Resources
What makes you happy?
A big part of our lives is the things that make us happy. If we didn’t have things we enjoy, life would be pretty boring, right?
So it makes sense that we want our future goals and career to align in some way with the things that make us happy. Thinking about the things that make us happy is an exercise in gratitude – we should be thankful for the good things in our life. If you don’t think about the things that make you happy, you might be taking them for granted.
Taking some time to reflect on the things that make us happy can be a really helpful thing to do (as well as just being a nice thing to do).
Taking some time to reflect
Think about the last few weeks. What has made you happy over that time? It could be an activity you did, a person you spent time with, a place you visited – whatever it was, if it made you happy, write it down.
Here are some examples to get you thinking:
- Pets and animals
- Friends
- Family
- Sport
- Music
- Sleep
- Video games
- Being outdoors
- Money or work
- Cooking
- Community/culture
- Reading
- Technology
- The list is nearly endless!
Prioritising your happiness
Now that you’ve thought about the things that make you happy, start thinking about your future. How might you be able to incorporate these things into your future career or life?
For example, if music is something that makes you really happy, you might want a career that incorporates music somehow. Maybe you could be a music teacher, a record producer, a singer, or create music for video games.
Also think of ways you can combine multiple interests at once. See the example above about creating music for video games? That’s just one way you could combine multiple interests.
Enjoy!
It’s not just about the future – having activities and things in your life right now that are fun and fulfilling are so important.
Having a good balance between doing the things you love and the things you need to do is key. It’s important to remember that the things we like make up a part of who we are!
It’s also important to remember that an activity doesn’t need to be making you money for it to be worth doing. You might like to learn an instrument or teach yourself to code just for fun, even if you never want a career in music or IT – as long as you enjoy it, it was worthwhile.
You can find more wellbeing resources on our website here.
Apply for the National Computer Science School 2024
NCSS is a ten-day summer school bringing together talented young people from around Australia, running from 6th-15th January 2024.
NCSS will run streams at UNSW in Sydney (Cyber Security) and at the University of Melbourne (Chatbot/web/cloud development). Both streams involve learning advanced computing skills in a university setting.
The programme also includes fun teamwork activities, and the opportunity to meet industry professionals.
All NCSS students reside on campus at a residential college, with NCSS tutors and staff providing pastoral care for the duration of the summer school.
Applications will close at 5pm AEST on 15th September.
We can offer financial support to students from low-SES schools, rural and remote areas, and in cases of financial hardship.
If you have any questions about financial support, or need any further information please email us via summerschool@grokacademy.org.
To find out more and complete an application, please visit grokacademy.org/ncss.