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What she said resonates with millennials in general. A lot of our parents worked dissatisfying jobs to give us a (relatively) comfortable lifestyle. They instil
by dqv 8y ago
What she said resonates with millennials in general. A lot of our parents worked dissatisfying jobs to give us a (relatively) comfortable lifestyle. They instilled this ideal of not choosing a dissatisfying job and instead finding our dream job. They also pushed the idea of going to college as guaranteeing a job.
It is a little shocking finding out that well, no, I can be unhappy even working in my dream job. I am not always going to be comfortable. There are going to be things that I have to face that don't coincide with the reality of my childhood.
It's okay though. You're going to be unhappy and uncomfortable. I don't think it would be normal to be happy all the time. There are people who have it harder and who make it through.
Some things have a universal comfort - I think a lot of times with my generation that a universal comfort is nostalgia. For me personally, it's going outside, breathing in the air, and just appreciating nature.
I think philanthropy should come naturally... I get a sense (especially here) that people are "outrage philanthropic" where they get overwhelmed by the state of society rather than focusing with a smaller more profound contribution. Even charity organizations sometimes seem disconnected. I think there are a lot of spontaneous, mundane things that can be done that help people and it doesn't have to be all about appearances or some preconceived notion of philanthropy.
- tluyben2 8y agoThe problem with goals is that you need to structure them like a food shmup (like Nemesis on the MSX); you progress just enough towards the goals to be satisfied and happy but you generally do not make it entirely. I set my goals so I need to become 1000 years old to reach them and then make stepping stones towards it as subgoals which are all very doable and those I make do give me happiness and satisfaction while I will never make the big goal (but who knows!!!). > For me personally, it's going outside, breathing in the air, and just appreciating nature. For me that has been the most important part and the reason I cannot live in cities anymore; whenever stuck or stressed, I hike up a mountain or through a forest. It solves everything; it is exercise but it also shows that my stressors do no matter in any scheme of things. If I am stuck in some code issue, I will not be after I am done walking.
- cageface 8y agoI think the concept of the hedonic treadmill explains this pretty well: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_treadmill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_treadmill We have a strong tendency to revert to our internal happiness set point, in the face of success or failure. So the trick is to learn to change that set point, which mostly doesn’t depend on things outside ourselves.
- justinator 8y agoI mean, think about it, right? No one says life is about being happy, at all! There's no guarantee to that - no universal right. Dunno, I fell into Existentialism before I dropped out of whatever pointless liberal arts state university I was needlessly going to. They had a good library, so I guess I owe them that.