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Many of us struggle early on in our careers. We're fresh out of school and we think we have it all together, or we're absolutely sure we don't. I wanted an easy job that didn’t tax me too much, and I found exactly that. I wasn’t paid extraordinarily well for this work, but it was easy. My priorities were all about trying to meet amazing women, hanging out with friends, and writing some decent poetry – nothing else really mattered.
As time days and weeks went by I realized that I was just feeding into my fear. I was afraid to challenge myself. I didn’t want to try to do something, mess it up and be laughed at. I had to change my core beliefs if I was ever going to deem myself a success. I took a risk in the pursuit of happiness. I quit my job and took a teaching job for two years. Making the switch to choosing happiness instead of fear has made all the difference in my life.
For all of us, we must understand our core needs before we can create a life that will make us happy. If you’ve tried switching jobs to be happier, you know it doesn’t work. You have to work on your attitude, habits, and focus. Without this foundation you will never feel the success that you know is possible. The best way to design an amazing life is to have a few rules in place.
1. Sacrifice in Moderation
It's easy to sacrifice a lot of your happiness and not even realize it. You may go to a job that you hate so you can live the lifestyle that you think will make you happy. The biggest change in my happiness has been focusing on things that will help other people and myself. Every time I write a blog post I focus on my reader’s needs and my own. When you make an effort to do things that help you and other people, you are sacrificing in moderation. You are doing work that aligns with other’s needs as well as your own.
2. Show Up Every Day
You have to show up every single day. If you want a career as a writer you can’t write once a week. This is obvious, but not everyone who wants to be a writer writes every day. They think they want to be a writer, but are afraid to put in the hard work to make it happen. When you write every day you are showing the universe that you care enough to hone your craft. You care enough to send it out into the world for other people to read.
99% of success comes down to how badly you want it. Believe me if you want something enough and you show up every day people will find ways to help you. They can’t resist the passion.
3. Love Every Try
Everything you do is a gift. I was diagnosed with testicular cancer. I caught it early, but still a traumatic surgery and recovery. The week from my surgery to finding out what stage of cancer I had I did a lot of relaxing and contemplating. I focused on what matters. It’s why I believe in life design, but not the "get happy quick" life design that so many people try to sell. I believe that we are here to use our superpowers to heal each other mentally, physically, and spiritually.
Every moment is a chance for you to do something fun, amazing, helpful, and beautiful. You can’t get too caught up in avoiding failure. You will fail. The trick enjoying that failure like a kitten plays with a ball of string. You need to bat it around, laugh at it, fall over your feet chasing after it, let it alone, and pick it back up when you're ready.
Right Now
You can be happy right now. It doesn’t take a genius to be happy. In fact people who over think everything actually have a hard time being happy. They get caught up in a loop of thought instead of taking action.
You need to go out and develop your superpowers, so they gain strength. If you show up every day for an extended period of time I guarantee you will be noticed.
About Karl
Karl Staib is a career coach and consultant who helps people leverage their superpowers at work! He started his business because he hated every job he ever had. He doesn’t want anyone suffering through depression and stress like he did, so he started Work Happy Now to help people make become happier and more successful. If you enjoyed this piece, you may want to check him out on or join his free 7 Part E-course to a Happier and More Successful You.
