Happiness is job satisfaction

Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor … it is very easy to think of the cliches: ‘Are you happy in your work?’ ‘Schooldays are the happiest days of your life’. I used to think that this was one of the silliest things ever said by distinguished people on speech‐day platforms; because if a boy or girl is miserable at school (and many are) then it's a pretty grim outlook that he faces; and if in fact he is perfectly happy at school, it is still very discouraging for him to suppose that in the eyes of successful middle‐aged adults he will never be so happy again. If young people are to have life satisfaction, then surely they should be encouraged to be optimistic and forward‐looking.