Happiness is the only career path

I was once again faced with a dilemma. I was recently accepted in a very prestigious school to teach ESL to Koreans for the whole of July. I was ecstatic when I was told that I got the post. Why shouldn't I be?  From the more than 20 applicants they received, only nine  were accepted and I was one of them.  So, I was pretty much contented with this job until another offer came my way. My former school offered me a part-time teaching gig.

Naturally, I weighed the pros and the cons based on the usual criteria:  salary, security, opportunities, and I even included pride based on which school name would look better in my resume. Then, like what I always do when I have a dilemma, I consulted my friends and some members o f my family.  Their initial reactions were almost the same, except for this one friend of mine.

While everyone I talked to asked me either which school would look better in my resume or which one would give a better salary, or which one would be healthier for me, this one friend of mine asked me a trivial question: "What would make you happy?"

Silence….

I couldn't answer. I very well know what makes me happy when it comes to my love life, my family, and in most other areas of my life, but apparently, except for my career.  The question kept repeating in my head, it lingered like a bee: What would make me happy?

When I was much younger I always thought salary matters very much when choosing a career. A lot of opportunities for high salaries came my way. I got involved in jobs that really pay well. But none of them really made me happy. I'm pretty sure salary won't make me happy, for if it could, I would never have left the corporate world for teaching.

Please don't get me wrong. I am not saying that money doesn't matter, it does. How would I be able to buy my needs if I don't have it? What I am saying is , when you have a high salary, it doesn’t necessarily mean you are happy. I've met a lot of people earning six digit salaries, but kept on complaining day in and day out about how stressful their work is or how they never really get to do the things they want.  Some would even bluntly say that they are not happy, but they stay in the job. So, this only proves that while salary is important for survival, it is not the primary means for happiness in a job.

Then there's the issue of resumes that would brag of a very colorful employment history with highlights on the names of organizations or companies served. Who wouldn't want to work in a prestigious company? I'm pretty sure I'd like to. But the name of the company is not a guarantee that I would be happy. I've met a lot of people working for top companies in the country. They are proud indeed, but some of them are not really that happy mostly because of the workload and the expectations they face most everyday. So, I don't think that the school's name is going to make me that happy either. If the name really did matter, I would have never turned my back on those two very prestigious school where I was called in to teach a few years back. But I did, and I only felt a very insignificant amount of regret which faded in about two or three days after I made the decision of letting go.

I have tried reflecting on the other factors that most people consider when applying for a job. I've looked into benefits, opportunities, location, etc. But, none of them made me happy.  What I'm saying is, none of these is my cup of tea.

I guess you're now thinking that no job will ever make me happy. I was thinking the same a few nights ago. But it hit me suddenly, "sometimes we stay in a job not because of the system, not because of the benefits, not even for the company name or the salary. We stay in job, no matter the stress because of the people that surrounds us." This was said to me by the first dean that I worked for, who later became a very good friend to me.

I felt so stupid once this line crawled out of my memory bank. How could I not have realized it? How could I have missed the one thing that has always made me happy in a job?

My primary source of happiness in a job is the same source of happiness in my love life and in my family--good relationship and communication. I love communicating with people, I enjoy being around them, especially people who cares for me, loves me, considers me a family and who I feel the same way for. This is probably why communication is my major. I also always go for a good relationship. I am never productive in a workplace where I am in conflict with people or merely just treated as an acquaintance.  A good relationship matters to me.

Happiness is the prime consideration when finding a job. To some people it is salary that would make them happy. To some it would the prestige. I, for sure, am happiest where the people I consider my family is. Whichever the source of happiness would be, what matters is we are happy.  Happiness, I would say, is the only career path. Whatever job we may have, the only path to fulfillment would be happiness.

The only question left now is, will the people I love be happy with me around again. Well, it's for them to know and for me to find out...very soon.