Passionate Interests Improve Well-Being

A recent series of articles in the Journal of Career Assessment has explored the connection between interest and well-being. The premise is that stable, enduring interests (like those that are measured by interest inventories) lead to an emotionally satisfying life and a sense of fulfillment as a part of well-being.

In other words, doing what interests and motivates you makes you happy. It is nice of the career assessment people to provide a scientific framework for what is intuitively obvious. The problem for most people, however, is that they rarely take the time or make the effort to identify, clarify, and specify what those motivated interests are. And even if they take that first step, they rarely go on to set goals and make a specific plan to pursue those interests.

In my many years of clinical practice, I have met hundreds of people who cannot even identify their strongest interests, or answer the simple question: What makes you happy? And most people have to really stop and think about the answer to the question: What kind of work makes you happy? It is surprising that many individuals simply accept the premise that work is work, and is not supposed to make you happy.

It is important to do self-assessment at all stages of life; self awareness takes effort and time and sometimes requires the use of counselors or assessment tools. Very few people have a clear idea of who they are, and even fewer create a plan to meet their needs.

One interesting exercise is to ask people who know you well to give you feedback about yourself. Family members, close friends, and coworkers that work with you every day may have important insights to offer you. Of course, once you do this type of self-awareness exercise, you may decide to make some changes, accept some challenges and become a happier person- so proceed with caution....

Keeping New Year's Resolutions

One study showed that while most people make new year's resolutions, nearly all of them failed to keep them (98%!). There are a few things you can do to dramatically improve your odds, however. The main thing is to set some realistic goals, and be specific. Instead of resolving to "stick to a budget this year," and then blowing it after a few weeks and giving up- while feeling like a failure- try to be realistic. Set a goal of sticking to a budget for the month of January, and giving yourself $20 of 'mad money' to spend. After you succeed for the first month, pat yourself on the back and set a goal for Febuary.

An online survey also showed that there are other things that dramatically improve your odds.
1. Ask for the support of family, coworkers, or friends in meeting your goals.
2. Stay away from people and situations that sabatage your good intentions- that one 'friend' that always talks you into dessert, or stopping for a drink, or buying that sweater.
3. Reward yourself for reaching intermediate goals.
4. Identify the motivations and values that underly the resolution. For "sticking to a budget" the motive might be to create a college fund for your son, or have a savings account for the next economic crisis.
5. Improve your knowledge and/or skills, by reading a book or taking a class that supports your dedication to a goal.

My personal favorite strategy is to build in tolerance for a slip, or allow for a failure, knowing I won't be perfect in my resolve. That creates an opportunity to succeed even when I mess up, and I can coach myself back on track, perhaps even learning how to avoid that pitfall in the future.