Joy of Achievement

Originally posted on September 15, 2008 via Multiply.com
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Joy and happiness are human experiences which find expression in a variety of ways.  There is joy in tears and laughter, for example.  Even the first cry of a new born baby is actually an expression of joy, both for the child and the new parents.  For every child born into this world is an indication that God has never grown tired of the human race.  There is also happiness in every accomplishment, especially when it is a success. But real joy rests in productive endeavor because man, by nature, is a creative being.  That is why in his creative efforts man radiates with joy -- the joy of achievement.

I once watched a film clip entitled "The Joy of Achievement".  The film depicted the happiness experienced by a child after accomplishing a "simple task" (by adult's standard), like building the alphabet blocks or tying his shoelace.  These are the child's initial exercise of his creative efforts and his first taste of the joy of achievement.  It is an achievement because there is determination to accomplish something and therefore the effort exerted by the child is geared towards a specific purpose.  Of course, the child in his case may not even be aware of the definite results of his action as clearly as an adult would. In childhood such awareness takes place simply in the form of curiosity.  Nevertheless, there is the joy of achievement when the child is able to satisfy his human need to be creative.  

In the same film, too, a working adult feels happy after finishing a specific task. This "happiness" is a manifestation of the adult's sense of accomplishment and an expression of his thrill of being creative.  He feels happy when he can identify himself with his work, so that the finished job actually becomes a part of himself.  He experiences self-fulfillment if his "being" is imprinted in his work.  For the adult, joy of achievement is something he strives for, which is the proper outcome of his efforts when he exercises creativeness in his work.  It is this philosophy that drove Thomas Edison in all his accomplishment:  "I never did anything worth doing by accident.  My inventions came by work."

In the context of creativity and self-fulfillment, however, job accomplishment does not necessarily mean an achievement. This explains why a clerical employee, for example, despite finishing lots of paper work after a day's work, may not at all experience a sense of achievement or the thrill of creating.  He or she does not radiate with joy if the routinary functions he/she is fitted into in an organization devoid him of the chance to be creative.  Even if the employee is highly paid for the job, chances are he/she becomes restless and bored.  Precisely, man does not work merely for economic reason of survival. So that it becomes a moral obligation for management in any organization to challenge its workers to be creative.  But in so doing, management is also obliged to provide the environment for creativeness.  In fact, increased productivity and work efficiency cannot be over emphasized at the expense of quality and human development.  Good management rests in a tolerable balance between productivity and human development.  Inevitably, though, human development in this sense also means better pay for the workers or employees.

But providing the worker or employee the chance to be creative also implies appreciating him/her for the work and accomplishment.  The joy of achievement is not a singular effort.  Rather, it is a common endeavor, a partnership, because genuine joy in achievement is a mutual feeling shared by the "achiever" and the "recipient" of the finished work.  This "joy" in achieving is incomplete if it is not appreciated.  As a matter of fact, the happiness felt by the worker for his/her achievement is relative to the importance of his/her effort to himself/herself and to the community or organization for which he/she works.  Besides, man's social nature dictates that his work must be appreciated by his co-workers because it is an expression and extension of himself.  To appreciate his achievement is also to give the worker the feeling of importance, which is a basic human need.  Management in an organization may not know that a little pat on the back, or simple words of appreciation for every effort of its employees may spell the difference between employee efficiency and inaction, as well as the difference between self-fulfillment in the job and boredom.  In the words of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, "Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money, it lies in the thrill of creative effort, in the joy of achievement."