Finding A Dream Job
Spirituality & Health|September/October 2017

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
Finding A Dream Job

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.

This story is from the September/October 2017 edition of Spirituality & Health.

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This story is from the September/October 2017 edition of Spirituality & Health.

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