4 ms·
In HN formatting you need newline for paragraph lists: 1. Be patient. No matter what. 2. Don’t badmouth: Assign responsibility, not blame. Say nothing of anot
by DoingIsLearning 5y ago
In HN formatting you need newline for paragraph lists:
1. Be patient. No matter what.
2. Don’t badmouth: Assign responsibility, not blame. Say nothing of another you wouldn’t say to him.
3. Never assume the motives of others are, to them, less noble than yours are to you.
4. Expand your sense of the possible.
5. Don’t trouble yourself with matters you truly cannot change.
6. Expect no more of anyone than you can deliver yourself.
7. Tolerate ambiguity.
8. Laugh at yourself frequently.
9. Concern yourself with what is right rather than who is right.
10. Never forget that, no matter how certain, you might be wrong.
11. Give up blood sports.
12. Remember that your life belongs to others as well. Don’t risk it frivolously.
13. Never lie to anyone for any reason. (Lies of omission are sometimes exempt.)
14. Learn the needs of those around you and respect them.
15. Avoid the pursuit of happiness. Seek to define your mission and pursue that.
16. Reduce your use of the first personal pronoun.
17. Praise at least as often as you disparage.
18. Admit your errors freely and soon.
19. Become less suspicious of joy.
20. Understand humility.
21. Remember that love forgives everything.
22. Foster dignity.
23. Live memorably.
24. Love yourself.
25. Endure.
- Ntrails 5y ago> Avoid the pursuit of happiness. Seek to define your mission and pursue that. Someone is going to need to explain to me why focussing on being happy is a bad idea. My historic view was "I'd rather chase being content and comfortable" as it's less of a sugary high and more of a stable base. However - I do not think that is what is being said here?
- MagnumOpus 5y agoWhat he means is to avoid making hedonism your only goal in life, but to have some goal beyond that...
- Ntrails 5y agoI'm not sure that happiness == hedonism? I would contend that most people spend too much time and effort chasing eg "being an expert in field x" or "getting a job with consultancy k" because they mistakenly think it's a good thing in and of itself. Maybe I'm wrong! Maybe our goals should be lofty and our own happiness tangential - but I don't buy it. If anything I think more people should think about things that make them happy, rather than focussing on abstract life goals that may or may not do that.
- TOGoS 5y agoBecause happiness is not something you can 'have', it's something that happens. If you pursue happiness as a goal in itself, you may find that whatever you thought would give you happiness is not enough. On the other hand, if you have a mission and pursue that, you might not accomplish your mission, but happiness, or at least contentment that you are making progress, may happen in the process. Related: "What is the meaning of existence? To stop searching for the meaning of existence" (paraphrased from somewhere). I like Alan Watts' talk on 'discipline'[1]. tl;dr: "It's enormously important, especially for American people, to understand that there is absolutely no possibility of having any pleasure in life at all without skill." [1] https://youtu.be/RNn1FB-Yn2M https://youtu.be/RNn1FB-Yn2M - put it in a background tab to avoid the silly graphics.
- Ntrails 5y agoI think my argument runs counter to this. Stop chasing things you think might give you happiness/contentment in some long run, as though it is some intangible second order effect.
- michaelbrave 5y agoit's been my life experience that trying to be happy is like grasping sand, the harder you try the more it eludes. While living with a purpose, or for the sake of others it seems to come naturally.