for, and then I find myself repeating the same cycle over again. Again, I want something that I don't have so I go to work so I can get paid so I can buy my whatever and it just goes on and on.
I also really enjoyed the MPS Process. The idea of working at a job that I would truly enjoy is one of my favorite things to think about. For me, that would be like getting paid for running or dancing or singing or something else that I really love to do. That, I believe, is one of my main definitions of happiness.
On page 107, in the first paragraph of Focusing on Happiness, where Ben-Shahar quotes,
"In Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert M. Pirsig writes, 'The truth knocks on the door and you say, 'Go away, I'm looking for the truth' and so it goes away.' We very often fail to recognize the rich sources of pleasure and meaning that are right in front of us in our work."
I really liked this quote because it makes me think about how I take things for granted a lot of the time. It's very difficult for me sometimes to appreciate the small things that are right in front of my face and I don't even take notice of them.
" The most beautiful fate , the most wonderful good fortune that can happen to any human being is to be paid for doing that which he passionately loves to do." written by Abraham Maslow. Wrzensiewski finds that "satisfaction with life and with work may be more dependent on how an employee sees his or her work than on income or occupational prestige."
I like dboth of these quotes, I thought about the first quote and its totally true, just think of 5 people you know that complain about their jobs because they don't like ir or doesn't get paid enough, or just work for the money and always worrying about supporting them and their families. Then thing if those 5 people had a job they liked or loved to do, they would perform better, have a better attitude towards the job and not worry so much about the money or paychecks. Instead think of the fulfillment from his work; he percieves it as a privilege rather than a chore.
I liked how he was saying that we cannot hope to have the right job cause you have to look for a good job that you like and that you have fun with.
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