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I've read several articles / books on this topic lately. In short: it's not only you that's contemplating on the "good life", plenty is being researched and wri

I've read several articles / books on this topic lately. In short: it's not only you that's contemplating on the "good life", plenty is being researched and written about. Our genes make it hard for us to be consistently content and happy. It seems like evolution may have given the slightly paranoid / always needing more genes an advantage for obvious reasons. One research even showed lottery prize winners aren't any happier 1 year after winning than average. So we're very good in experiencing contentment for short bursts and then it's back to our normal mental mode. So a lot of it is genetic. Some you may be able to control with different techniques. Different things work for different people.

devguy01 6y ago
"So we're very good in experiencing contentment for short bursts and then it's back to our normal mental mode." That is exactly what I've observed and experienced. Well said!
- joelbluminator 6y ago
  At first I was freaked out by this revelation. But after thinking about it kinda takes the stress out of a lot of things. Doesn't matter that much how much you earn / what you work on / where you live. You get used pretty fast to all those things. So always be suspicious of yourself when you're over-analysing big life decisions. If you're trying to optimise happiness a lot of those decisions won't make much of a difference.
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mdiesel 6y ago
"There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness. We must have felt what it is to die, Morrel, that we may appreciate the enjoyments of living. " - The Count of Monte Cristo justifying having basically tortured his friend and driven him to suicide.
ckosidows 6y ago
I've read a lot about community, or the sense of being part of a community, as being the most important factor in human happiness. Winning the lottery doesn't automatically put you into any community and I would argue it actually has the potential of separating you from a lot of your current peers. The book has some pretty controversial opinions, but _Sex at Dawn_ has a lot of good insight about how important community and sharing are to a social species such as humans and how we might have lost that strong sense of community with the advent of agriculture and consequent abundance.
- joelbluminator 6y ago
  Indeed, connection to other human beings is very important.

devguy01 6y ago

"So we're very good in experiencing contentment for short bursts and then it's back to our normal mental mode." That is exactly what I've observed and experienced. Well said!

joelbluminator 6y ago
At first I was freaked out by this revelation. But after thinking about it kinda takes the stress out of a lot of things. Doesn't matter that much how much you earn / what you work on / where you live. You get used pretty fast to all those things. So always be suspicious of yourself when you're over-analysing big life decisions. If you're trying to optimise happiness a lot of those decisions won't make much of a difference.

deleted 6y ago

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mdiesel 6y ago

"There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness. We must have felt what it is to die, Morrel, that we may appreciate the enjoyments of living. " - The Count of Monte Cristo justifying having basically tortured his friend and driven him to suicide.

ckosidows 6y ago

I've read a lot about community, or the sense of being part of a community, as being the most important factor in human happiness. Winning the lottery doesn't automatically put you into any community and I would argue it actually has the potential of separating you from a lot of your current peers. The book has some pretty controversial opinions, but _Sex at Dawn_ has a lot of good insight about how important community and sharing are to a social species such as humans and how we might have lost that strong sense of community with the advent of agriculture and consequent abundance.

joelbluminator 6y ago
Indeed, connection to other human beings is very important.