Are You Happy?
Hello Steemians! @mazzle here. I have a story that's been playing on my mind for days for you today. I'd love to hear your feedback and insights in the comments. So please tell me what you think.
I was chatting with someone who has essentially become a mentor the other day. My mentor was looking over the books for my business and offering advice about where I could make changes to save the business money and actually generate a profit.
You see, I've been operating my business for 2 years now and, as I've mentioned in a previous post, I haven't paid myself a salary. This makes life difficult, to the point where I have been ignoring health issues because I couldn't afford to see anyone. I didn't even tell my wife this so that she wouldn't freak out.
My mentor asked me a simple, yet incredibly hard hitting, question: why are you doing this? You could just as easily take a day job and forget about all this. At least then, you'd have an income.
I knew this question was a test. My mentor really wanted to see if I was in this for the right reasons. My business, while not being in great shape at the moment, has fantastic potential. It's going to take a lot of hard work to get this ship sailing properly again. But once we're there, I'll have the income I deserve and then some.
But his question wasn't simply seeing if I had the courage to take this business forward. He was also asking me; does this business make you happy?
The short answer is simple, most of the time this business makes me very happy. Every day I meet inspiring, kind-hearted, and fun people. I get to meet people from all walks of life. And the business has drastically changed my outlook on life. This is a great business to be in.
Of course, there are some days where I am frustrated, angry, and disheartened. However these days are far fewer than the days where I feel actual happiness.
But the question why are you doing this? stays with me. Every day for the past week, this question has been playing in my mind. Is all this hard work and stress worth it? Will I actually see the reward that I am anticipating? If I walked away today, I would have no assets to my name, but no debt either. I'd simply be starting again.
I guess at the end of the day; I love my business, I love the people I spend time with in my gym and I love seeing how people grow and better themselves by spending time at my gym. A great example is a 19 year old guy who started training at my gym 6 months ago. He came to me with a high level of anxiety, and was quite overweight. In just 6 months he has lost 30 kgs and has developed a social life. He's even started dating a young lady. The happiness I see in him every day now is incredibly rewarding.
My staff are also great people who I enjoy working with (most of the time at least). They are a diverse bunch and highly skilled at what they do. So, while I make no money, I more than likely enjoy what I do more than most working people out there. And, for that, I am thankful.
The short answer is that yes, this stress and lack of money is worth it. It's a long and difficult journey, but I can see a lot of potential here.
So I have some questions for you:
- Are you happy doing what you do?
- If you're not happy, why do you continue doing what you do?
- What would it take for you to be happy and what do you need to do to get there?
- What help do you need to get to a position where you would be happy?
I'd love to hear from you in the comments.
Do you enjoy this content? If so, please upvote, follow @mazzle and resteem to help me out.
@mazzle. I wish I was as braver as you. Going for want you want.
Thanks @dawnsheree. Do you enjoy what you do? That's all that matters at the end of the day.
I enjoy steemit. Work wise, hmm.. it's a love hate relationship. Lol should I go on?
Love the money but hate the work? :P
Money is Not as big as others but can suffice. Repition can be boring. :) Want to find work as a freelancer full time ^^
Hi @mazzle,
As someone who has been spending most of his professional career doing consulting work, your questions come at an interesting point in my life where I am happy with what I am doing now, but a month ago I would have answered it like this:
Thanks so much for your reply. As I've discovered the hard way, financial satisfaction is very different to happiness.
It sounds like you're in a much better position now than where you were a month ago so well done.
Did you do anything drastic to bring about your current happiness?
I like to think of it as building up enough momentum to eventually overcome the obstacles and excuses that I keep putting in front of myself. Of course, this is only just to get over the procrastination that creates resistance to even get started. Once you are on the path, it still takes a lot of energy and effort to keep going in spite of all the doubts and fears.
Making the journey more important than the destination is also an important change in the mindset as well, and even though I am nowhere near where I aspire to be, at least I know that I am taking steps and getting closer.
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