A successful career doesn't always lead to a happier life

When you talk to them, yes, many feel good about their overall situation. But many others I speak to don't find what they do to be very fulfilling. They don't even like what they do that much. It's their job. How they make their living. They don't feel engaged doing what they do, let alone any passion for it. As a result, they don't feel that good about their life or positive about their future either. The older they get the more they feel this way.

But people who enjoy their career tend to have a much more positive view of things. They're more motivated and energetic in their approach to things. They feel greater fulfillment and satisfaction. These all have a big impact on how you feel about your life, overall. Here's why.

1)    Hard to feel good when you don't enjoy what you do – Fulfillment. Meaning. Passion. Do you believe these are important to the success you seek in life? If so, then feeling happy about your career is going to be quite important.

Doing something you don't enjoy affects your state of mind, attitude, and way you feel about many things in your life. I mean, how do you feel successful if for half your waking hours you're doing something you don't care that much about?

2)    What looks good doesn't always feel good – This describes exactly my first job. I wasn't a superstar by any means, but I got regular promotions in the company I worked for. So you could say that my career was going well.

When people found out what I did, they'd say, “Wow, you work for Mattel (the world's #1 toy company)!” Or, “You design toys for a living? That's so cool!” But I never felt the same way about my situation as they did. Because I had little real interest in what I did, I felt far from happy about my life. Instead, I often felt empty and uninspired. Although I was immature back then, I knew that my life shouldn't feel like this. I should feel excited about my future. But I didn't.

3)    Your career affects how you view other things - Pursuing and doing what you enjoy completely changes how you view things. When I started doing something I enjoyed, it changed how I viewed myself. It changed how I did things, and the type of success I sought for myself. This greater fulfillment I felt in my career influenced many other aspects of my life. I became more hardworking and purposeful towards everything I did.

Perhaps you won't become rich doing what you enjoy most. But hopefully, you'll be successful enough financially doing it. And you'll view and measure your success in other ways that are meaningful to you.

4)    Doing what you enjoy is the key to greater success - Many people have it backwards. When they see an energetic, happy person who is successful, they think his happiness is a result of his success. The person makes a lot of money, is respected, and has more control over his situation. Of course, he's happy!

But for the most successful people I know, the biggest reason for their success is that they're doing something that they genuinely enjoy. They're more dedicated and engaged. They work harder because they want to become very good at what they do. Imagine what you could achieve if you woke up feeling a similar way each day.

More career choices are available today than ever before

Of course, a successful career is always your first objective. You need to be able to provide for your family and future. But times have changed. We live in an amazing time and place of growth and opportunities. For many people today, pursuing and doing something that you genuinely enjoy is also well within your ability to achieve. In fact, it even makes sense for you to do this if you want to have a more successful career, and life.