The Four Archetypes — and How They Shape Career Choices
Tal Ben-Shahar teaches what became the most popular course at Harvard. The official title is more academic, but at its core the class is about something profoundly simple: how to be happy.
I sometimes think my work in running Career Counseling Connecticut follows along those lines. My clients often think they can’t possibly be happy at work.
Having been both unhappy at work (a few years in private law firms) and happy at work – my work running Career Counseling Connecticut and The Learning Consultants, I can speak to the truth: if you “figure it out”, you will be happy.
Among the many insights that Ben-Shahar offers is a framework of four archetypes that describe how people relate to present and future happiness. Most of us contain elements of each, but the extremes are helpful for understanding patterns that appear again and again—particularly in career counseling.
Below is the model, updated for the landscape of 2025 and illustrated with real-to-life Connecticut-based anecdotes that mirror the dozens of clients I see each year.
1. The Rat Racer
Present pain for future reward
The Rat Racer postpones today’s happiness in the hope of achieving it one day in the future. This is the dominant profile of my thirty- and forty-something clients in the Connecticut suburbs.
They leave the house at 7:00 a.m., commute 30–45 minutes to New Haven or Hartford—or over an hour if they live in Fairfield County—arrive home after 6:00 p.m., and repeat the cycle.
The job is not terrible, but it is not energizing. Life becomes a loop of responsibility without fulfillment.
Anecdote — “Matt from Glastonbury”
Matt, a 42-year-old financial analyst from Glastonbury, came to see me after widespread layoffs hit his division. He had been grinding for years, not because he liked his work, but because he feared instability. Ironically, instability came anyway. As we talked, he realized he had postponed happiness for so long that he no longer remembered what he actually enjoyed. The layoff was painful, but it also woke him up to the idea that postponing life is not a strategy.
My professional opinion: Rat racing is responsible, admirable, and often necessary for a season of life—but it is not sustainable as a permanent way of living.
2. The Hedonist
Present pleasure at the expense of the future
Hedonists chase immediate gratification and neglect the longer-range consequences. Some, though not all, of my clients in their twenties fall into this category.
In an era where social media glorifies “living in the moment” and workplace expectations fluctuate, short-term impulses can dominate long-term planning.
Anecdote — “Alyssa from East Haven”
Alyssa, 26, bounced between three jobs in four years—barista, fitness instructor, freelance photographer. Each role appealed to her in the moment, until the boredom or stress of structure set in. When rising rents and inflation hit hard in 2024–2025, she found herself financially strained. Her turning point came when she realized she was living reactively. A career path, she said, felt like “the one thing I was avoiding that would make everything easier.”
Hedonists are often creative, energetic, and spontaneous—but without future orientation, they often feel lost or financially vulnerable.
3. The Nihilist
Happiness is unattainable—now and later
Nihilists believe that neither the present nor the future holds meaningful happiness. This is the profile most closely linked with depression.
Even though my work centers on career counseling, I am frequently called upon to act as a life coach for those who have lost a sense of possibility. In these cases, the solution is twofold: a practical plan (career direction, structure, stability) and a psychological shift (restoring hope, enlarging perspective).
Anecdote — “Sarah from West Hartford”
Sarah, a 34-year-old teacher, came to me after burnout, a difficult breakup, and a wave of teacher layoffs across Connecticut. She told me, “I don’t think anything gets better.” Her energy was flat, her confidence depleted. After several meetings, she identified a new path in instructional design, began retraining, and slowly rebuilt momentum. What improved first was not her job situation—but her belief that the future could be better, which is the antidote to nihilism.
Nihilists need gentle but structured guidance. When they regain a sense of agency, their emotional health often improves dramatically.
4. The Happiness Archetype
Present enjoyment + future alignment
This is the ideal: people who enjoy their daily activities and those activities contribute to future well-being.
It is rare—but achievable. This is the state I want my clients to reach when they leave Career Counseling Connecticut: work that energizes them in the present and supports the future they want.
Anecdote — “David from Old Saybrook”
David, 39, worked in IT for years but felt unfulfilled. After a structured career discovery process, he transitioned into cybersecurity compliance—a field that matched his analytical nature, values, and desire for autonomy. The change improved both his day-to-day satisfaction and his long-term trajectory. He told me, “I finally feel like I’m growing again.”
The happiness archetype is not about perfection. It is about alignment.
Where Do You Fit?
Most of the professionals who visit this site—especially in Connecticut’s corporate corridors—fall into the Rat Racer category.
The good news is simple:
There is another way.
You do not need to sacrifice the present for the future.
You do not need to chase pleasure at the cost of stability.
You do not need to surrender to hopelessness.
You can build a career that supports both your current well-being and your future goals.
And that begins with clarity—something I help clients build every day.