On being happy (the anti-self help post)

Toward the end of August, Tara Gentile sent the following question out into the universe.

Is the work you're doing today the kind of work you want to be known for?
— Tara Gentile (@taragentile) August 29, 2013

My heart screamed 'hell yeah'; however, before I could hit reply, I stopped myself.

I can't write that. People will think I'm humblebragging. Everyone on the Internet seems to hate their job and wants to escape the "9-to-5". Who am I to love my work? No one wants to hear about you feeling good about what you do.

Thankfully, my tough, sassy side prevailed and said screw that.

Sometimes I feel like the Internet is filled with people on the verge of midlife/quarterlife crises, writing about the need to compete with people's seemingly perfect online lives, Facebook depression, escaping their cubicle jobs working for the man, finding themselves, blogging burnout, etc. Trust me, I get it. I do. But, it's crazy to think that I should feel guilty about loving my job and that I want to keep kicking butt and taking names. No more!

Marianne Williamson says it best...

"...We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in all of us. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same."

I may not make a lot of money, but I thank God every day for allowing me to do what I do. Even on the shittiest, most stressful of days, I know the challenges keep me sharp and creative and that I get to make a positive impact in the world. When one of my big projects wrapped up a couple of years ago, I got a little teary (I get a little teary a lot) because I realized that, if I were to die right then, I would be okay. I'd seen something through to completion. I'd done something* to change the world for the better. That felt a bit like freedom.

It's not about bragging. It's about being thankful, joyous. It's about showing others that it's okay to be happy.

So, yeah, the work I'm doing is something I'm happy to be known for.

What work are you proud of that you want to shout from the rooftops?

*This isn't to say that I'm complacent or don't dream of bigger, better, more. Far from it!