Happiness.

[CraddaPoosta]

A permanent state of happiness is impossible. This is one of the major cultural differences between America and the rest of the world.

Most other nations never had any kind of expectation that all of their needs would be met and that they would ever have the luxury of just living in a state of perpetual happiness. Most socieities in world history understood that the main goal was survival with the least amount of suffering possible.

It is only because we EXPECT to be happy, all the time, that there is such a mental health crisis in America. It isn't that we're a broken society or culture. It is that we have ingrained into ourselves this undeserved sense of entitlement to constantly feel fulfilled and stay happy all the time, and when we aren't, we feel like we are being robbed of something that we think someone else has.
NO ONE HAS IT.

It doesn't matter what part of the world you come from, how much you are loved or how much money you have. Happiness is a subjective concept, completely beholden to our own personal sense of expectation. It is a unique part of American culture to DEMAND happiness from life, or to feel entitled to it. It's quite literally part of our Constitution. It's ingrained into our cultural identity, and I think it is a double-edged sword. It might motivate some of us to greater glory and higher heights, but for most of us peasants, it only makes us feel worse when we aren't the rockstars and idols and millionaries that the media we grew up with promised us that we deserve to be.

In most other parts of the world, people don't expect to always be happy. They EXPECT life to suck, so they are more adaptable to it, better able to respond to it, and when life actually stops beating their ass, they are able to fully appreciate it without any sense of entitlement to get in the way.

I am learning. I am trying to unlearn. I am trying to set realistic expectations of myself and develop a better understanding of the world around me. I want to live more fully in each moment that I have, with neither fear nor selfish desire.

I do not want to base my present state of being on an unfulfilled expectation that I DESERVE to be happy just because I am alive. I want true happiness to come from accomplishment. From achievement. From precious moments. From BEING in the moment to be able to appreciate those fleeting opportunities when they happen.

I want to be happy. I do not feel that I am just entitled to be happy because I am here. I want that happiness to mean something, and not be diluted or tainted by my own selfishness.

I hope that I can find happiness tomorrow, and I hope the same for all of you.

 

[Mama Looigi]

Life would get kinda boring if you were just happy 24/7

I think it’s much better in the position it’s in now; something to be persued.

Although in the end, the most important thing is, and always will be, your mindset. You can spend your whole life chasing happiness and get mad that you only had it for a few minutes and continue that cycle for decades… or you can spend your life making what fun you can from anything, finding the positive side of everything, and prioritizing mental health.

-That’s why I avoid the politics section

 

[CraddaPoosta]

Life would get kinda boring if you were just happy 24/7

I think it’s much better in the position it’s in now; something to be persued.

Although in the end, the most important thing is, and always will be, your mindset. You can spend your whole life chasing happiness and get mad that you only had it for a few minutes and continue that cycle for decades… or you can spend your life making what fun you can from anything, finding the positive side of everything, and prioritizing mental health.

-That’s why I avoid the politics section

I tried my hardest not to make this political in any way. Free-associative stream of consciousness tossed out into the wind.

It really is all about the experiences, isn't it? Sometimes you can find or produce an experience from a tangible object, but most of the time, it's just happy chance. Serendipity. Digging for worms and striking oil. Twenty bucks on a scratcher when you had two bucks left for lunch. I can dig it.

 

[yuyuyup]

Suicide rates would be much higher in third-world countries if they had the infrastructure to measure it. They don't benefit from some expectation of a shitty life. It's just hell on earth till you die.

 

[The Catboy]

It's not possible to always be happy and to be honest, I think that's a good thing. Constant happiness seems like just as much a problem as depression. Instead of struggling to find happiness, it would be struggling to find sadness, hurt, and other emotions or feelings differing from happiness. The reality is, one needs to have a complex mix of emotions and feelings in their life. Life's complexities will often warrant complex responses.

 

[Deleted member 194275]

There are two dimensions on this one, and an intersection area between those two. One is how happy you are and other is how healthy your mind is. You can fell happiness when you buy something, eat something, drink something or whatever, but nothing of that will make your mind healthier.
A healthy mind can endure a huge loss, a big problem, many forms of pain. Happiness will go away on the first annoyance you face on the day.

Now how to make your mind healthier is the question of the century.

 

[Dust2dust]

When I was a kid, I remember worrying about the afterlife. I was taught that when we die, we go to heaven and live forever a blissful life with the angels and Jesus, and the family members and friends who died before us. What scared me was the eternal aspect of it. Never seeing the end of this afterlife. Being stuck there forever, without a faint hope of it ever ending. But as I grew into an adult, I stopped worrying about it. Now I'm convinced there is no afterlife. When you die, you just cease to exist. Much less stressful. No need to worry about eternity anymore. Now I can die happy!

 

[nWo]

Ah well, life is as unpredictable as it is cruel and wonderful at the same time.

I had a very rough childhood, my family has always struggled with money issues and, my father was in some shady business when I was a child / teenager. I have seen some crazy shit, so I was in a downward spiral of obscure shit. Not much happiness back then. (Although, videogames have always been there for me!)

But then, the choice came to me. I decided to study, to work, and to be a calm person. I met my wife 17 years ago, and we began a good relationship. Today, I have 2 kids, I am a physical education teacher, and all in all, life is good with me.

You know? I still have a hell of monetary issues. It is hard to bounce back from a hole as big as my father made it for all those years. But I have much more happiness than I had in all my teenage years. I know many, many, MANY people that have money / luxuries, and are rotten to the core, so very sad inside. Trust me. And yes, they travel, they have the top notch gadgets and shit, but they are ROTTEN and you don't know how many of them I have seen crying for love or a bit of peace of mind. I don't think success, can fill you up when you need love,

It is not the bullshit of "you are who you decide to be". People are trash, some people just fuck you over even if you did not do anything to them, so, yes, happiness depends on many factors. But after many, many years of experience, hard times and whatnot, I can tell you this:

-Health is the best gift we have in this world. If you are healthy, be thankful.
-Close family and friends are the second in my list. Even if the majority of this people are bad / shit, don't be like them.
-I have children but that's optional, they do not bring absolute happines, but then again, don't having children does not make you happy. It is something you and your partner decide, and circumstances of your life. I love my children.
-Treasure the happy moments in life. They are not infinite, and sometimes they are scarce and very rare. So, when you are happy, surrounded by the people you love, and / or doing what you like to do, treasure it, treasure it like no other thing in this world, because each and every moment is one that will not come back never again.

Some day we'll all be gone, so be happy!!! as much as you can, do what you like to do on this earth, and love the people that love you too. Remember, health is everything.

Other than that, life is options, luxuries and more shit that does not make you better, it is just an illusion. You don't need that.

I'm sitting in my table writing this, my wife cooks the meal, while our children are running here and there, we are all helahty thank God, I have the day off, maybe I will play a bit later on, maybe we go out for a walk... To me, this is happiness, this is peace, this is my life.

Don't ambition everything, sometimes, the most fulfilling things in life, are the most simple. Sorry for the rant, just my 2 cents.

 

[Deleted member 591971]

my hapiness levels every day: 0%

 

[SAIYAN48]

I'm happiest when I'm dreaming.

 

[Xzi]

I agree with this in part, but in part it also feels like an excuse for why the US ranks so low on the national happiness index. People are generally going to be happier if their basic necessities are taken care of without causing them financial insecurity, that much should be obvious.

That said, you're correct that happiness is not a 24/7 thing. Everybody needs to have that neutral gear and be okay with who they are in that state of emotion, which is sometimes easier said than done. Happiness comes in many forms though, and in some cases you can hang on to it for longer than others. Sometimes it is just fleeting moments.

 

[SG854]

Life is like bullets. And I let them go right past me. I am Neo dodging all the bullets. Then I grab life by the nut sack. And twist it till it begs me to stop and goes away. Once life is gone, I end up having no life watching YouTube videos all day.

 

[Blood Fetish]

“Happiness comes in small doses folks. It's a cigarette butt, or a chocolate chip cookie or a five second orgasm. You come, you smoke the butt you eat the cookie you go to sleep wake up and go back to fucking work the next morning, THAT'S IT! End of fucking list!” ― Dennis Leary

 

[Tasilz]

A permanent state of happiness is impossible. This is one of the major cultural differences between America and the rest of the world.

Most other nations never had any kind of expectation that all of their needs would be met and that they would ever have the luxury of just living in a state of perpetual happiness. Most socieities in world history understood that the main goal was survival with the least amount of suffering possible.

It is only because we EXPECT to be happy, all the time, that there is such a mental health crisis in America. It isn't that we're a broken society or culture. It is that we have ingrained into ourselves this undeserved sense of entitlement to constantly feel fulfilled and stay happy all the time, and when we aren't, we feel like we are being robbed of something that we think someone else has.
NO ONE HAS IT.

It doesn't matter what part of the world you come from, how much you are loved or how much money you have. Happiness is a subjective concept, completely beholden to our own personal sense of expectation. It is a unique part of American culture to DEMAND happiness from life, or to feel entitled to it. It's quite literally part of our Constitution. It's ingrained into our cultural identity, and I think it is a double-edged sword. It might motivate some of us to greater glory and higher heights, but for most of us peasants, it only makes us feel worse when we aren't the rockstars and idols and millionaries that the media we grew up with promised us that we deserve to be.

In most other parts of the world, people don't expect to always be happy. They EXPECT life to suck, so they are more adaptable to it, better able to respond to it, and when life actually stops beating their ass, they are able to fully appreciate it without any sense of entitlement to get in the way.

I am learning. I am trying to unlearn. I am trying to set realistic expectations of myself and develop a better understanding of the world around me. I want to live more fully in each moment that I have, with neither fear nor selfish desire.

I do not want to base my present state of being on an unfulfilled expectation that I DESERVE to be happy just because I am alive. I want true happiness to come from accomplishment. From achievement. From precious moments. From BEING in the moment to be able to appreciate those fleeting opportunities when they happen.

I want to be happy. I do not feel that I am just entitled to be happy because I am here. I want that happiness to mean something, and not be diluted or tainted by my own selfishness.

I hope that I can find happiness tomorrow, and I hope the same for all of you.

I believe that everything must be in moderation, even happiness.

 

[Kazmar]

Life is like bullets. And I let them go right past me. I am Neo dodging all the bullets. Then I grab life by the nut sack. And twist it till it begs me to stop and goes away. Once life is gone, I end up having no life watching YouTube videos all day.

This is the most incredible thing I've ever heard.

 

[Maximumbeans]

My happiness exists on a fucking knife edge these days. I can feel generally good and then I see the paint starting to peel in my shitty damp bathroom and I just get chokeslammed back down to miserable.

I feel slightly ashamed to say it but money would definitely buy happiness for me. We just don't have enough right now.

 

[Kraken_X]

The reason why people are so unhappy in the USA is that our society is specifically structured to make people unhappy, because unhappy people buy more stuff to try to make themselves feel better. But, we know, scientifically proven, that "stuff" isn't what makes people happy. The things that make people happy are things like: positive family and friend connections, physical activity up to, but not beyond our capabilities, and interaction with nature and sunlight.

But we as a society don't encourage any of those things. We move the clocks so that we go to work when its dark out, come home when its dark out, and spend all of our time inside under fluorescent lights. Only the upper class even get a window office so that we can see the world we are no longer allowed to engage with. We don't know or trust our neighbors, and the media and politicians foster that distrust. Political division divides families that otherwise would love and support each other. Places were people congregate outside of work are disappearing, and people rarely interact with each other even at those places. On the internet, sites with unaltered communication like GBATemp are becoming a rarity. Places like Facebook intentionally cause fights among friends to drive "engagement" and their own studies show that their algorithms are causing unhappiness and mental health issues. Even video games, which once were a way for friends to get together and have fun together are mostly online-only skinner boxes promoting a fake sense of accomplishment and preying on gambling tenancies.

Go back 100+ years and we didn't have infinite food, video games or air conditioning, but what people did have is family, community, nature, and free time. That's why they were happier back then, and that's why societies that still value those things are still happy.

 

[AncientBoi]

When I'm unhappy, I revert to Onsism. thus I'm "Happy" again. Weeeeeeeee

 

[JaapDaniels]

Happyness is a state of mind like sadnes.
State of minds are depending on previous state of minds.
One is not born happy or sad, one day it can be anything.. when resolved what made you sad, or when the direct cause of sadness is gone one regains hope which will result in happyness if stable.
When everything gets predictable, it will cause you to get sad, you need to experience things to be happy...
So, i'm not sure if a hard life is that much worse than a easy life when it comes to state of mind...

 

[subcon959]

Biologically speaking, we aren't even capable of constant happiness. The effects of the neurotransmitters that facilitate this feeling wane after a while as tolerance develops. So, the highs and lows are part of being a person, and therefore probably both as important.