Time has a fabulous article online that shows statistics of the life of the average American.   The Happiness index was the one that fascinated me the most.  It ranks different jobs by the level of happiness that people say their work gives them.

I found it interesting for a few reasons.  I would have assumed that the jobs which required the most work to obtain, through years of education or hardwork (such as running your own successful business), would make people the most happy overall.  And that the opposite would be true.  But that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Gas station attendants and roofers are not a happy bunch, but neither is your therapist. And turns out that your housekeeper is just as satisfied with their job as your clergyman.  And your physician is not as happy as your real estate agent.

                                                        (graphic courtesy of Time.com) 

The don’t have being a stay at home mother on the list.

The thing about averages though is that they don’t really measure any of us.  To me this is even more evident when you look at the other things that they measured that are maybe not as subjective.  Hours spent surfing the internet for recreation, the average is 0.  Yes, ZERO.  That seems a statistical impossibility to me.

They do go on to say that this is because people are no longer defining surfing the internet as a leisure activity but rather one they do for work.   But even so, who hasn’t gone online with a specific purpose in mind only to be led down the rabbit trail when you suddenly find yourself contemplating a purchase of a new pair of shoes.  And maybe a new suede jacket to along with them.   I know that can’t just be me.