It’s Monday August 11th 2008, 10 days after our first app was published at the iTunes App Store. Before that date I had somehow been living under the stupid illusion that after it was once published life would get quieter. It didn’t. Starting last Sunday, Elli and I have been working virtually around the clock for the last week. On Friday we finally got to upload the badly needed update, and only then did we take some time off to relax and “smell the roses”.
And in this week of superhard work I learned something pretty useful:
There is a reason why some people happily work 60-hour weeks while others can hardly stand working a 38 hour minimum working time, even if it’s at one of the greatest companies ever.
You know that verse about humans being created to the image of G-d? Many scholars have put forward their interpretation, some explaining this special relation as one of humans having free will, others as one of humans having a soul just like their Creator.
Maybe there is more than one aspect to it. The aspect I would like to point out is that humans too have the capability to create something. (Sure, our resources are limited, but hey, we’re still doing pretty well for being an image!)
In recent years there has been a lot of talk about “GTD”, “Getting Things Done“. But of course, getting things done can only be the first, albeit non negotiable, step in achieving happiness.
Once you got things done and everything is in its order, do the second step: Create something.
My experience is that if you meet unhappy people and ask them “What are you creating? What are you engaged in?” you will reliably receive a blank stare, usually accompanied by some pseudo-smart cynical comment.
On the other hand, when you meet happy people, they are reliably engaged in creating something beautiful that they consider meaningful and have talent for. This can be some crazy business project, it can be searching for the perfect coffee brew as employee or owner of a private coffee shop.
I think it boils down to this: Create something beautiful, and the rest will follow. (And if it don’t, well, at least you created something beautiful!)
What are you creating?
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Holger 08.11.08 at 5:44 pm
I’m creating a persistence layer for the application i showed you last week. And am really happy about it.
In general i think creating makes happy, if your creation is an expression of yourself. Creating against your ideas, values, emotions etc. does not make happy. So a very important part is that you are able to decide what you do.