How Important is it to feel Satisfied in Daily Life?
September 30, 2011
“…women placed a higher value on work that they found enjoyable and rewarding on a daily basis. They took satisfaction from the texture of their everyday experience rather than from seeing the present as a stepping stone to the future.” from a study conducted by Sally Helgesen in her fantastic book: “The Female Vision”
Daily satisfaction is important to wise women leaders! The quality of our days matters.
We also experience stress and adrenaline in a different way. Dr. Amy Arnsten, professor of neurobiology at Yale, notes that hormonal differences between male and female animals modulate the degree of stress individuals experience and determine their ability to cope with it’s effects. (p71, female vision)
Women leave high profile positions because of constant unproductive (can’t get the work done because of all the shenanigans) stress. Sally’s study showed that the most common phrase is, “It’s just not worth it!” This is a drain on company resources and a significant loss of talent. It’s also a tough decision for the woman who invested considerable time into reaching her management position.
While there are many circumstances that affect satisfaction levels that are harder to affect, we can do something about our own inner state.
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My research shows that just how satisfied you are with your life and work depends on two things:
A. How you design it (does it include things, people, events that are satisfying to you?)
B. How often you feel that you actually are feeling satisfied!
Try this for 5 days in a row:
1. Write down 5 elements that feel satisfying to you. Use your senses – what do you feel, smell, see, hear, right now that evoke a small simple smile?
2. Give texture, depth, dimension to your satisfied feelings. Strengthen the feeling and let it grow until it fills you.
3. Set an alarm to remind you to do this for 5 days.
4. Notice what changes.
5. Share your results with us all on our FB page!These steps will increase the spiral of your inner power and an a important paving stone into your wisest self.
1. Write down 5 elements that feel satisfying to you. Use your senses – what do you feel, smell, see, hear, right now that evoke a small simple smile?
2. Give texture, depth, dimension to your satisfied feelings. Strengthen the feeling and let it grow until it fills you.
3. Set an alarm to remind you to do this for 5 days.
4. Notice what changes.
5. Share your results with us all on our FB page!These steps will increase the spiral of your inner power and an a important paving stone into your wisest self.
One Comment
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Karen Wilhelm Buckley 
Dear Karen, I would say that it is extremely important for each one of us to feel satisfied with our lives. If we aren’t satisfied, what kind of lives are we living? Angry? Depressed? Repressed? Dissatisfied?
From what I can tell, there are what many of us agree are both positive and negative states of being. Most of us put love, happiness, joy, gratitude, appreciation of beauty on the positive side of the line, and we put violence, hate, meanness and all that ugly stuff on the negative side of the line.
However, as I thought about your question, I started asking myself “Why did she use the word “satisfied?'” I fully get it that I would much rather be satisfied than unsatisfied, but those aren’t the only two options available. If we are going to consider living a satisfied life, about about we aim higher than that? What about living a life that has such things as bliss, ecstasy, joy and other so-called higher states of being in it?
Years ago, I was in a room filled with assorted friends and teachers, and our #1 teacher asked “Hey, guys, what is it that makes me different from you?” We kicked that question around for awhile, and the answer we came up with was that he was enthusiastic about life all the time, and we weren’t.
The point of all this is that I think that simply being satisfied is a satisfying place to set the bar, but I’m also suggesting to you that we consider greater possibilities than that.
PS: Thank you for responding to that other post!