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february 2016yogajournal.comLUMINA/STOCKSYWork
matters
continued on page 3oMeditation teacher and the best-selling author
of Real Happiness shares ways to find fulfillment
at work—even in jobs we may never love.
By Sharon SalzbergIN PREPARATION FOR WRITING my most recent book, Real
Happiness at Work, I interviewed a lot of people, many
of whom work dramatically different jobs—from a
Wall Street executive to a carpet cleaner to a public-school
teacher to an undercover policewoman, and more. My
goal in writing about happiness at work was not to assume
or argue that we all can find work we love or a job that is
particularly fulfilling. Rather, I wanted to identify the ways
in which we can find peace and meaning, or a sense of pur-
pose, in our day-to-day professional lives, even in a position
we don’t necessarily think of as our dream job. Why the
search for meaning? It’s considered the strongest factor in
one’s happiness at work, ranking even higher than position
or status, according to survey findings from The Energy
Project, a consulting firm that focuses on workplace fulfill-
ment. And lest you think your own happiness is a selfish
thing, it’s not—it becomes an inner resource out of which
you can care for others.
Yet many of us feel like Tracy, who works as a secretary
and told me how she struggles with separating her identity
from her job: “It’s a huge challenge to not see myself as just
a secretary,” she explained. “I do my best to be of service ata job that was never a great fit, but it’s wearing me down.”
Like Tracy, we struggle at work to find meaning and
figure out who we are in relation to our jobs, as they are
often the cause of disappointment, stress, competitiveness,
and sometimes even downright despair. And while we
cannot change those times when we are condescended to
by our boss, disappointed by a failure, or overwhelmed by
an astronomical workload, we can change how we relate
to these experiences by cultivating certain skills that allow
us to find meaning in the process. Meditation, I believe, is
one of the most essential tools to help us do this.
Meditation helps us cultivate foundational skills
like awareness, connection, and resilience. It’s certainly
possible to find meaning at work without formal, seated
meditation, but I’ve seen that for many, a regular medita-
tion practice makes it easier. The two qualities most
closely aligned with meditation that bring meaning into
one’s work are mindfulness and compassion.
Mindfulness, which is refining our attention so we
can connect more directly with each moment, allows us
to feel more aware of and open to what actually is, aslive well
WISDOM