What is the key to finding happiness?

“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” – Herman Cain

Herman Cain had it right. You need to be happy with what you do; otherwise, it will be difficult in finding happiness in life. We spend much of our life during working hours.  These working hours do not end when you turn off the computer or step away from the desk, office, or site. Your good or bad work day follows you – regardless of how much you try to turn it off.

I’ve been blessed to have worked with some amazing people.  These people made a huge impact on my overall happiness. I’ve been lucky to have work meetings where the time went by in a blink, and productivity was extreme. Where it seemed we laughed more than we worked – but somehow magic was created. I would sometimes think “wow, and I got PAID for this day.”

I’ve also been challenged to work with some who could easily crush a joyful moment with just the first breath of hello. These people could take the oxygen out of the room, make it feel like projects never moved forward, and you feel like you’re living the moving Groundhog Day.

Do you love what you do or do you wake up every morning wishing to smash the alarm clock because you know it will be another day of drudgery?  The first step: remove toxic people and situations. It will make an enormous impact on happiness throughout your career. Yes, sure, sometimes this is easier said than done, but the reward is worth it.