Striving to be Happy

Happiness comes from within.  When creating software for a living there are many times that I would rather be coding in a different language, designing a different app or at home with my slippers on an a Hot cocoa when working on my computer.  But most of the time I'm not.  I get paid for creating programs that others need, in the language that the project requires and in a place that is not my home.

So how can I stay happy?  Well, first I get paid, but more than that, they appreciate what I can provide for them and this provides me with much happiness.  This takes me a long way, but not all the way all of the time.

I need variety, new knowledge and something I can call my own.  For software developers, our applications, our code has a limited lifespan.  Sometimes we will work on a project and it's never used.  We will have worked on a project for months or even a year and it's thrown away.   Other times our code lives for a few years, to be replaced when needs change or it gets re-written.  We never really get the sense of benefits to the users.  We can feel out of touch.  I'm sure most users would never even think of the lives of the developers that created their applications (except when there are bugs) and what they put into it.

So what are we to do?  We do nothing.  We change jobs.  We slow down at work.  We try to change the language we use at work.  We try to change the process we use at work.  We get depressed.  We yell at others.  We do all sorts of things, that from an outside perspective, are not beneficial to us or others around us.

There is no one right answer to making yourself happy, but each person needs to look at themselves and ask themselves what would make them happy.  This can take lots of time, but it's only something that you can answer.

Forcing others to switch languages or process to make you happy should not be high on the list.   You would not want others telling you what to do to make them happy, so why should you?

Changing jobs may work, if (make sure it's the right if), this is truly what will make you happy and not just a pattern of change.  I've been in positions where it appears the company is really working hard to make their employees un-happy.

Slowing down and doing less (or worse) at work may be a self fulling prophecy, so you feel you have to leave.  It's hard to see how that would make anyone happy.

It can be hard not to strike out at others when your not happy.  But understand that this is a sympton and not a cure.

I'm still striving on what makes me happy.  I work on it all the time.  I find that focusing on small accomplishments are a big win.  I have a number of side projects going on that are not meant to bring in much value other that to make me happy.  Some I know I will never finish, others may only take one hour, but they make me happy and that suites me fine.

At work I find pleasure in finishing some aspect of what I'm working on.  It could be a design, a feature, a bug or talking with a co-worker and understanding how something works (talking to others is under rated).  It's the small things for me.  I don't worry too much about the bigger issues as they tend to get smaller as I attend to the smaller aspects.

In the end, I find I can be happy with small aspects of life.  If I look at all that is going around the world, then that is when I get over whelmed with it all.