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9/16/13

The Economics of Happiness - by Steve Faktor

The fact that you’re reading this makes you a raging evolutionary success, a winner. And if you’re reading this at work, even better. That means chances are slim that you’re also holding a shovel. You have the luxury of choice. There’s freedom baked into your job. Otherwise, you’d be clicking on something far more urgent.
Go ahead and fire your therapist. I’ll wait…

Let’s talk psychology. In sports, in dating, and at work there are always two games being played. There’s the one on the field (or bar or conference room). Then there’s the one in your head. Though jobs are failing our body, they have the capacity to captivate our mind - and sometimes, our imagination. The victories we can expect from office work can be powerful, if somewhat incomplete.
So here is my list of the things you could get from work:

1. Knowledge - One of the perks of automating drudgery (which we’ll do in the next decade) is the freedom to pursue knowledge. Learning is not output and should never be mistaken for it. But it is fuel for mastery. The best kind of knowledge is earned through experience – and our biggest lessons come from mistakes. The best place to make those mistakes? Work. If we view every failure as a lesson, the world becomes a school. But an education is what you make of it.

2. Discipline - Let’s face it, the military draft isn’t coming back. No roughneck is going to yell at you while you do push-ups next to Tom Cruise. We’re on our own. And we’re an undisciplined mess. We want our individuality. We want to yell at Marissa Mayer for not letting us work from home. And we want to stroll in to work at 10am without a single dirty look. What if that’s the worst thing you can do to yourself – turn work into your living room? Just like disposability is contagious, so is discipline. Achieve it in one part of your life and you’ll do the same in others. Show up early and suddenly you’ll have time for the gym, for family, and for that model car you’ve always dreamed of building.

3. Mastery - Mastery is the culmination of experience, knowledge and discipline. It’s a legitimate expectation, but it’s not a right. It must be earned. Think of craftsmen that make perfect belt buckles, bakers who make artful cakes, or London cab drivers who know every nook and cranny of the city. There is something intrinsically compelling about mastery. And masters attract pupils.

4. Pride and Respect – Masters should take pride in their achievements. But pride is silent. It happens on the inside. It’s the satisfaction of knowing you’ve done your absolute best. Pride’s kissing cousin is respect. And she’s a party gal. Respect comes in two flavors. There’s the one you earn from mastery. Then there’s the one that comes with a position of power or working for a big brand. When respect comes from an undeserved promotion, nepotism, or dumb luck, it’s not respect at all. It’s merely an opportunity to earn it.

5. Helpfulness - As I wrote here, people who help others are happiest in their jobs. Teachers, clergy,
 firefighters. We might not be having kids, but we still have a need to nurture. (Just don’t try burping your employees at the company picnic.) Even though the physical world doesn’t really need us, people still do. Helping, guiding, and coaching others to their dream is still a fundamental satisfier and it’s not going away – even when we 3D print our own bosses.

6. Alignment with Values - Greek philosophers have debated whether the key to life is serving society or maximizing pleasure. I say decide for yourself. The better you know yourself, the easier it will be to align your job with your values. It might not bring happiness, per se. But if you fracking hate fracking, you might want to put down the drill.

7. Independence – Survey after survey shows people value freedom and self-determination. The tools have never been cheaper or more accessible to create your own job, build a business, or work from anywhere there’s internet. As rigged as people might deem the US to be, we have the tools to unrig it ourselves. Liberation is at hand. It won’t solve our bacon problem, but for those with discipline, it could let them wake up near a beach in Panama and go for a run.

8. Income to fund your real happiness – For many, work is a means to an end. Life can be much more satisfying when you have a plan to spend on the things that are truly important to you – good food, family, travel, hobbies, etc. And companies still need skilled masters, even if they don’t knock themselves out working until midnight, climbing someone else’s ladder.

9. Contentment or Satisfaction - Yes, there are some who have achieved happiness at work, but they are not the norm. Neither are 95 year old chain smokers. They won a lottery. If it happens, great. While it won’t make you hop around on Oprah’s couch, contentment is far sturdier than happiness. It’s earned through hard work, sacrifice and a slow trickle of rewards – compliments, promotions, bonuses, and more opportunities for all of the things on this list.

10. Solving a problem – We still have real problems to solve. Most people aren’t doing it in their jobs. Maybe it’s because their jobs are too administrative or “strategic”. Or because their startup is a dumb app. Fact is the white collar world is running out of big problems. And not everyone gets to work on those. Most of us must find pride in solving smaller ones or chase down the big ones in Africa, Asia or the Middle East. The beauty is we’re free to decide.

11. Legacy – I will not be remembered. Probably, neither will you. How do I know that? Steve Jobs will not be remembered. No more than the inventors of the 8-track, the Walkman, air conditioning, or flatscreen TV’s. Yes, they’ll be on Wikipedia, but anyone 10 years old or younger will not care about Steve’s amazing achievements. His technology is already being leapfrogged. But legacy is attainable by all. Not in the historical sense, but in training the next generation, passing on our wisdom, and setting up others to succeed.

Read more: The Economics of Happiness | LinkedIn

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