Benjamin Todd
speaker
4,140 appearances
3 recordings
1 series
first heard Sep 2023
last heard 28 May
Benjamin Todd’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 2 in all, peaking in May 2026 with 2.
Appearances
While helping others isn't the only route to a meaningful career, it's one of the most powerful.
Three, work you're good at.
A third driver of well-being in Seligman's list is a feeling of competence.
This is the feeling you get from stretching your skills, especially valuable ones.
It's intrinsically enjoyable, adds to your ability to enter a state of flow, and builds your self-confidence.
For most people, it comes from getting good at their work, whatever that may be.
Competence at work is not only satisfying, it gives you the power to negotiate for the other components of a fulfilling job, like the chance to work on meaningful projects, undertake engaging tasks, and receive fair pay.
If people value your contribution, it becomes easier to negotiate for what you want in return.
This is why skill ultimately trumps passion.
If you pursue a career as an artist but aren't good at it, you'll end up doing derivative and uninspiring design for companies you don't care about, however passionate you might be about art.
That's not to say you should only do work you're already good at, but you do want the potential to get good at it.
It may sound obvious, but if you hate your colleagues and work for a boss from hell, you're not going to be satisfied.
Good relationships are Seligman's fourth driver of well-being, and perhaps the most important.
Given this, it's great if you can become friends with at least a couple of people at work.
However, you don't need to become friends with everyone, and you certainly don't need to like all of your colleagues.
One large meta-analysis found that social support was among the top predictors of job satisfaction.
It doesn't mean you should feel compelled to spend evenings and weekends together, but rather refers to whether you are able to get help when you're struggling.
Another meta-analysis found several types of organizational sponsorship, such as easily accessible supervisor support and training opportunities, were among the best predictors of career satisfaction.
This is also not the same as saying that you should surround yourself with people just like you.
People who are disagreeable and have a totally different outlook can often give you the most useful feedback, provided they care about your interests deep down.
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