Inside the Mind of Jess Wass - A Happiness Portfolio
Hi Reader!
Did you know that I used to be a huge pessimist?
Back in college, I was part of the Student Union. We'd start off each meeting sharing some good news or a good thought and I was known to have the opposite lol.
In fact so much that at the end of the year I received the superlative "Most Likely to Have No Good News and No Good Thoughts".
I thought it was cute. But over the years, I grew weary of my own negativity. And most importantly...I wasn't happy.
So I decided to change.
However, change didn't just happen. I had to make a conscious intentional decision to shift my thinking, be open to changing, and work at it year after year.
Today, I describe myself not as a positive person, but as a realist.
Because the reality is good things happen in life, and bad things happen in life. But choosing to acknowledge and appreciate the good, even in the midst of the bad, is what makes all the difference in the world.
But in order to even do that, you need to have good things in your life to help balance out the inevitable bad.
And that's where a "Happiness Portfolio" comes into place.
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Our life is like an investment portfolio. We want to have investments that bring us positive returns and minimize the negative returns.
If you don't have a diversified portfolio, you are at risk when a negative event happens.
For example, if you're life revolves mostly around your work with a small sliver of time carved out for friends and personal time, then you're at risk if something changes at work.
Whether its navigating a reorg, navigating a difficult colleague, or even a layoff, you are going to feel that pain immensely because you have nothing else in your portfolio to buffer against the negativity.
On the other hand, if you have time invested in activities outside of work, it's a lot easier to create a healthy distance from challenges at work.
But many of us haven't taken the time to really think about what makes us happy and then figure out how to realign our lives to make space for those activities.
That is the where the work begins.
And that is also the work I do in my Career & Executive Coaching programs. Next week I'll have some exciting news to share if you are interested in exploring this concept further and finding out where your happiness lies, both at work and in life.
In the meantime, I'd love to hear your thoughts about this idea of a "Happiness Portfolio". Reply back and share your thoughts.
I came up with this concept, along with my fiance, as I was trying to convince him that we should adopt two kittens that I have my eye on at the Brooklyn Cat Cafe.
Two kittens are a lot of work, but I'll also have two adorable faces to look at which will add daily joy. I can't think of a better investment in my Happiness Portfolio, can you?
Let me know if you think we should get the kittens. My fiance will be thrilled :-).
What's in My Happiness Portfolio? Things That Make Me Happy Right Now
Reading This
- "The Good Enough Job: Reclaiming Life From Work" by Simone Stolzoff - Explore different individual's journeys to reset their relationship with their work and explore different ways of approaching our work. Great for workaholics or recovering workaholics.
- Wall Street Journal: The Art of Quitting Early on Fridays (and Not Freaking Out the Boss) - I'm sorry, did you think I was done bragging about being quoted in the WSJ? Far from it :). Check out the article if you missed it.
Watching This
- Warrior (Max): This show is on its 3rd season and I don't think anyone knows about it. Its fantastic. It's Wild West meets Kung Fu, but with rich character development. The history buff in me loves exploring late 1800s San Francisco through the eyes of the Chinese and Irish immigrants who have been pitted against each other in this capitalistic country. I love the history and character stories, my partner loves the incredible fight scenes. There's something for everyone.
- RHONY, Crappie Lake, and Below Deck Sailing Yacht S4 (Bravo): These three shows have given me life after Scandoval. They are fun and light and have me laughing out loud. If you follow me, you know I love to quote my reality tv. There is so much to learn about what NOT to do as a human.
Exploring This
- Restaurant Week NYC: If you are in NYC area, its Restaurant Week again. It gives me an excuse to get out of my usual neighborhood and check out a new restaurant. This week, we are exploring a restaurant AND a hotel. Somehow I've never been to The Beekman Hotel so I'm excited to see inside after seeing the renderings years ago while it was still being built.
- Cat Cafes: Did you know there are places you can go, pay $10 and get to play with a bunch of cute cats? Its magical. There's one here in Brooklyn that I go to when I need a cat fix, but I also stumbled into one in Santa Barbara two months ago when I was visiting. I bet there's one near you.
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