Being Happier at Work (and In General)

I watched another Oprah show last week. The episode was about people who hate their jobs, and Marcus Buckingham, a guy who's considered a job guru. This one just happened to catch my eye because it was supposed to help people feel more happy and satisfied with their jobs. I don't hate my job, but I'm always open to finding out how to improve any situation.

Doesn't it always seem like the secrets to all these things are just common sense? And yet we still don't seem to figure it out? A lot of what Marcus Buckingham seemed to talk about was finding your strengths...not just what you're good at, but what makes you feel good when you're doing it. I hope I got that right, anyway. An example he gave was when your kid comes home with a report card with 2 As and 2 Fs, what do you focus on? The answer is the As. You shouldn't ignore the Fs, but you should encourage and focus on the subjects that received As.

So what do you do when you're one of the majority of people who hates their job? Marcus Buckingham had these little notebooks where on each page you wrote what you loathed or what you loved about things that were within your control, not things that you couldn't do anything about. People were able to see ways to take control of their jobs, when they should change jobs, and how to prioritize.

You can participate in Marcus Buckingham's online workshop for free and at your own pace here. Apparently it's also available on iTunes.