I can’t say I’ve thrown it all away and started over, but I’ve turned down jobs that would pay twice – or even three times – the salary that I happily make in my non-profit job. I think it’s anomalous in our society, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing—I think you should be proud of the fact that you started over (and that you’re happier!). I know tons of people who make a lot of money and are incredibly unhappy. Obviously, something about our status-obsessed, debt-embracing, conspicuous-consumption society is not working, since a huge percentage of Americans are taking anti-depressants.
I recently read a new book by Eric Weiner called The Geography of Bliss…he travels around the world studying the countries that are statistically more happy than the US. we rank 23rd on that list…the “happiest” countries are Iceland, Switzerland, Bhutan. What makes the Icelandic people so happy? he postulates that it’s the way they embrace failure. As a society, people are encouraged to take risks, and failure is considered noble because any significant failure means you had to take a risk to get there. Pretty different from the U.S.