Can you be unemployed and happy at the same time? Of course you can. You may not be thrilled with the fact that you have lost your job, bills still need to be paid, resumes galore must be sent out and the third-degree type interviews are bound to happen. However, as I have said several times on this blog, life does go on. How can you be happy while unemployed or underemployed in a world based on financial success is all in how you view your success in life.
Do not measure your success or happiness by what you have or don't have. Success should be measured by your character and your integrity. Good character and integrity are priceless. Oddly though financial success, or striving for it, has given way to the broken character of many men over the centuries. So what does that mean to you? You may have lost a job, or are very under-employed, but it is your integrity along with positive character-building qualities that count. Take inventory. How does your inner core values stand up to these questions?
- Although unemployed, would you take a job that was against all your core principles or values because the money was good?
- Would you tell the truth about a matter if it meant losing your bonus?
- What comes first in your life?... God, family, money, or self?
- Do you believe good honest work at a lower pay rate is honorable if it is not illegal or immoral? Better yet, how do you view people working these type of jobs?
- Do you find yourself losing your temper more often since you lost your job?
- Are you less patient at this time in your life with your children, or your spouse?
- What positive character traits, i.e. honesty, loyalty, commitment, and sincerity do you value the most?
- Are you so consumed with your own situation that you cannot or have not shown compassion to ones in need?
Just points everyone, regardless of being employed or not, should consider. Your view of success goes hand-in-hand with happiness. Sticking to your true core values (hopefully, they are good ones), and recognizing them, will give you contentment which equals happiness. If you get a chance read this poem I wrote a while back. It sheds light on who we really are... Inside Out
