What is Your Net Happiness?

What is Your Net Happiness?

I was running errands the other day and saw an amazing RV gassing up.  As is the case many times throughout the day for me, my mind began to wonder (squirrel!).  I have always wanted to have an RV, especially one to this magnitude!  As I dreamt about this the next few blocks, the words “net happiness” entered my brain.  Most of us learned in school the difference between net and gross, net being what you have left after all of the damage (taxes, expenses, etc) if you will.  So I put this into perspective with the RV.  First off the initial sticker shock, then the amount it cost to fill the tank, the fee to park in an RV park, where to store it, and all of the other expenses you don’t think about while you dream of that perfect camping trip.  For me, the “net happiness” started to drop quickly!  This made me ponder on the idea of “net happiness”.

I already confessed my mind goes in a lot of different places, so I went from RV to life.  What is your “net happiness” I asked myself?  I think in life we always want the big RV, the 6 figure job, the big house or the nice car, but is there happiness in those things?  I would argue with an emphatic NO!  Although I don’t want to say I am old, I have been around long enough to have a fair share of life experiences.  I have bought things I thought would bring joy, chased jobs I thought would bring wealth, and engaged in relationships I thought would benefit me personally.  More times than not, these experiences only ended with little to no “net happiness”. 

Maybe this is what you need to hear as you embark on a career decision yourself.  Higher education offers a plethora of career training that is so vast it often times becomes overwhelming in and of itself.  Job statistics taint the way we think and make us believe one career path is better for us than another simply by the average income the field might report.  What if we took a step back and evaluated what would increase our “net happiness”? What is it you are passionate about?  What makes you wake up excited about the day?  What is it that inspires you to contribute to society and be happy in doing so?  This isn’t a plug to go to cosmetology school, this is a plug to tell you to follow your passion!  What career path do you need to take to increase your chances of a higher “net happiness”?  If it’s not just about the money then I have to ask…….What are you waiting for?