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Your Overall Happiness in Life Really Comes Down to 5 Simple Words

Marcel Schwantes 3-4 minutes 1/29/2023

If you could start your career all over again and make better decisions that led to living a happier life, what would you do differently? 

Billionaires claim to have reached an uncanny level of happiness, unlike the rest of us. Of course, they are crazy rich so our natural assumption would lead us to believe that money makes them happy.

That may be true, but money alone doesn't lead to sustainable happiness if other areas of your life are careening out of control. So what should we be aiming for?

Five words: Do the things you love.

Billionaire Warren Buffett once said that the key to your happiness is to "do something you enjoy all your life." He added, "I urge you to work in jobs that you love. I think you are out of your mind if you keep taking jobs that you don't like because you think it will look good on your resume."

There may be risks involved in chasing after that dream job or career. You don't just wake up one day and quit your job and the financial security of a steady paycheck to start a business. But when you do discover the work or career that will spring you out of bed every morning, it'll be totally worth it. Consider the long-term payoffs.

It gives you an unmatched purpose 

When you do what you love, you create alignment between your work, your values, and the things that bring you purpose. And you can't have purpose without passion, which comes from the desire to make a change -- a difference -- for your customer, your business, or even the world.

You exercise your gifts and talents

Doing what you love and enjoy probably means that you're performing tasks, building things, and developing strategies that you're actually good at. It means you're utilizing your God-given gifts and talents to your greatest potential, unlike that of a dead-end 9-5 job with no meaning or purpose. It's capitalizing on the things that you do well while avoiding the risks that come from dabbling in things outside your perimeter. Doing what you love means you're simply exercising your skills, but also eliminating wasting precious time and energy chasing after things outside of your wheelhouse.

You are hopeful and optimistic

People who do work they love, with people they love, are rarely burdened by the problems that they might encounter working in toxic workplaces devoid of trust. They are able to focus on the future, set ambitious targets, have the courage to consider the obstacles, and celebrate with their tribe when mountains are conquered. Loving what you do also makes you more motivated to do the kind of work you want to do, not feel obligated to do. Your desire to be more productive is intrinsic; it comes from a belief deep inside you that your hard efforts will make a difference for those you serve.

In conclusion, when you love what you do, it just doesn't feel like work. Doing what you love is a major contributor to true happiness in life.