Chris Folland here with a question for you…
Really, does it have to be hard?
Well, I don’t think so.
I know that when I was first starting off in my working career, I was making things hard.
To get money to go to university, I did a lot of hard work. I worked as a dishwasher for a long time and then as a laborer on an oyster farm, dragging these massively heavy bags full of oysters out of the water to a barge to get shucked.
When I got into law after I qualified at university, it was also hard work.
That was the order: go to school, get a job, work your job.
However, must it actually be hard? The answer is no.
There’s evidence that if you want to be successful, then you need to be happy first. Don’t hold your breath and work really hard and expect to suddenly get ahead. According to science, the chances are that the happier you are in the process, the more successful you’ll be.
And that fittingly works into the acronym we use in our training academy DO CARE, and the last part today is E for enjoy.
Find a way to enjoy every task (and this dials into the research that says to enjoy what you’re doing).
Now, the other key here is leverage.
You might not be able to work in an area that’s your passion, as it might not create financial freedom for you. So what’s important is to think about how the work you do can be leveraged for greater success.
Because it’s also unlikely that you’ll naturally enjoy every task, so there are some skills in applying yourself to find ways to best harness what you do enjoy.
Let’s say you love working in an area that gives a max of 30k or 40k a year. Well, actually, if you work well with your money, live below your means, and invest, then there are numerous stories of people who got ahead using smaller amounts of money that they invested in the stock market over 30 or so years.
And if you’re wanting to leverage your efforts to achieve your goals faster, it’s also possible.
It involves consistent work, although it doesn’t have to be hard. I know because I started off entirely on the wrong track and know what it feels like to have my stomach in knots and feel the absolute dread of not living how I wanted to be living.
Don’t suppress yourself. Find a way to do it, and take the steps towards what you do want.
Maybe that means taking a part-time job or starting a part-time business alongside what you’re currently doing, and investing that extra income. Because it’s this extra that will set you free.
So, enjoy the process and enjoy each task – in a leveraged way. Where might you end up if you live life feeling happier as you go? 1
1What I’ve learned is that we can’t put off the living we want to do. And maybe that starts with believing that it doesn’t have to be hard to do: “if there is one conclusion that stands out in the positive psychology research, it is that we experience greatest happiness and fulfillment when we exercise our strengths and act upon our deepest values.”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettsteenbarger/2018/04/26/you-are-successful-are-you-happy/#3293a22c2f91
“You are Successful. Are You Happy?”
- Steenbarger (2018)
Fi Jamieson-Folland D.O., I.N.H.C., is The LifeStyle Aligner. She’s an experienced practitioner since 1992 in Europe, Asia and New Zealand as a qualified Osteopath, Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, speaker, educator, writer, certified raw vegan gluten-free chef, and Health Brand Ambassador.
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