According to a study in the US, clergy top the list of 10 Happiest Jobs, (ht eChurch blog), just pipping firefighters, teachers and authors. There are quite a lot of marketing and IT - related jobs in the 'most hated' top 10.
Do I agree? well, here's a few things I love about my job....
1. I'm doing what I enjoy, and getting paid for it.
2. Being involved at many key points in people's lives, beginnings, endings, new relationships, and getting to help people mark, celebrate and make sense of what's going on.
3. Seeing people discover the reality of God and the love of Jesus, sometimes over several years, but having the dog collar is often a way in to some fascinating and potentially life-changing conversations. It's amazing to get the chance to do something of such significance.
4. Flexibility: there's the chance to focus on what I do well, and (I'm blessed in being part of a very good team at a local church) to let others do the things I don't do that well.
5. We're not paid that much, and your house is chosen for you. That takes me out of a whole load of worry about housing choice and costs, and trying to find satisfaction in possessions rather than in quality of life and relationships.
6. Working from home means I get to see my kids whilst they're still awake, and don't have lots of traffic and stress to put up with.
7. Variety: an average day can take in a funeral, a new baby, a mission strategy meeting, and hooking up with people in several different setttings. It's possible to get jaded if you don't look after yourself, but it's impossible to get bored.
8. I get the chance to use most of my gifts in one way or another, and to do stuff that I'm passionate about. There are lots of jobs out there that are pretty hard to do with a passion: they pay the bills, and that's it. I honestly can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing.
There are downsides: I've only a finite amount of adrenaline and most weeks it seems to get used up, there are situations every week which cause me massive stress, at times there's a big cost to family life. Happy? yes, but there's more to it than simply happiness: calling, fulfilment, purpose, identity, significance, God, the happiness is just a by-product.
Update: I did actually do a short spell in marketing before ordination, for Clarks shoes, and it was one of the better departments in the company to work in. Some of the experiences from there were quite helpful post-ordination, and some of the marketing folk were fairly decent. Just in case you think I have a total downer on it!
Showing posts with label happiness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label happiness. Show all posts
Monday, September 19, 2011
Monday, September 21, 2009
If it Makes You Happy...
Missed at the time: an experiment to see what makes us happy, by psychologist Richard Wisemen. 26000 people took part, and tried 4 different exercises, plus a control group who were just asked to think about the previous day.
People who were asked to relive a happy memory scored 15 per cent better than the control group on the mood questionnaire at the end of the test. Those who thought about an aspect of their lives for which they were grateful scored 8 per cent above the control group. Those who forced their face into a smile did 6 per cent better. The surprise was found in the group asked to perform small acts of kindness, such as giving a small gift or complimenting a friend. While their mood also improved, their scores went up by 9 per cent less than the control group
tie-in website here, which explains a bit more. Not sure whether that's good news or not: does it give the lie to claims that altruistic acts are simply self-gratifying (because they make us feel good, and that's why we do them), or is it bad news that self-centred routes to happiness are more effective than those centred on others?
The overall finding though, must be that reflecting on what's going on is good for you - whether you're thinking about the previous day, acting in the opposite spirit to your mood, consciously thinking of others, or identifying things to be thankful for. The unreflected life is not only not worth living, it's also more miserable.
via Christian Research's monthly research bulletin, available from admin@christian-research.org.uk
People who were asked to relive a happy memory scored 15 per cent better than the control group on the mood questionnaire at the end of the test. Those who thought about an aspect of their lives for which they were grateful scored 8 per cent above the control group. Those who forced their face into a smile did 6 per cent better. The surprise was found in the group asked to perform small acts of kindness, such as giving a small gift or complimenting a friend. While their mood also improved, their scores went up by 9 per cent less than the control group
tie-in website here, which explains a bit more. Not sure whether that's good news or not: does it give the lie to claims that altruistic acts are simply self-gratifying (because they make us feel good, and that's why we do them), or is it bad news that self-centred routes to happiness are more effective than those centred on others?
The overall finding though, must be that reflecting on what's going on is good for you - whether you're thinking about the previous day, acting in the opposite spirit to your mood, consciously thinking of others, or identifying things to be thankful for. The unreflected life is not only not worth living, it's also more miserable.
via Christian Research's monthly research bulletin, available from admin@christian-research.org.uk
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
There is probably no God: so start worrying.
A new advertising campaign will be running the slogans 'There is probably no God, now stop worrying and enjoy life' on the side of London buses. (HT Dave Walker).
The Beeb report quotes Richard Dawkins:
Professor Dawkins said: "Religion is accustomed to getting a free ride - automatic tax breaks, unearned respect and the right not to be offended, the right to brainwash children.
"Even on the buses, nobody thinks twice when they see a religious slogan plastered across the side. This campaign to put alternative slogans on London buses will make people think - and thinking is anathema to religion."
'Accustomed to getting a free ride' says the Oxford academic who gets a prime time TV slot for his anti-religious propaganda.
'Unearned respect' - sure, if you discount founding the school system, hospitals, welfare state, care for orphans and the homeless, not to mention several Premier league football clubs, and most of the founding fathers of modern science.
'The right to brainwash children' - really? Scientific evidence please, Mr Dawkins, you've obviously not heard of the national curriculum.
'thinking is anathema to religion' - it may be anathema to certain campaigning atheists (did you read your own book reviews?), but that's just insulting nonsense. Most great thinkers have been people of religious faith, several were strongly motivated by their religion to 'think God's thoughts after him'.
And as for that slogan: who is actually worrying because they believe there is a God? What research there is seems to show that people of faith have longer and happier lives, and are more content with their lot, than those without. It's more a counsel of despair to claim that this is all there is, that your life has no greater purpose or meaning, and that you are the product of random chance plus time and nothing more, and that survival of the fittest is the only 'moral' system which goes with the grain of the universe. If you get run down by one of those buses, tough, you clearly were too stupid or slow to react not to get ejected from the gene pool.
The original idea actually makes a bit of sense: a Guardian writer who saw Bible verses on buses and found that the advertised website told her she'd burn in hell if she didn't accept Jesus. The thing is, if this is so off-putting, you don't actually need adverts for atheism. I'm pretty sceptical about Bible verses in public myself, especially if they're from the King James version. The Alpha 'questions' campaign is much better, and somewhere in the middle is the 'Billboards from God' that ran in the US a few years ago.
The Beeb report quotes Richard Dawkins:
Professor Dawkins said: "Religion is accustomed to getting a free ride - automatic tax breaks, unearned respect and the right not to be offended, the right to brainwash children.
"Even on the buses, nobody thinks twice when they see a religious slogan plastered across the side. This campaign to put alternative slogans on London buses will make people think - and thinking is anathema to religion."
'Accustomed to getting a free ride' says the Oxford academic who gets a prime time TV slot for his anti-religious propaganda.
'Unearned respect' - sure, if you discount founding the school system, hospitals, welfare state, care for orphans and the homeless, not to mention several Premier league football clubs, and most of the founding fathers of modern science.
'The right to brainwash children' - really? Scientific evidence please, Mr Dawkins, you've obviously not heard of the national curriculum.
'thinking is anathema to religion' - it may be anathema to certain campaigning atheists (did you read your own book reviews?), but that's just insulting nonsense. Most great thinkers have been people of religious faith, several were strongly motivated by their religion to 'think God's thoughts after him'.
And as for that slogan: who is actually worrying because they believe there is a God? What research there is seems to show that people of faith have longer and happier lives, and are more content with their lot, than those without. It's more a counsel of despair to claim that this is all there is, that your life has no greater purpose or meaning, and that you are the product of random chance plus time and nothing more, and that survival of the fittest is the only 'moral' system which goes with the grain of the universe. If you get run down by one of those buses, tough, you clearly were too stupid or slow to react not to get ejected from the gene pool.
The original idea actually makes a bit of sense: a Guardian writer who saw Bible verses on buses and found that the advertised website told her she'd burn in hell if she didn't accept Jesus. The thing is, if this is so off-putting, you don't actually need adverts for atheism. I'm pretty sceptical about Bible verses in public myself, especially if they're from the King James version. The Alpha 'questions' campaign is much better, and somewhere in the middle is the 'Billboards from God' that ran in the US a few years ago.
Monday, May 12, 2008
A new bit of applied theology published today by a group of Christian MP's, in what seems to be a 2-pronged effort:
- to look in detail at what we mean by 'wellbeing' and quality of life, and provide an explicitly Christian response and content to the debate.
- to demonstrate that Christians can say positive things in the public square, to counteract our public image of just being opposed to stuff.
Report in the Times, and comment by Ruth Gledhill. Here's an excerpt from the blurb on the report:
Despite unprecedented levels of legislation, welfare and material wealth in the UK, this country faces significant challenges about human well-being that politicians alone cannot solve. This report sets out some of these challenges and concludes that the absence of certain key values is the primary cause of so much discontent.
Our solutions do not involve more law or higher taxes but rather a call to re-examine the decisions taken in every sector of society in the light of crucial life-challenging principles.
These principles are set out as five defining questions:
This report sets the challenge of applying these questions before any new action is taken. This document does not form a call to arms, a summons to muster around some new set of top-down policies. Rather it is a call to hope, an invitation for all stakeholders in our nation’s future to something new, something fresh, a positive, hopeful working towards a brighter future.
It's a realistic and refreshingly positive bit of work, as well as an extended theological reflection on 'love your neighbour as yourself'. A healthy society is more than one that is either prosperous or physically well, just as there is more to a healthy church than one which is outwardly 'succesful'. In fact both the report, and the recent literature on growing healthy churches (also here), work from the same premise: if you focus on health, the other results you're looking for (whether a better and happier society or a growing church) happen as byproducts.
The link between happiness and faith has been noted by, among others, Richard Layard, and the Royal Economic Society.
- to look in detail at what we mean by 'wellbeing' and quality of life, and provide an explicitly Christian response and content to the debate.
- to demonstrate that Christians can say positive things in the public square, to counteract our public image of just being opposed to stuff.
Report in the Times, and comment by Ruth Gledhill. Here's an excerpt from the blurb on the report:
Despite unprecedented levels of legislation, welfare and material wealth in the UK, this country faces significant challenges about human well-being that politicians alone cannot solve. This report sets out some of these challenges and concludes that the absence of certain key values is the primary cause of so much discontent.
Our solutions do not involve more law or higher taxes but rather a call to re-examine the decisions taken in every sector of society in the light of crucial life-challenging principles.
These principles are set out as five defining questions:
- Does my action encourage people to develop positive relationships in their families and
communities? - Is my action socially and globally responsible?
- Does my action promote a climate of trust and hope?
- Does my action promote self-esteem and respect for others?
- Does my action encourage people to fulfil their God given potential?
This report sets the challenge of applying these questions before any new action is taken. This document does not form a call to arms, a summons to muster around some new set of top-down policies. Rather it is a call to hope, an invitation for all stakeholders in our nation’s future to something new, something fresh, a positive, hopeful working towards a brighter future.
It's a realistic and refreshingly positive bit of work, as well as an extended theological reflection on 'love your neighbour as yourself'. A healthy society is more than one that is either prosperous or physically well, just as there is more to a healthy church than one which is outwardly 'succesful'. In fact both the report, and the recent literature on growing healthy churches (also here), work from the same premise: if you focus on health, the other results you're looking for (whether a better and happier society or a growing church) happen as byproducts.
The link between happiness and faith has been noted by, among others, Richard Layard, and the Royal Economic Society.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)