Is Happiness Required?

Between rushing to meetings, keeping up with your BlackBerry and finding Life/Work balance, even the toughest woman can feel overwhelmed. Even though you are generally upbeat, there are those days when cracking a smile is practically impossible. And guess what? It’s OK!

“There’s too much pressure on women to always be positive and this expectation makes us feel guiltier if we are not,” Eileen Lebowitz, life coach and author tells PINK. “I am from an era when a woman went to the doctor and regardless of her complaints, they wrote out a prescription for Valium.” Leibowitz says women are fed up with squelching how they really feel – or putting on a fake smile.

A better alternative, says Leibowitz, is to get in touch with your feelings and identify them. It can help you stay authentic and become more honest with yourself about who you are, and what you need to be genuinely happy and fulfilled – both in life and in your career.

Often we don’t count our blessings, but we do count our losses. Bella Online says that focusing on daily accomplishments and learning from failures can increase awareness of your strengths and weaknesses.

If you feel burned out or depressed, give yourself some well deserved “me” time to relax, re-energize and do the things you love the most. It will improve your mood and make you more effective at work.

Bonus PINK Link: Your daily habits can lead to happiness. Here’s how.

NEW! You can now comment on Little PINK Books – let us know what you think!

By Muriel Vega

“If only we’d stop trying to be happy we’d have a pretty good time.” Edith Wharton