Posted on May 3, 2011 by Dan Weigold

“Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure…than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat. ”

-Theodore Roosevelt

There are a lot of unhappy people in America today. Worker satisfaction is at a low point with large numbers of people thinking about looking for something else to do. Job satisfaction is very important criteria for overall personal well-being and happiness. Below are a few tips about what to look for in an ideal job for yourself.

1. Find work that is in alignment with your strengths and personality.

2. Have regular, authentic, and genuine conversations with your manager/supervisor/leader (Sometimes this won’t be possible, so ensure that you have a trusted person you can speak to in your organization). People leave organizations where their supervisor is not supportive of them.

3. Be authentic. Why be a fake? Be the genuine person that you are, even though you might believe it is difficult. Being authentic means that you are being honest with yourself and your abilities. Accept who you are and find what works for you.

3. Be transparent. Transparency in life means being able to express “who” you are without putting on a mask. People can see that you are the real deal, not a fake, that you are sincere and are able to do what you say. Being transparent will allow you to experience less stress in your life.

4. Eat well. Everyone has stress and some people have a lot of stress. Find healthy foods and eat more of them. Diets filled with poor quality calories are leading people to eating more than they need and that leads to poor health in many people. Good health is less expensive than poor health. Save money by eating right and losing weight.

5. Exercise often. Exercise was part of life not long ago.  Today, more and more people spend their day sitting. Lack of exercise reduces overall strength and health. Exercise consumes some of the stress hormones the body produces; exercise also helps people sleep better at night.

6.  Get enough rest. People are cramming more and more into each day and cutting back on sleep. The lack of adequate rest can lower your individual stress threshold,  making you more vulnerable to stressful events that occur in each day.

7.  Be grateful. Look around at what is going right in your life. Notice a sunset and sunrise. Just take a deep breath and relax in the moment. Find peace. Is there a roof over your head, food to eat and clothes to wear?  Sometimes just the basics are overlooked.

8.  Be thankful. Thank someone today. Find a reason to give thanks and find someone to thank each day.

9.  Find a reason to smile. Now if you really can’t find a reason to smile, smile at someone else.  Just smile for the fun of it and see what happens. Smile to enlighten someone else. Maybe a smile will cause a giggle to burst out, or a laugh. It’s great when you smile about nothing at all.

10. Take time out for you. Find a time, (10 minutes, 15 minutes), and just stop doing and start doing nothing. Just reflect and sit back and relax. Do this alone, and do it quietly. Do it each day, form a new habit for yourself.  Quiet the mind, for you.

“Happiness consists more in small conveniences of pleasures that occur every day, than in great pieces of good fortune that happen but seldom to a man in the course of his life.”
-Benjamin Franklin