Should work be the defining feature of Our Lives?

But I would argue that, even if your job does provide you with flow, work should just be an aspect of our lives, rather than its defining feature. Working 40 hours a week makes our lives become narrow and constricted, so that we lose sight of whole vistas of possibility—of activity and adventure—outside it.

Do you think about dying in the end?

You talk about dying in the end as though it is something that happens when people want it to happen, but what you don’t come quite out and say directly is that you are thinking about helping that process of dying along in some active way. I know you know this, but maybe not all the readers do, so let’s make it clear.

Why was life so difficult in the past?

Life only really became difficult once our ancestors started farming. Grinding food out of the soil was a lot more labour intensive than hunting or picking fruit from trees or plants from the ground.

What makes life ‘worth living?

Lucid moments of recognition that you are alive and part of this infinite world. As simple and as obvious as that. And according to Comte-Sponville, it is exactly this “oneness of the universe’ that makes life ‘worth living,’ because it is complete, incredible, everything. We must accept it, because we are a part of it.

Is your unhappy lifestyle wasting your lifetime?

Living an unhappy lifestyle only leads to a wasted lifetime. Life is short, so why waste a minute feeling upset about things that you can’t control? While we should all embrace our negative emotions instead of neglecting them, don’t let your sadness linger.

What makes you feel engaged and alive at work?

Of course, if you’re lucky, you might have a job that’s fulfilling, that suits your innate interests and skills that you find challenging and stimulating. In that case, your job may provide you with what psychologists call “flow”—a state of intense absorption, which makes you feel engaged and alive.

Why is it so hard to find time to enjoy life?

There’s so much to learn in life, so many different ways to develop, so many experiences to absorb, so many activities to enjoy (including doing nothing). When we spend so much time working, it’s difficult to find time and energy for those activities.