You’ll never find peace of mind (even if you change your job) until you listen to your heart

Beginning of a year is usually the perfect timing for thinking about the events of the past year and a year ahead of us. It is an opportunity to do things differently and start over. The new year gives us new hope to reach goals we have set and realized promises we made to ourselves. We are thinking about things we should stop doing and things we should start doing. It’s time to leave some things behind and prepare ourselves for a better year ahead. We are asking ourselves about our happiness, because in general – we all want to be happy.

There’s long-term happiness and short-term happiness – it depends what happiness means to us. We can be happy in a short-term if we make compromises between the different key parts of life. But we are all looking for this long-term happiness – a positive and balanced relationship with ourselves. Long-term happiness is not something that you achieve and then check off your list. It’s an ongoing journey.

Most of us get distracted by short-term happiness (doing things we like – spending time with our friends and family, traveling, sports, parties). While long-term happiness is a constant process of being self-aware and truthful about yourself, adjusting your priorities to make time for what’s important to you and to constantly refocusing on what inspires you. It is a complicated journey and a struggle to stay on the path. We all must be aware that obstacles and a feeling of insecurity are just part of the process. It’s important not to forget about a child inside you, who had this big dream about what he/she will become when he/she will grow up. We all had a pretty clear vision of ourselves in our childhood, so we must take some time to stop and feel what we really dreamed about and what gives us that thrill that we’re all longing for.

Unfortunately, we’re caught in a pre-programmed life, which is moving so fast that we have forgotten about our priorities and what’s even worse… we have forgotten about ourselves and what truly makes us happy. We’re becoming these human robots obsessed with timing, but not present with our hearts and consequently not satisfied with our life. And that calls for a change. Actually, pursuing our heartfelt desires is the most fulfilling and exciting thing that we can do for ourselves. So, don’t wait or give up… go for it!

It’s also the time of the year when many people start thinking about looking for a new job or possibility of a new career path. If we’re not satisfied with our current job situation, it’s definitely time to at least explore the options. After all, changing career paths can help us grow, not only professionally, but also personally. It’s very important that we create life-work balance. We must listen to ourselves, and the first step is to envision it. It’s easier to reach a goal if we first visualise reaching it.

It’s much easier to discover your inner happiness when you’re doing something that you love on a daily basis. It doesn’t always have to be for monetary reasons – many people are happy just because they are part of a bigger picture or because they get to impact the lives of other people in a positive manner. We need to take charge of ourselves and become the person we always wanted to be. It’s also important that we don’t allow the fear of underachieving to hold us back. We need to set our goals high because we can achieve anything we put our mind to.

Therefore, try to find your passion again and open to new opportunities which can help you realize it… It will motivate you to achieve more and make you feel alive still. Every little thing you do for yourself is your small victory, leading you to the path of happiness. Once you feel happy with your current life and your current self, also your future will shape positively. It’s totally up to you.

So ask yourself – Is this the life you always wanted to live? Is this the best version of who you wanted to be? Because when you start listening to your heart, you start feeling better, you start looking better, and you start attracting better things. It all starts with you.

Romana Kovács – Managing Director InterSearch Slovenia
Aleksandra Jerina – Operations Manager InterSearch Slovenia