How To Wake Up Happy Everyday

Sometimes the arrow is more important that what its pointing to

Right now I’m at a really good point in my life-looking ahead, I see opportunity and success.  Its not so much that the world is my oyster, but rather I’ve begun to see that the world is a buffet of oysters and there’s enough for everyone.  And the reason I feel this way is I’ve become confident in the trajectory, or direction, my life is heading in.

Trajectory is different from a goal or endpoint.  Honestly, its too difficult to pinpoint exactly where any of us will end up beyond a couple months.  I’m talking about the momentum behind me, pushing in a direction.  And this momentum builds as our life experiences, decisions, and values begin to accumulate and coalesce.

Throughout my years of teaching and training, I’ve realized that, though I love teaching, I dislike teaching in high school or college.  I’ve also gained enough experience to realize I’m really good at strategic planning and executing on those plans.  I’ve learned I like working with teams and with technology.  I’ve developed a love for traveling, yoga, and writing; all things I want to take with me in my life.

A few years ago, I focused on the endpoint result.  I focused on the specific company to work for or position I wanted.  I focused on planning for specific experiences I assumed I would enjoy.  All my energy was devoted towards getting to that endpoint.  Now, I focus on those things I love.  I’m confident that, though I don’t know where I’ll end up, if I stay true to what makes me happy I will get to places and positions where I can be extremely happy.

So how do you establish your own trajectory?  There are three focus areas when working to establish momentum in life: interests, values, and introspection.  The more you work on one, the clearer the others become, they are self-reinforcing.  Similar to the momentum you want to establish in life, the more you clarify each area the easier it is to identify the others.

As you work on establishing momentum in life, its important to figure out what actually interests you.  This requires commitment; commitment to experiment with lots of new things in hopes of finding one you like and a commitment to stick with some potential hobbies beyond the frustrating ‘I’m no good at this because I just started’ phase.

Its important to identify a variety of interests because often you enjoy what you’re good at and become good at what you enjoy.  Through developing interests you will more easily see common skill sets you possess.  And skills which we observe in our hobbies are easily transferred into marketable skills for jobs you would enjoy, even if you hadn’t previously thought the job was a viable career path.

Values is another area that is necessary to identify.  For interests you’re discovering ‘What do I enjoy doing?’; for values, you’re discovering ‘What makes me happy?’  This helps identify how your life can be structured so your default state is one that encourages happiness.  The ideal would be a life scheduled with activities and appointments that fit within your value system, instead of having the feeling that your values are at odds with your life.

Travel is a value I possess-I value being able to travel.  Thus, it made sense to begin thinking about a career change from a job which allowed minimal time to travel.  A healthy lifestyle is also something I value, so it makes sense for me to look at cities that encourage this type of living.

Identifying our interests and clarifying our values is important in establishing a life trajectory we can find satisfaction in.  Introspection allows us to be proactive in achieving this and ensuring we stay on track.  Moments of introspection and self-discovery are the times you reflect on whether or not you are actually moving in a direction that makes you happy.

Introspection also encourages openness.  The more in sync you become with yourself, the more in sync the world becomes with you and when that happens all sorts of weird coincidences and synchronicities begin to appear.  Introspection helps you remain open to these moments and further pushes you along.

Think of your trajectory as a fun slide at a water park.  In those first few moments you inch yourself forward; thats the effort you put into discovering those initial interests and values.  Soon you are moving along and having a great time, through no effort of your own; this is the time where your interests and values compliment and reinforce each other.  The raised edges on curves and heightened walls on the slide keeping you from flying off represent the introspection necessary for keeping you on the right path.

In my life, I’ve always been confident.  But this was a confidence in myself and my ability to ‘figure it out’.  Right now, I feel confident in my life’s trajectory, which is something I haven’t really felt before.  Its confidence in the direction I’m heading.  I may not know exactly where I’ll end up, but because I’m satisfied with how I’m getting there I know it will work out fine.