Update: August 2026
This post was from last year. Happiness, right? It’s still important, not to forget it. I’m going to update this post today with a few extras, in the below original.
Joy, happiness, purpose, and life-work balance are some of the popular topics people I read will write about. This seems to be something that is evergreen content for many because, I guess, people are always asking themselves, ‘Is this what I really want?’ Many career-oriented friends and acquaintances, especially, that I have known over the years will sacrifice a lot to build careers. I always wonder how they feel about it, afterwards, but we usually disconnect due to people getting really busy with ‘work’. ‘Crazy busy’ is something I remember hearing often and thought, ‘What does that mean?’ Maybe because DK is a freelance, boutique studio with just a handful of clients, I can’t feel like I can relate. I think it comes down to priorities.
So, in this post, I want to talk about this.
‘But don’t forget this,’ someone told me. This was a youthful architect. I wish I could say it was a fun interview but it was not yielding any new or insightful information for most of an hour and I was wrapping up when he said it. Then I paused, and really listened. It was the end of our shared time together and this was when the honest part of the conversation finally made it to the open.
I think it is tough for people I interview in Southeast Asia to speak in a way that is frank, and not worry about sounding ‘polished’. Most of my interviews aren’t worth writing up, because of this. Which is why despite having been here for such a while, I am not able to write up many stories that feel completely honest, raw or real. It might be time to pack up, actually. Start somewhere else, with, I hope, a more open society that lets themselves speak freely.
But at the time I wrote this post, it felt still hopeful that I could write about what I heard that was curious, and cool. One of the lines from the original version of this was:
‘The other day, at a place that was not too crowded but not as airy as I would have wanted, me being me, and being cautious. The pandemic isn’t over. I don’t want to get sick. But I went along, because I was curious….’
Intangibles: satisfaction, joy
This is how it went, from there…
There are many things people want when they are starting out and dreaming big, with a new enterprise. They want fame, recognition, money, investors, accolades, referrals. All that. I know. I was one of these young ambitious people, once.
‘But don’t forget your happiness,’ someone I had met recently said that someone he met recently had told him. That made me think about it, all over again. About the ‘why’ of doing any job, anywhere, for any sum of money. You are, after all, selling your time.
What can human resource teams do for their employees to keep them engaged? What about recruiting?
Keeping talent is tough, now. I will cite things another day, but you know, and I know, that we all have been through so much with remote work, layoffs, and changes of circumstances. What are you going to do differently in 2023?
Whatever it is, I wish you well.
But don’t forget your happiness.
Figuring out the big question, ‘Who am I?’