Zest creates joy; it gives you the ability to appreciate life even when there are ups and downs; the drive to face challenges in a positive manner. Zest is fueled by what excites you, makes you enthusiastic and passionate. If you know what this is, do more of it.  Maybe you don’t have too many opportunities in your workplace to do all the things you love but if you can identify what you really enjoy you get greater zest.

When you are not excited about your work it spills over into your personal life. But when you are living and working with passion – with zest – you are much happier and others will find you a pleasure to be around. When you do the right thing, deep joy is imminent. When you are living and working with passion, it is contagious and it inspires others. Work and life are then less stressful.

Maintaining zest in our lives can be a challenge. And troubles in our lives can make us wonder if zest has any place in it. Anyone, regardless of social status, facing financial problems, divorce, illness or caring for aging parents knows that these challenges can make zest seem unattainable.

But when you respond in a positive way you can still generate that spark.  So don’t make excuses. Feel that you deserve it. After all, history is full of examples of people who have gone through immense suffering and still found a zest for life. Nelson Mandela, who was unjustly imprisoned for 27 years, and Victor Frankl, the Austrian psychiatrist, and Holocaust survivor, are prime examples of people who showed that it is possible to find meaning and a zest for living in all circumstances, even the most brutal ones.

So how do we get more zest into our lives? At home, we all have things that excite us – maybe not doing the laundry or taking out the garbage, but spending uninterrupted time with loved ones or eating together or spending time on a hobby.  Whatever fills you with joy, do it – and the more you do of it, the more zest you create in your life.

Finding things that make you feel excited about life help to increase your zest – but doing the right thing does too. How you build your relationships with loved ones can have an impact on how zestful you feel. If you have loving and jovial relationships, you enhance your energy.

The same is true at the workplace. Zestful employees result in lower absenteeism, lower turnover, higher group morale and a better bottom line.
If you have a zest for life you produce more, get people more excited, and are more in-tuned to your customers, who in turn enjoy spending time with you. Your work isn’t simply a means to make a living; it becomes a place of excitement, enthusiasm, and positive outcomes.

People who practice zest embrace life as an adventure and push the envelope. They see possibility where others only see problems. They do big things and bring other people along on their journey.

To summarize, feeling zestful is not an outcome of outside circumstances or situations, but an approach to life. By cultivating it we can all experience a life of unbridled energy and enthusiasm.