Because it's work, that is to say, "muck" and it never feels the same as doing one's one projects or just hanging with one's family. Which is why, unlike those

Because it's work, that is to say, "muck" and it never feels the same as doing one's one projects or just hanging with one's family. Which is why, unlike those pursuits, it converts, almost like a liquid, into money. Which, in turn, converts into time -- to spend with one's family now, or to work on one's projects some fine day in the future. Or that is: in theory, to exactly what you are most interested in after all -- or a close proxy to it. How did you settle and slow down and become happy with the way it is without always wanting more? Others posting here seem to have better answers on the broader philosophical front. But raw in raw practical terms, you can start by acknowledging, every day, just how lucky you are that you (1) have a family and (2) unlike many in this industry, genuinely don't seem to give a flying F that you are making merely "over 100k" (when we are told we all should be making 300k after a few years, and shouldn't be working at all after 10 years or so in this industry). Very lucky indeed.