Okay, feeling bored @ the apt. this lovely friday evening, so I read this Newsweek article (9/16/02) titled, "The Science of Happiness." In a nutshell, this article asks if a difference approach to psychology can lead us to the good life, a life of happiness.... and i read a wonderful thing:
"People living in extrem poverty are, on avg., less happy than those whose basic needs are met. But once we cross that threshold, greater wealth stops amking life richer. ... In American, notes Hipe College psychologist David Myers, real income has doubled since 1960. We're twice as likely to own cars, a/c's and clothes dryers, twice as likely to eat out on any given night. Yet our divorce rate has doubled, teen suicide has tripled and depression has increased tenfold."

In addition to this article, is a sub-article, "How to See the Glass Half Full" -- with 3 life lessons in love, work and raising kids.... imma focus on work... II. Turn Work Into Play -- this portion distinguishes three kinds of "work orientation": a job, a career and a calling. You do a job for the paycheck @ the end of the week, and when the wage stops, you quit. A career entails a deeper personal investment in work. You makr your achievements thru money, prestige and power, and you move on when the promotions stop. Unlike a job or a career, a calling is a passionate commitment to work for its own sake. The effort you expend becomes its own reward, regardless of the money or status it brings. People with callings are consistently happier than those with mere jobs or careers. And if you think callings are only for artists, think again. Recent studies suggest that any line of work can rise to that level.
In one seminal study, researchers led by Amy Wrzesniewski of NYU studied 28 hospital cleaners. Some viewed their work as drudgery, but others had found ways to make it meaningful. The cleaners with a calling beleived strongly that they were helping patients get better...they timed themselves with efficiency, they prided themselves on anticipating the doctor's and nurses' needs. And they took interest in brightening the patients' days, whether by rearranging furniture or decorating the walls. Researchers have seen the same phenomenon among secretaries, engineers, nurses, kitchen workers and haircutters. The key to contentment, their studies suggest, isn't getting the perfect job but finding one you can make perfect thru the use of your own strengths.
Part of what turns a job into a calling is the states known as flow.
Flow - complete absorption in an activity whose challenges mesh perfectly with your abilites.

Ok..that's it for today.