petrushka.googol Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Is happiness chemical or more subtle ? Why are some people "happy" with bare essentials and others unsatisfied with excesses ? Is there something more to this than meets the eye ? Please opine..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dimreepr Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Is happiness chemical or more subtle ? Why are some people "happy" with bare essentials and others unsatisfied with excesses ? Is there something more to this than meets the eye ? Please opine..... Because happiness has nothing to do with what money/stuff you can accumulate. To be honest I’d rather use the term contented as happy is easily confused with pleasure and all too often people try to chase eternal pleasure; an impossible dream. All you need to be content is the following: 1. Don’t fear the future, worrying can’t affect will happen; if you have a problem then solve it, if it has no solution then you can’t, either way fear/worry is pointless. 2. Don’t pin your hopes of happiness in the future (i.e. a holiday or gift), it’s fine to look forward to it but don’t expect it to; just accept what happens if it’s bad, if you don’t you’ll just get angry another pointless emotion for these reasons. 3. Don’t confuse want with need, if you have food, water and shelter then you have everything you need; everything else is a bonus, treat it as such. 4. Don’t regret the past, whatever you’ve done, the only positive thing to do is learn from it. 5. Don’t rely on others for your contentment; whatever you do you can’t control them or their actions just accept they have their own life to live. There just human after all, just like you (I think of it as “you’re me in a different skin”). 6. Live life now it’s the only time you can live, if your bored do something even if it’s just to meditate, if you’re happy enjoy it while you can, if it’s unpleasant accept and endure; everything changes. 7. Treat everyone as you would like to be treated; so smile, after all wouldn’t you rather a stranger smile than scowl? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petrushka.googol Posted February 16, 2015 Author Share Posted February 16, 2015 Because happiness has nothing to do with what money/stuff you can accumulate. To be honest I’d rather use the term contented as happy is easily confused with pleasure and all too often people try to chase eternal pleasure; an impossible dream. All you need to be content is the following: 1. Don’t fear the future, worrying can’t affect will happen; if you have a problem then solve it, if it has no solution then you can’t, either way fear/worry is pointless. 2. Don’t pin your hopes of happiness in the future (i.e. a holiday or gift), it’s fine to look forward to it but don’t expect it to; just accept what happens if it’s bad, if you don’t you’ll just get angry another pointless emotion for these reasons. 3. Don’t confuse want with need, if you have food, water and shelter then you have everything you need; everything else is a bonus, treat it as such. 4. Don’t regret the past, whatever you’ve done, the only positive thing to do is learn from it. 5. Don’t rely on others for your contentment; whatever you do you can’t control them or their actions just accept they have their own life to live. There just human after all, just like you (I think of it as “you’re me in a different skin”). 6. Live life now it’s the only time you can live, if your bored do something even if it’s just to meditate, if you’re happy enjoy it while you can, if it’s unpleasant accept and endure; everything changes. 7. Treat everyone as you would like to be treated; so smile, after all wouldn’t you rather a stranger smile than scowl? Ho-hum.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phi for All Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 I think happiness is aided by chemicals, but is more subtle at the same time. It seems to be more of a perspective that some people have trouble seeing, than an actual, tangible state of being. It seems to be trainable. I can do things that help me see life in a happier way. I like to take walks on a greenbelt path with my dog, and I can stop thinking about things I have to do and focus on the things I appreciate that make me happy. Little things usually, things I wouldn't necessarily observe unless I was trying, like how a Corgi's whole head seems to get bigger when he hears a great horned owl hoot in the trees above him. I know people who have to have complete quiet to make a phone call. I've trained myself to focus on just my call, so I can be in a room with a whole bunch of people on the phone and it doesn't bother me. Similarly, I think some people just let themselves be manipulated by circumstances, and they choose to be agitated by life rather than training themselves to see the things that could make them happier. It's hard for us sometimes to judge what will make us happy. I used to think I liked to drive my car, but now I'm starting to look at traffic as a system I can help make better, rather than a bunch of obstacles I have to overcome. Now I really enjoy driving, because I'm using it to get somewhere efficiently, rather than trying to beat someone to the next stop light. I'm a much more defensive driver now too, and that makes me happy. Perspective is the key, imo. It helps us find what really makes us happy, rather than what's supposed to make us happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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