Where is happiness – 2?

In a previous post, I theorized that happiness lies perhaps in the laughter of the people we love. While I still believe that to be true, I have come up with a different place to look for this ultimate metric of a good life.

Happiness, I think, lies at the end of a good work-week.

I am a post-doctoral researcher. This means I am voluntarily putting myself through a workaholic path filled with uncertainty about my future, lesser pay (than my peers who work in the industry), choosing to not have a romantic relationship, and spending I can confidently say, 98% of my time with work-related thoughts at the back of mind, all because something about this work makes me insanely happy. I might address this in a different write-up, it’s a topic I don’t have a crystal-clear picture about. But I have noticed consistently that at the end of a week, on a Friday evening, when I have accomplished or at least attempted with confidence most of the open questions that I began the week with, that evening I am very HAPPY. If I am not travelling in the weekend, I would happily spend a couple of hours at work as well. Instead of resisting the urge to work on a weekend and try hard to have a balance, I have seen that it’s easier to give in and let my mind sit and attack a problem I am working on! She feels much better when she does that.

I am sure people who love their work would agree. There is a lot of peace and happiness that comes with the hours spent with work. Perhaps if I had dependents whose well-being was my responsibility, a biased work-life balance would be a real problem. But that’s not my context.

I remember feeling this high on a Friday evening in September 2023, when my father visited me. I was extremely happy at the progress I had made that week and suggested we get a drink. Today, I recognized that again – despite all the ups and downs that my days present me with, my work continues to provide me with a sense of well-being, and, tranquility, well yes, happiness.

So yes, happiness in my humble life experience, can be found in (i) the laughter of the humans we love (ii) the work we chose to pour ourselves into.