day 595: Happy Is

Let's face it, being happy at work and happy in our work comes and goes. Sure, there are times of stretched happiness but there are also times when we are not happy with what we are doing, or where we are doing it, or with whom we are doing it with. At these times we can get in a funk and and we can let our emotions get the best of us and if we are not careful we can spiral into forgetting the things that we really like about our jobs, our co-workers, and our company. So, how do we ensure that we are receiving the fullest happiness from our work? The answer lies not in what we do, but instead in how we do it. Haven't we all marveled at some point or another about the person who is so happy doing the most menial of jobs? And if we are honest with ourselves we have probably wished for a bit of that simplicity and a lot of that happiness. What we are really amazed by is the happiness that can come from "how" we do the work, regardless of what that work is or will be. If we were to return to the days of when we first started to work and think about how each and every day was filled with something new to learn and something new to master then we would remember that it really was about how we did those jobs not what those jobs were. David gives us a peek into what can bring happiness to how we work and conduct ourselves. In Psalm 119 he says, "Happy are people of integrity, who follow the law of the Lord." Happy is living, and therefore working, with integrity that supersedes all of the office politics, or the career missteps, or the bad boss, or the failing company. Happy is knowing that what we do, we do with the highest of integrity and in a way that models and is an example to others. Think today about where in your work you can up your integrity in "how" you are working. What you will find is that when you do that your happiness, about your work, can only increase.

Reference: Psalm 119:1 (New Living Testament)