How to Tell if You’re Happy Enough

A Cheeky Checklist for Life Satisfaction

Barbara* was the first person I met who did not want to change her life.

“I’m happy enough with my lot,” she said, nestling into the couch. “So I don’t know what you’re going to do about that.”

I didn’t either. I’d gone into a private psychology practice believing people would be highly motivated for change — wanting at least one aspect of their lives to be different. Up until that point, I’d seen people grappling with burnt out or difficult relationships; their weight, money, jobs, feeling stuck, lost, passionless, desperate to find a way forward.

Not Barbara. She had chronic Type II diabetes, and related ailments, and had been referred by her GP because she desperately needed to lose weight and be more active to manage her condition. My brief was to get her mind to support what her body needed.

Barbara religiously attended to her sessions, was always 20 minutes early, clutching her completed homework, bright and eager to talk. She knew her physical health was declining. She had seen a photo of herself at a wedding and had mistaken herself for an elderly overweight cousin. “I was a bit shocked at that,” she said.