美文：朝九晚五真的是工作的意義嗎

If you read one more article on happiness in the workplace, you're going to lose it.

有人說：那些教你如何開心工作的文章，你只會更加不開心。

For you, it's different. You need to continue in your current job because your spouse is still in school, you're building the skills you need to move to the next level, or you want to make a dent in that mountainous student loan debt. Eventually, you'll start searching for a job you love — but right now, you're stuck.

但你的境地卻不允許你去追求所謂的工作幸福感。你們中的大多數(shù)也許正面臨這樣的困窘：你的配偶正在讀研或讀博，你不得不得不靠這份工作供她讀書;又或者你只是想在這個公司歷練一番，以為以后的工作生涯打下基礎(chǔ);還有的想要通過工作以減輕巨額助學(xué)債務(wù)。

For now, getting through each day is a battle: work that isn't interesting, co-workers who make you batty, a boss who doesn't seem to have a clue how to manage people. All this advice about being happy at work seems like a big fat pile of bull hockey that simply doesn't apply to you.

然而，你會發(fā)現(xiàn)盡管你每天努力地想要維持生活的美滿平靜、但卻是如此的不易：工作并不是想象中那么輕松有趣。你總是會遇到讓你抓狂的同事，或是不善管理的老板。那么跟你大談特談幸福工作無疑如同叫公牛曲棍球隊(duì)用一團(tuán)豬肉來比賽一樣。

Sound familiar?

這一切聽起來是不是很熟悉?

If so, I have some good news. Yes, happiness is one form of life satisfaction — but finding meaning is another.

倘若如此，那么我為你們帶來了好消息。誠然，幸福是生活滿意度的一項(xiàng)指標(biāo)——但是，追尋生活的意義同樣可以給你帶來幸福感。

Sometimes, we assume that finding meaning is all about saving the world, feeding the hungry, or housing the homeless. But it's not limited to that. Psychologist Todd Hall defines meaningful work as "work that contributes to the well-being of others in a way that uniquely expresses and defines who we are."

然而，我們總是覺得只有拯救世界、幫助饑民或是為流離失所的人提供住所那樣的偉大事業(yè)才算得上是有意義的工作。但是生活的意義應(yīng)該不僅局限于此，著名心理學(xué)家Todd Hall曾把有意義的工作定義為“一項(xiàng)有意義的工作應(yīng)當(dāng)能夠給別人帶來幸福感，同時我們也能從找到自己存在的價值和成就感。”

Here are some ways to find that meaning in your work — even if you think your job is a soul-sucking black hole of boredom.

然而，即使你認(rèn)為你現(xiàn)在的工作只會讓你的靈魂腐爛、精神枯竭，你也可以通過以下幾種方法，找尋到工作的意義。

1. Know your why

1. 知道自己為什么想要做這份工作

No matter your situation, you're at your current job for a reason. Maybe you need the income to save for a house for your growing family, or maybe there's an illness in your family and you absolutely must have the medical coverage that job provides.

無論你現(xiàn)在的境遇是好是壞，你都必須要清楚你為什么要從事現(xiàn)在的工作。也許你的家庭剛有新成員降臨，你不得不因此供房子;又或者你家有人生了重病，你必須要靠此工作的醫(yī)療保險來減輕負(fù)擔(dān)。

And there's beauty in that: That means while you're at work, you're contributing to the well-being of others. Your commitment to accomplishing those financial goals, supporting your family, or enabling that medical care is vital to your life and the lives of the people you care about.

但是工作之美也在于此：你努力工作，是為了給他人帶來富足生活。你用你的行動表明你的經(jīng)濟(jì)條件可以支撐家庭，或是借此你可以通過醫(yī)療保險幫助至關(guān)重要的家人。

You may not be absolutely delighted at work every day, but that doesn't mean there's no higher purpose in what you're doing. In fact, researchers have identified that deeply meaningful lives can also be characterized by stress, struggle, and challenges.

誠然，讓一個人每天都開開心心地上班不太切合實(shí)際，但并不意味著你便不能向更高的目標(biāo)努力。有趣的是，研究表明，壓力、奮斗種種挑戰(zhàn)同樣可以促成珍貴而意義非凡的人生。

So, take a moment to jot down all the reasons why you work. On those days when you get down about your job situation, reflect on your deeper purpose for being there.

因此，假若你肯停下步伐，細(xì)細(xì)思量是什么促使你從事這份工作，你便會發(fā)現(xiàn)，其實(shí)這一切還并不算太糟，而你所遭遇的不過是為了抵達(dá)你更偉大的目標(biāo)。

2. Express your human goodness

2. 傳遞美德

"Character strengths" are virtues, such as creativity, honesty, kindness, social intelligence, or gratitude, that allow you to express goodness and help yourself and others. Finding and expressing your unique character strengths can fill your life with more meaning and satisfaction.

一個人的人格優(yōu)勢包含很多方面，它可以是創(chuàng)造力、誠信、善良、情商，也可以是一顆感恩的心，通過它，你不斷地傳遞你的美德并幫助他人。趕緊發(fā)現(xiàn)你身上的這些閃光點(diǎn)并將它們發(fā)揚(yáng)光大以點(diǎn)亮你的人生吧!

If you're not sure what your character strengths are, take this quick survey to discover them. Then, focus on learning how to use your strengths to inspire and encourage those around you.

如果你不太清楚你的人格魅力到底在何處，那就通過這項(xiàng)快速調(diào)查來發(fā)現(xiàn)它們吧!然后再慢慢學(xué)習(xí)如果利用你的優(yōu)勢不斷激勵和鼓舞你身邊那些需要幫助的人。

For example, if one of your top character strengths is kindness, you can bring that to your workplace by, say, performing one random act of kindness each day. Bring your co-worker an unexpected coffee, for example, or share some bakery treats with your team.

比如說，你最大的有點(diǎn)就是善良，那么你就可以把它運(yùn)用到你的職場中，隨時隨地表達(dá)善意，為你的同事捎上一杯咖啡，或是面包店的蛋糕。

By doing this, you'll find meaning from an intrinsic perspective — in other words, from what's already inside of you — rather than expecting your job to create and deliver a sense of happiness to you from the outside.

這樣，你就會發(fā)現(xiàn)工作的意義的真諦所在——換言之，你通過你自身內(nèi)在的美好品質(zhì)為你自己帶來幸福感，而這種幸福感是工作期望所不及的。

3. Connect the dots

3. 展望未來

When you're in a job that you don't enjoy, you probably find the situation absolutely infuriating — why are you stuck in this mess?

當(dāng)你并不喜歡現(xiàn)在的工作并對現(xiàn)在的境遇剛到不滿時，你有沒有想過你為什么還要繼續(xù)深陷于此呢?

But instead of dwelling on the frustration of the current situation, find meaning by connecting your past, present, and future.

你應(yīng)該停止對現(xiàn)狀的耿耿于懷，回首從今，展望未來。

Reflect on a past situation that was difficult — one you were able to overcome after a whole lot of stress and struggle. Maybe it was completing your degree and suffering through that first eye-opening internship, or perhaps it was bumbling through endless networking events before you felt confident working a room.

試著去回憶過去的辛酸史——你會記得你曾經(jīng)是如何掙扎與奮斗后戰(zhàn)勝了困難的。這可能是你歷經(jīng)種種困難終于取得了學(xué)位，或是在人生中第一份實(shí)習(xí)工作中的種種遭遇，亦或是你在人脈關(guān)系網(wǎng)中跌爬打滾許久終于能夠自信的說可以辦好每一件事。

In the moment, these were probably tough situations — but now that they're in the past, you can look back and see how it eventually turned into something good, whether it was a better job, boosted confidence, or a well-connected network.

而你現(xiàn)在處的，那些糟糕的經(jīng)歷，不過就是你過去所經(jīng)歷過的種種。然而你在很早之前就可以戰(zhàn)勝并克服它們了，如今的你更加堅強(qiáng)、自信，人脈豐富，難道還不能解決這些問題嗎?

Now, imagine a future where you will no longer be in a job you despise, where you'll be able to continue pursuing your goals, and where you'll finally have a career that provides both meaning and happiness. Your current situation will get you there eventually — you just have to be patient.

而未來，如果你不再從事這份讓你深惡痛絕的工作，那么你還怎么能繼續(xù)追求你的目標(biāo)、夢想，怎么最終成就一番大事業(yè)，為自己和家人帶來幸福感呢?不要著急，最終你一定會抵達(dá)你所追求的一切，實(shí)現(xiàn)你所有的夢想，而你現(xiàn)在要做的，就是保持耐心與忍耐。

By reflecting on the past and connecting it to the future, you can make your present unhappiness circumstance more bearable.

通過回首過往、總結(jié)得失，并展望未來，你會發(fā)現(xiàn)你現(xiàn)在的一切不滿都是值得的。

As quirky as it seems, sometimes we really benefit from challenging, stressful, and, yes, even unhappy situations. Try these three strategies to look at your work life through a new lens, and realize that by creating meaning, you can also create job satisfaction.

生活誠如它所展現(xiàn)的那樣光怪陸離，而我們也常常會因?yàn)楦鞣N挑戰(zhàn)、壓力和不滿而受益匪淺。而現(xiàn)在對工作不滿并準(zhǔn)備放棄的你，如果能夠閱讀并嘗試我在文中所談及的這三條，那么也許你的生活便會走上一條新的軌道，你會發(fā)現(xiàn)你所錯過的美景，也會明白你所錯過的美好的事物，你會發(fā)現(xiàn)人生的意義，創(chuàng)造并實(shí)現(xiàn)自己的工作滿意感。