# A Joyful Cynic's Guide to Work By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2024-08-28 Cynics are skeptical of the motivations of others. This likely manifests at work in the expectation that self-interest motivates others. This isn’t necessarily a bad operating assumption. Assuming people are largely motivated by self-interest might go a long way in explaining work dynamics. The issue with the assumption is not its explanatory power but its human consequences. Cynics might be accurate more than wrong, but they are seldom happy. There is little joy in expecting the worst from people and being right frequently. The only joy cynics derive is the absence of heartbreak when one is truly expecting people to be better than they are. If one is going to be a cynic at work, one should attempt to be joyful. Self-interest looms large at work. So what? There is still space to enjoy the absurd. There is still an opportunity to connect. There is still an opportunity to try and accomplish something seemingly and transitorily meaningful. In a world in which nothing lasts, any victory won is but a moment. Savor it. There is more to life and work than being right. One can enjoy being wrong as much as being right. Seeing one’s misunderstandings, false assumptions, or blind spots can be an opportunity to laugh and learn. A joyful cynic understands that just as people are motivated more by self-interest than commitment to an organization, pretense and status are illusions. Being wrong is only embarrassing if one believes in the illusion or thinks others believe it. A joyful cynic sees through this and is open to the equal enjoyment of being right or wrong. If one can smile in victory and laugh in defeat, knowing that neither lasts very long and that neither is definitive, one has the making of a joyful cynic at work.    #### Related Items [[Cynics]] [[Work]] [[Advice]] [[Wisdom]] [[Happiness]] [[Illusions]]