This is how I make myself happy at work

QuestionsTwo weeks ago I had a day that I was NOT looking forward to. I had two speaking gigs on a Saturday (which is great!) but they were in opposite ends of Denmark. I had to get up disgustingly early to make the drive to the first one and then there was barely enough time to finish that and drive 350 km to the next one. After that, it was another 300 km drive home.

It’s starting to get cold here, so there was no way I could ride my motorcycle that day. That meant renting a car, and I was not looking forward to driving that far in some anonymous Ford or Toyota.

Which made me think of a question I often get: “So Alex – you make other people happy at work. What do you do if you have a bad day?”

And of course I have bad days too – everyone does. Happiness at work does not mean being utterly ecstatic every moment of every day. As Emma Thompson says in my favorite movie: “There was always going to be a totally shit moment.”

But in this particular case, I found the perfect solution. One that transformed the long drive from a chore to a pleasure. To something I almost couldn’t wait to do.

Here’s my trick:

Alexander Kjerulf and his (rented) Mini Cooper

Yes – I went and rented myself a Mini Cooper. There’s a rental car company in Copenhagen called Rent A Mini where you can rent only two different kinds of car: Minis and Mini convertibles.

And let me tell you, those things are a blast to drive. I don’t own a car, and I don’t want to own one, but if I did, I’d get myself one of these. It feels fairly comfortable, but it drives more like a go-cart! Plus it looks really spiffy :o)

Renting one of these is no more expensive than renting any run-of-the-mill anonymobile, but it made my Saturday a lot of fun. Oh, and I had two great gigs too :o)

6 thoughts on “This is how I make myself happy at work”

  1. Good for you! I am plagued with the practical gene and the delayed gratification gene. Consequently, I don’t have as much fun as I could. The one thing I did totally out of character was buy a Mazda Miata. It was the first car I ever had to have a bank loan for, it was totally impractical, and I loved it and how it made me feel. Even now, I smile, remembering. Your post reminded me I should do things like that more often.

  2. What a great idea!

    Maybe next time I have to travel on the train to work (which isn’t very often), I’ll splash out on a first class ticket and ride in comfort… at least that way there shouldn’t be too many screaming kids and loud iPods!

    M

  3. Now THIS is a great post, and I really appreciate what Jean said too about looking for ways to make dull taks fun. Can’t wait to rent a mini. . .

  4. I love it! Looks like you just asked yourself “What can I do to make this something I’ll enjoy instead of dread?” Your answer was a great one! Plus those little minis are just too cute! Awesome idea.

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