They’re All Happy Hours

We live in a compartmentalized society. There is a certain time and place for everything. We’re supposed to wake up Monday morning with impending dread for the work week. We’re supposed to suffer through the morning, downing cup and after cup of coffee to distract us from our self-imposed monotony. At lunch we get some air, then spend the rest of the workday watching the clock, as if the five o’clock promised land will somehow set us free from a life we don’t truly want.

And then, ahh, happy hour!

It’s like we create an imaginary line before and after 5 o’clock. Before, our time is not our own. We consider ourselves bound to the will of others (employers, clients, co-workers) while we deal with the necessary evil we call work. And of course, when you have an attitude that life sucks, life sucks. For many of us, it is only after the threshold of leaving work that our lives become our own. It’s a small celebration of freedom.

BOTTOMS UP

Sure, a drink or two after work is a great way to unwind and bond with your co-workers. And those happy hour specials are a great deal. I just don’t like to think of five o’clock as an escape from an otherwise stressful workday. I’m not saying work is always fun. What I’m suggesting is that happiness and independence are an attitude that, once adopted, begin to spread beyond your thoughts and into your actions.

I understand that we can’t all be entrepreneurs. We can’t all work for ourselves and enjoy the self-actualized momentum that independence allows. But what everyone can do is adopt a self-possessed attitude. Independent thinking is the first step toward independent living.