This is one of a series of brief posts to get you thinking about enjoying business more. Feel free to comment.
Enjoyment and happiness are actually quite nebulous concepts that are hard to artificially manufacture. This can easily lead to the situation where someone is so desperate to be happy that they actually put themselves under pressure when they aren't, which increases the misery – thereby creating a vicious circle that is never going to be resolved.
I have known people who have set deliberate goals to enjoy life more and generally be happy, and then get frustrated when it doesn't happen.
The truth is, that isn't how it works. Many of those who know me, are aware that I'm a massive advocate for the book “Man's Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl and believe that everyone should read it at least twice, as there is far too much in there to pull out of a single read.
This quote, slightly amended for flow and intention, is from that book.
Don't aim at happiness – the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. It cannot be pursued. It must ensue and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one's dedication to something else. You have to let it happen by not caring about it.
By way of example, have you ever been invited to an office outing or a school event and part of the promise is that it's “going to be fun”? You know damn well that any fun that comes out of that event is going to be through luck, rather than by design. The instant you target 'fun' as an outcome, the less likely it is to be achieved.
At first glance, this seems to be at odds with my mission to have enjoyment being the measure of success in business, rather than just sales and profits. However, once you know that it's a by product, the mission then becomes of finding the best conditions in which enjoyment can prosper.
But more of that later.
Once again, your thoughts are welcome.
Coming soon – further exploration on why it's ok to feel bad and a different viewpoint on 'first world problems.'