Unlock Work-Life Balance by Noticing the Amazing in Your Career

Research shows that noticing the remarkable things in your career—especially what has become so familiar you've stopped seeing them—is linked to higher engagement, stronger relationships, increased resilience, and reduced burnout.

Broadening and Building Our Perspective

One antidote to taking things for granted is gratitude. Studies show that people who regularly practice gratitude report greater well-being, optimism, and life satisfaction. Gratitude shifts attention away from scarcity and toward abundance. Instead of dwelling exclusively on what’s absent, it helps us recognize what is already present.

In the workplace, gratitude has been linked to higher engagement, stronger relationships, increased resilience, and reduced burnout. This doesn’t mean ignoring workplace problems or pretending everything is perfect. It means broadening our perspective.

The Power of Shifting Your Perspective

Another powerful concept is awe. Researchers define awe as the feeling we experience when encountering something vast that challenges our normal way of thinking. While often associated with natural wonders, awe can also emerge in everyday life—in music, art, human achievement, or ordinary moments of connection.

Awe changes our perspective. When workers experience awe, studies show they often feel less self-focused, more connected to others, and more appreciative of life. Their problems don’t necessarily disappear, but they often feel smaller within a larger context.

Consider the remarkable systems we interact with every day: a software engineer writes code that instantly reaches millions; a healthcare professional uses technologies that save lives; a teacher shapes future generations. When viewed through the lens of awe, even ordinary work becomes extraordinary.

The lesson: look beyond the inconvenience, stress, or routine. Notice the wonder. Notice the privilege. Notice what you get to do instead of what you have to do. Because perhaps the greatest tragedy isn’t that life lacks amazing things—it’s that remarkable things become so familiar, we stop seeing them.