We are often taught to work hard for a better life. What do an individual consider a better life?

We are often taught to work hard for a better life. What does an individual consider a better life? Is it having enough money to buy necessities, or being happy in any circumstances? Whatever the answer, the concept of a better life is relative. There will always be people who are happier than you with less money, and people who are unhappier even with sufficient income. One might earn good wages by working hard, however, this has a little to do with happiness or better life. Overtime luxury tends to become necessities. In other words, what we have now is taken for granted and we desire new things. When we fulfil those desires, they become part of our daily life and we aspire for more. For instance, a child works hard to get a good education, which will eventually result in a competitive salaried job. They feel elated, however, for a period. Then they feel the pressure to get a promotion, to climb up the social ladder, or, to earn more wage, and they work harder thinking eventually one or the other will lead to a better life. Then the cycle keeps repeating. Unknowingly, they are now part of a vicious cycle that has consumed many people like themselves. Our generation is not the only victim, our ancestors were also a casualty. During the agricultural revolution, human became farmers from hunter gatherers. We might believe that was for their betterment, now they are much more secure from the wild animals and have more readily available food, for which they foraged for hours every day. This was the histories biggest fraud. A typical hunter gathers would work for five hours a day, gathering food, and if they scored a big game like a Bison, they would go on for days without eating or doing anything at all. In contrast, a farmer had to work long days to keep their crops healthy, removing weeds or planting new crops. Then why did our ancestors choose this lifestyle? The answer is the vicious cycle, humans are incapable of fathoming the full consequences of their decisions. They thought if they word a little harder growing wheat than foraging, they will have plenty of food throughout the year plus they do not have to put their life in danger while hunting animals. They started working hard in farming, now they were settled so they thought about expanding families. As a result, they had a lot more mouths to feed, so they started working hard to grow more crops. They had more possessions compared to hunter gatherers, which resulting in more time spend maintaining them. Consequently, they were now working harder than any humans in history. In the past, our ancestors were allured by availability of food and security, we are tempted by money and social status, our future generation might be for hunger for power, who knows. What history has taught us is, Everyone was stuck in this cycle, however, we more than anyone, and working harder does not necessarily mean a better life.