The Happiness Lab Delegate's Guide Chapter 4 — Friends & Family | Page 3

Adam’s story
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Spending time with friends
and family
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elationships are challenging for me. Some
time ago my wife left me. I didn’t expect
it to happen, nor was I looking for it to
happen, but one of the consequences of it was that
I focussed more on my work than I would have
if things had been different. What is more, the
nature of my job is such that as a web developer
I spend a lot of time on my own. The primary
means of communication with my clients is via
email, so I don’t really spend much time in face-
to-face meetings. I was probably spending about
eighteen hours a day at work with me sitting on
my own at the computer 99 per cent of the time.
Some people might have thought that I was a bit
of a hermit. That said, I did focus on spending any
free time I had with my kids. It frightened me how
fast they were growing up and how quick things
were changing. We all know that relationships
are essential to happiness, but it is difficult when
life doesn’t go as you hoped it would and you have
a job that doesn’t give you as much free time as
you would like. In being on The Happiness Lab I
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realised how busy I was and that I had a cynical
outlook on friendships. Since then I have tried to
take a greater interest in, and think more about,
other people. I have also made an extra effort to
spend more time with friends and family and to put
more into those relationships. This has made work
more enjoyable and has made me a happier person
too.