Finding A Dream Job

EMMA SEPPÄLÄ  PhD is author of The Happiness Track, founder of FulfillmentDaily.com, and Science Director of Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education.

- Emma Seppala

As I began teaching, I awakened to a sense of timelessness and happiness I had never before experienced. No matter how I felt before class, I always felt fantastic during and after—and it wasn’t just exercise endorphins. This was the first work experience where I didn’t feel the time go by or even look at the clock. In fact, I had to be careful not to go overtime. I could have gone on for hours. What I felt was nothing short of fulfillment. Wow—had I found my dream job? What would my parents say if, after supporting me through four years at Yale, their daughter announced that she was going to become a professional Pilates instructor? They could have saved themselves a lot of money.

Over time, I realized that it wasn’t Pilates that made me fulfilled, it was the act of teaching and sharing something that helped others be happier and healthier. I felt expanded, elated, loving, and joyful at the idea of helping others find fulfillment—and it was this realization that has led to all my professional teaching, research, and writing.