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A psychology class in which we talked about a theory of work satisfaction that included two categories. "Satisfiers" and "Dissatisfiers."
At first, everyone seemed to know exactly what these meant. And the class was ready and willing to make long lists of factors in each column. When we were done, and learned what the terms meant in terms of being "satisfied" with one's life at work, we discovered we were wrong MOST of the time.
Those things we thought would bring satisfaction failed to so so at all, or only provided transitory satisfaction. One is money, or more specifically, the compensation package. Giving an employee who is dissatisfied with their compensation more money or benefits or shorting the work week for the same pay and benefits isn't a Satisfier. It provides momentary feelings of success or recognition, but in short order, the employee will again be Dissatisfied with his or her compensation.
Another is the condition of the environment itself. A dirty environment without some things considered basic can lead to dissatisfaction on the job, but increasing the amenities beyond a certain is counter productive. These things can contribute to dissatisfaction but not to satisfaction.
So, I can look around my life and see that one of the things I've been doing lately is chasing the stuff on the wrong list. :) I keep looking for what will satisfy me and I keep grabbing for the things that are only transitory.
Don't get me wrong, here. A life filled with transitory pleasure is and can be a great life. But it better be pretty damn full on a consistent basis. :) It's something like being addicted to that rush. If one doesn't get one's fix pretty regularly, the withdrawal can be difficult. Even devastating.
I've been in withdrawal. I became rapidly addicted (as I tend to do) to certain pleasures during the last couple of years and I've been needing bigger and bigger hits to get the same level of satisfaction. Oops. )
So, I'm giving up chasing the Dissatifiers (at least for the moment) and I'm once again looking at what really brings satisfaction into my life.
And I'll tell this, for sure. It is not the things I don't have that bring me joy. :)
My writing is vague here on purpose. It is not vague in my mind. I know exactly what I've been chasing and why. I know exactly what I was making it mean about me as a human being. And, brother, it wasn't pretty. :)
What's it mean for the immediate future? Well, I'm not making any decisions until this has sit with me for a bit. But I don't really see much in the way of changing of environment for my future. I'm not moving out of Haven House, I'm not quiting cast and I'm not going to stop loving anyone. :)
But I expect the change will be noticeable.
One thing is for sure, though, when disappoint and dissatisfaction lands hard in one area of one's life, it resounds through all areas. In rapid order, those things that bring satisfaction to one's life can look a bit peaked. Simple joys become distractions. And people can occur (for me anyway) like a bunch of dirtbags with nothing to contribute even if I wanted anything they could think to offer. :)
Sigh.
At first, everyone seemed to know exactly what these meant. And the class was ready and willing to make long lists of factors in each column. When we were done, and learned what the terms meant in terms of being "satisfied" with one's life at work, we discovered we were wrong MOST of the time.
Those things we thought would bring satisfaction failed to so so at all, or only provided transitory satisfaction. One is money, or more specifically, the compensation package. Giving an employee who is dissatisfied with their compensation more money or benefits or shorting the work week for the same pay and benefits isn't a Satisfier. It provides momentary feelings of success or recognition, but in short order, the employee will again be Dissatisfied with his or her compensation.
Another is the condition of the environment itself. A dirty environment without some things considered basic can lead to dissatisfaction on the job, but increasing the amenities beyond a certain is counter productive. These things can contribute to dissatisfaction but not to satisfaction.
So, I can look around my life and see that one of the things I've been doing lately is chasing the stuff on the wrong list. :) I keep looking for what will satisfy me and I keep grabbing for the things that are only transitory.
Don't get me wrong, here. A life filled with transitory pleasure is and can be a great life. But it better be pretty damn full on a consistent basis. :) It's something like being addicted to that rush. If one doesn't get one's fix pretty regularly, the withdrawal can be difficult. Even devastating.
I've been in withdrawal. I became rapidly addicted (as I tend to do) to certain pleasures during the last couple of years and I've been needing bigger and bigger hits to get the same level of satisfaction. Oops. )
So, I'm giving up chasing the Dissatifiers (at least for the moment) and I'm once again looking at what really brings satisfaction into my life.
And I'll tell this, for sure. It is not the things I don't have that bring me joy. :)
My writing is vague here on purpose. It is not vague in my mind. I know exactly what I've been chasing and why. I know exactly what I was making it mean about me as a human being. And, brother, it wasn't pretty. :)
What's it mean for the immediate future? Well, I'm not making any decisions until this has sit with me for a bit. But I don't really see much in the way of changing of environment for my future. I'm not moving out of Haven House, I'm not quiting cast and I'm not going to stop loving anyone. :)
But I expect the change will be noticeable.
One thing is for sure, though, when disappoint and dissatisfaction lands hard in one area of one's life, it resounds through all areas. In rapid order, those things that bring satisfaction to one's life can look a bit peaked. Simple joys become distractions. And people can occur (for me anyway) like a bunch of dirtbags with nothing to contribute even if I wanted anything they could think to offer. :)
Sigh.