Some people put up with work that leaves little time for family or other meaningful pursuits outside of work. When they think of leaving, the “Yeah, but” chatter starts up in their minds—“I should be happy that I have a job that pays well…Our family expenses are so great that I don’t have a choice.”
People who now call themselves “recovering lawyers” might have formerly been part of a group that Tal Ben-Shahar, author of Happier, labels the “rat racer.”
He says that the "rat racer’s tension stems from the need to feel control over the future."
(“What if I don’t get a promotion? What if I can’t afford the mortgage on my new house?”)
Many of the self-described recovering lawyers that I know are women. They had started to question their goals.
To find a balance in their lives and to enjoy the present, they made a choice. They decided that they wanted a present that was more proportional. For some of them, that meant a life that included their families as well as work.
Ben–Shahar says the happier life includes pleasure and meaning, spending time with our loved ones, and learning or being engaged in work. Too often, he says, we sacrifice something that is essential to our happiness.
What is Happiness? He says “when we experience something as personally significant and when we enjoy doing it is when we’re at our happiest.”
Comments