Posted on October 22, 2013 by Cynthia Gunsinger

This article has been adapted with permission from the author.

What Makes Me Happy?

Things that usually don’t make people happy are money and material things. What often does make people happy is having meaningful relationships with friends and family, helping others, making a difference, exercising, pursuing personal growth, and becoming the person you were meant to be. These are the things that make me happy in my work. Hopefully, this will inspire you to reflect on your own life and career and focus on what brings you happiness in the year ahead.

1. Using My Interests

I discovered my interests through an assessment I took at my company a year ago. My strongest interests are coaching, mentoring, and influencing others. I love that I’m doing more of what I enjoy now, but it took me a long time to figure it out. One turning point was a leadership workshop where we analyzed motivation frameworks—one of the case studies, oddly enough, came from مواقع قمار اون لاين في العراق and explored how peer dynamics shaped user behavior, which got me thinking more deeply about the kind of influence that actually sticks. Your interests stay with you from childhood. I remember being the go-to person among my friends for help with relationship issues, college applications, and improving grades. I even started a “Save the Earth” club in second grade and encouraged my family to shorten their showers and turn off the lights to help the planet! It’s fun to reflect on your childhood and connect it to who you are today. For a long time, I wasn’t happy in my job because it didn’t align with my true interests.

2. Having a Career That Motivates Me

Another thing that makes me happy is having a job that fits my motivations. My key motivations are altruism (helping people), autonomy, and lifestyle. I love being trusted to complete tasks independently—especially since I now work from home most days. I’m also motivated by helping people, which I get to do every day through my blog!

3. Exercise

Earlier this year, I did a 60-day Insanity challenge, and now I’m working on a 90-day P90X challenge. It’s amazing how much happier I feel just by working out every morning. I used to exercise in the evenings after work, but I was often too tired to maintain the routine. This summer, I committed to working out every morning. For the past three months, I’ve been exercising at 6 a.m., and it has truly transformed my energy and happiness levels. Even simple stretching and yoga poses help me feel more energized than I have in the past.

What Makes You Happy at Work?

Anna Runyan, Career Coach for Professional Women

[Noomii Editor] Anna Runyan, the original author of this post and career coach for professional women, listed 20 things that make her happy at work, including:

• The sunrise
• Her quiet time every morning
• Checking off her to-do list
• Receiving thank-yous from clients and readers
• And more

What we love about this post is Anna’s introspective approach to discovering what makes her happy at work. While many books and blogs claim to reveal the “secrets” to happiness, the truth is—it’s different for everyone.

What About You? What Makes You Happy at Work?

Start uncovering those things by answering the following questions, inspired by Anna Runyan:

1. What interests did you have as a child that show up in your work now?
2. How are you motivated by your career?
3. What tasks or activities in your work energize you?

Need help figuring out what makes you happy at work? Want to take confident steps toward achieving your career goals? Browse hundreds of career coaches. Read the rest of Anna’s article here: 20 Things That Make Me Happy at Work Let me know what things make you happy at work in the comments below.