Member-only story
Are You Happy?
A seemingly simple question, but rarely asked
I drive Uber, and I talk to roughly 100 people a week from all walks of life and backgrounds. The small talk is all the same, but most will sit in silence and not speak much at all.
When they first get in my car, I feel them out with simple questions about their morning or day. Then I kind of go from there to see if they are up for conservation on their commute.
I’ve noticed almost every conversation I have it’s the same mundane questions.
How are you?
What time did you start?
Do you drive full-time?
What other work do you do besides Uber?
What’s your craziest story?
Do you have kids?
Are you from Cincinnati?
Are you married?
And the list goes on and on — all general, generic, monotonous questions.
One thing I’ve never been asked.
“Are you happy?” Or maybe “What do you do for happiness?”
These two questions would stump most people. Everyone has an automatic response ready for “What do you do for a living?”
Why not take it a step future after they give you the scripted answer they were prepared…
