It should not be about Happiness - it should be about Awareness

We hear a lot about CHO - Chief Happiness Officer

At first, you could think that CHO is my thing. Well, not completely. Let me tell you a bit more.

Yesterday I was on a call with a start-up founder and his team, whom I am part of. He mentioned that of course, once we get the fundings we are waiting for, I would become the chief happiness officer, among other attributes.

While I understand what he meant by that, I could not help but correct the label.

See, I truly believe happiness is a consequence of something so much more important, and so overlooked because it is not always the sexy work: SELF AWARENESS!

More often than not, when it comes to the happiness and CHO friendly topics, people are confusing 2 very different concepts, and ideas: the contempt brought by deep alignment VS the elusive sensation of "well being".

You understand my point? My company is called « EXPLORING Happy ». The Exploring part is the key. The happy is the intention, it is where we are pointing, yet it is the journey that matters, truly, deeply. You will not get to that blissful state of "happy" within a few months. It is a process. A deconditioning process, and a process of learning to know and trust oneself with who we are and what we are capable of.

This investigation is all about the will to do that curious self-exploration. It is about the understanding of our processes, our preferences, our (sometimes overlooked) talents, our relationship patterns and also... our traumas, our « triggers » our bias,…

Sure, you need someone to provide tools, insights, guidance and perspective. And... you will have to do your part!

If you are seeking to connect this true state of happy, this holly grail that is a feeling of deep contentment, if you want to do what is right for you, with the right people, in the right environment,… you will have to commit towards yourself for an extended period of time. You will have to look within and learn to observe, yourself and your relationship with your environment. It rewarding and transformational, as well as sometimes a bit shaky and scary (we are rarely taught to look within, let alone trust ourselves)...

If you really want to make yourself, or your employee « happy » it is not about the toolbox, or the feel-good activities. It is about the exploration process, about the individual's commitment as much as the collective one for an organisation. It is about growing knowledge about oneself and learning to translate them practically into the way we work, connect and live.

We are not here to stay elusive, we are here to make that knowledge actionable and practical. And I am here to support the process.

I was talking about this process with a friend of mine last week here in Ubud. He did not have a clear understanding of how i was supporting people in their career evolution and wanted to know more. I explained how I was working with them on making people pro-active rather than passive, in a corporate job or as an entrepreneur, by growing and using self-awareness.

He told me «Helene you have to share more about this, I know so many people who need it».

Majority of my work is with corporate employees (often with good positions) or with entrepreneurs, both categories willing to do more of what makes them want to wake up in the morning, and willing to bring their best added-value for their company or clients while respecting themselves truly.

And I am loving it! You can take the power back on your corporate job or your entrepreneurial journey. And it all comes down to growing self-awareness.

So what if the right label to define the necessary work leading to happiness was CAO: Chief Awareness Officer

Happiness has to be the consequence, not the end goal.