Well, now it’s 9 hours and a completely new Day 4.1 post.

In the interest of authenticity:

1. Yep, I think I hit most all of those, even if only for a fleeting moment.

2. As crazy as it sounds, the idea of solving a problem and learning something new overrides all else for me. Even at 3 am.

One of the things I’ve had to admit to myself is that I can skip a good party or a night’s sleep if I’m in the #2 zone.

Friends and family don’t always find it as fulfilling.

Clearly, they are wrong:-)

Thanks for the oh-so-complete probable narrative…

Thanks for taking the time to let me hear that…

You wrote, “Steve Roesler of All Things Workplace is searching for WordPress tutorials at 3 a.m. while the Chief Happines Officer is happily on holiday. ”

For me, above all else, this is an important key to happiness in the midst of change.

What goes on within an individual at this point, for me, is one major indication of where one is on the happiness-unhappiness continuum.

So, at 3 a.m., am I angry, hating, and blaming the Chief Happiness Officer (CHO) for not having told me how to upload a video? Am I angry and frustrated that I have to search for WordPress tutorials at 3 a.m.? Am I feeling like a little boy/girl, victimized, throwing a tantrum? Am I making a fuss, waking others because, “Dammit, if I have to be awake, then others will suffer with me!”? Why isn’t this working. Why does God (or…) hate me and cause me so much anguish. I feel so stupid, out of control, powerless…like a “nobody!”

Why did I agree to take this guest gig in the first place? If it’s not perfect, what will others think of me, especially the CHO? What might he be saying to his friends and colleagues about me. Will he ever ask me to guest again? What might other readers think? Even my spouse or partner?

And on and on and on…

Or…

Is it OK that it’s late? Yes. I’d rather be in bed, but it’s OK. Actually this is an adventure, an experiment, a chance to learn, and I really love this stuff, so it’s OK that’s it’s late. Actually, my body is experiencing fatigue; I can witness and observe it, but “I’m not tired.” I feel energized in spite of the fatigue…without the sugar, coffee, energy drink. I feel a sense of will, determination, strength, discipline and capacity to carry on.

I have this knowing, as I usually do in such circumstances, that it’ll be fine; it’ll work out. I’m not “bad or wrong” because I don’t understand everything in this moment, that “It’ll work out as it always does, maybe not perfect, but it will be fine.” I’m feekling very OK at the moment.

I’m learning something new that will come in handy as I move forward. I’m building capacity as part of this experience. If others have issues with how I do this and choose to judge me, that’s OK; it says more about their character than mine. etc., etc. I’m OK. etc., etc.

For me, happiness is a function not of the “result” or “sucess” but how one is on the journey toward the “result or “success.” How folks are responding, or reacting, to life’s events, even at work.

For many, it doesn’t matter whether it’s 3 a.m or 3 p.m.- they have the capacity to experience happiness in the moment, being in their experience. For others, they experience a degree of unhappiness, no matter the time.

Life is choices and happiness is about how we choose to deal with events, people, and circumstances – including the two events you offer: job change and/or personal crisis.

The question is “Which do I choose to experience-happiness or unhappiness-right here and right now?”

So, “It’s 3 a.m. Do I know where my happiness is?”

Thanks again for a provocative post.