05 Jul 2026 3 min read Career Design

Three "Lenses" to Find Work Happiness

I recently read a great book on career building called "Insights to Career Capital" by Dr. Albieri and Dr. Nguyen.

One of the ideas that stood out to me was the three "lenses" to find your why.

1) Pragmatic Lens: "What Can Sustain Me?"

Pragmatic lens considers objective factors like income, location, and personal relationships. It's a practical approach focusing on tangible outcomes.

For instance, when you are just out of school with student debt, it may be wise to prioritize a pragmatic lens.

Or big life changes like having a child can push you to make a pragmatic career decision.

2) Fulfillment Lens: "What Drives Me?"

Another lens to assess your why is based on passions, likes, and dislikes. We all need work that brings us fulfillment.

However, "follow your passion" advice isn't always helpful because many people don't know what they're passionate about in a professional context.

If you're in that camp, remember this:

You won't find your passion & purpose by thinking in a room; you uncover them by colliding with your various interests.

This means learning new skills and trying new things that interest you. With each endeavor, take note of what you like and dislike. Each exploration is a small step towards uncovering your passion.

Also remember that passion can evolve or fade over time. This is why work that used to give us fulfillment can start to make us unhappy.

I'm guessing you're not the same person you were 5, 10 years ago. You have different values and life circumstances. Similarly, your career needs to change periodically to stay aligned with your life.

3) Community Lens "What Does the World Need from Me?"

Last lens to discover your why is the community lens. It's about figuring out how we can contribute to something bigger.

Something "bigger" doesn't have to mean changing the world. Maybe you join an association to advocate for your profession. Or give talks in your community on the importance of eye exams.

Community lens is a critical and necessary piece of the work happiness puzzle. However, it alone isn't enough. Imagine that your work makes a big impact, but the pay is low and not aligned with your passions. It'd be difficult to sustain work happiness for the long run.

The Pinnacle of Career Satisfaction

The key insight from Dr. Albieri and Dr. Nguyen is this: the pinnacle of career satisfaction is putting all three lenses together.

Work that is aligned with your passions, well-paid, and impactful.

I know of some optometrists who deeply love primary care optometry. Dr. Katie Chu once told me, "I just love refracting!" For most people though, our jobs don't usually fulfill all three.

For instance, most doctors go into healthcare because we want to help, but the burnout rate is high across the board. Why is that?

Being a doctor is impactful and well-paid, but the work itself might not be aligned with your passions. For instance, much of our work is admin (record keeping, referral, reports).

Admittedly, most people's jobs do not fulfill all three lenses. This is where portfolio career comes in: work happiness that comes from a combination of roles (paid or unpaid).