The pursuit of happiness is defined as a fundamental right in the Declaration of Independence to freely pursue joy and live life in a way that makes us happy.
I love that. But as great as it is to have the right to do this, how many of us are actually intentional about pursuing our own happiness? Yes, everyone would love to be happier, but have you ever taken a moment to determine what that means for you?
This first came to me while I was on a flight from Dubai to Dallas about two weeks ago. I was listening to an interview with the UAE’s minister of happiness, Ohood Al Roumi. I had no idea that happiness even had a place in government, and I was intrigued by what this meant. Al Roumi's role is to drive government policy to create social good and satisfaction by understanding what makes citizens happy and making changes at a government level to increase their nation's happiness. Only time will tell what effect her role will have on the people.
But as exciting as these changes are, the point of this article is not to examine happiness initiatives in the public or private sector. Instead, it's to encourage us to take personal responsibility for our happiness, especially in the workplace.
On average, we spend 90,000 hours at work during our lifetime. So doesn't it serve us to be proactive in making our happiness there a priority? Studies show that happy people are less stressed, get promoted more frequently, and are more creative, productive and healthy, just to name a few benefits.
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