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Ask HN: Are You Happy?

11 points by chistev 1y ago

xenospn 1y ago
My 15 year old dog died over a year ago and I’m still sad. So no.
- supportengineer 1y ago
  I am sorry for your loss. I hope you have happy memories from the 15 years together.
90s_dev 1y ago
Yep.
- chistev 1y ago
  Why do you get down voted?
  - 90s_dev 1y ago
    I stopped caring about that question a long time ago.
supportengineer 1y ago
Oh, hell no. When I describe my life and my feelings to ChatGPT it keeps telling me to "dial 988 and talk to someone right now"
- Sythe_nl 1y ago
  Can we help you?
BLKNSLVR 1y ago
Answering a question with a question: is "happy" something that should be aimed at as a baseline, or is that setting humanity up to fail? I'm currently sitting on the hospital bed next to my daughter who's in for an eating disorder, so I wouldn't say I'm "happy". We're often in situations that are outside of our control that we'd prefer not to be in, therefore unlikely to be classified as "happy". And maybe this is the mode I'm having to rationalise myself into given my current situation, but I'm currently "getting it done", "doing what I need to do", "moving forwards, slowly, but still forwards", "not letting it get on top of me". Any of the above. Happy, by my definition, is fleeting. I was "happy" last night when my daughter was joking around like her normal self. I was "happy" chatting to a colleague yesterday about things that don't matter, but are funny. Maybe just the the ability (or frame of mind) to have those moments of happiness scattered throughout a day could be a secondary definition of happy? I'm which case, yes I am. Despite the declining state of the world and my daughter's current situation, I can still notice and enjoy the few flakes of gold scattered throughout a day. Am I happy? I don't know. But I'm not scared of or intimidated by the idea of the future; I'm an optimist. Maybe I am "happy", but, despite this essay, it's not something I spend a lot of time thinking about, I just move forwards - as slowly as that is sometimes. Reading some of the other answers here I feel horribly privileged. I hope people are able to sort themselves out, they deserve to be able to sort themselves out. https://desiderata.com/desiderata.html https://desiderata.com/desiderata.html
- chistev 1y ago
  > Happy, by my definition, is fleeting. https://www.rxjourney.net/are-you-happy https://www.rxjourney.net/are-you-happy
chistev 1y ago
https://www.rxjourney.net/are-you-happy https://www.rxjourney.net/are-you-happy
toomuchtodo 1y ago
I live my life in a way that encourages opportunities for happiness. Every day above ground is a gift.
mathiaspoint 1y ago
No. But I think I'll be much more relaxed after being laid off.
- chistev 1y ago
  Plenty of time on your hands to build cool stuff.
TheAceOfHearts 1y ago
No, and the tools to fix this properly are currently out of reach or they haven't been invented yet. My inability to focus and be able to work through the things I most care about leaves me quite unhappy.
atlgator 1y ago
Happiness is fleeting. Does building a new computer or buying a new car make me happy? Yes, but the feeling wears off and often requires greater and greater investment to attain. Instead, I optimize for contentment. Am I content with the life I've built for myself in the place and time that I live? Absolutely.
bix6 1y ago
Are you?
- chistev 1y ago
  No
abstractspoon 1y ago
Much more so since retiring

11 points by chistev 1y ago

xenospn 1y ago

My 15 year old dog died over a year ago and I’m still sad. So no.

supportengineer 1y ago
I am sorry for your loss. I hope you have happy memories from the 15 years together.

90s_dev 1y ago

Yep.

chistev 1y ago
Why do you get down voted?
- 90s_dev 1y ago
  I stopped caring about that question a long time ago.

supportengineer 1y ago

Oh, hell no. When I describe my life and my feelings to ChatGPT it keeps telling me to "dial 988 and talk to someone right now"

Sythe_nl 1y ago
Can we help you?

BLKNSLVR 1y ago

Answering a question with a question: is "happy" something that should be aimed at as a baseline, or is that setting humanity up to fail? I'm currently sitting on the hospital bed next to my daughter who's in for an eating disorder, so I wouldn't say I'm "happy". We're often in situations that are outside of our control that we'd prefer not to be in, therefore unlikely to be classified as "happy". And maybe this is the mode I'm having to rationalise myself into given my current situation, but I'm currently "getting it done", "doing what I need to do", "moving forwards, slowly, but still forwards", "not letting it get on top of me". Any of the above. Happy, by my definition, is fleeting. I was "happy" last night when my daughter was joking around like her normal self. I was "happy" chatting to a colleague yesterday about things that don't matter, but are funny. Maybe just the the ability (or frame of mind) to have those moments of happiness scattered throughout a day could be a secondary definition of happy? I'm which case, yes I am. Despite the declining state of the world and my daughter's current situation, I can still notice and enjoy the few flakes of gold scattered throughout a day. Am I happy? I don't know. But I'm not scared of or intimidated by the idea of the future; I'm an optimist. Maybe I am "happy", but, despite this essay, it's not something I spend a lot of time thinking about, I just move forwards - as slowly as that is sometimes. Reading some of the other answers here I feel horribly privileged. I hope people are able to sort themselves out, they deserve to be able to sort themselves out. https://desiderata.com/desiderata.html https://desiderata.com/desiderata.html

chistev 1y ago
> Happy, by my definition, is fleeting. https://www.rxjourney.net/are-you-happy https://www.rxjourney.net/are-you-happy

chistev 1y ago

https://www.rxjourney.net/are-you-happy https://www.rxjourney.net/are-you-happy

toomuchtodo 1y ago

I live my life in a way that encourages opportunities for happiness. Every day above ground is a gift.

mathiaspoint 1y ago

No. But I think I'll be much more relaxed after being laid off.

chistev 1y ago
Plenty of time on your hands to build cool stuff.

TheAceOfHearts 1y ago

No, and the tools to fix this properly are currently out of reach or they haven't been invented yet. My inability to focus and be able to work through the things I most care about leaves me quite unhappy.

atlgator 1y ago

Happiness is fleeting. Does building a new computer or buying a new car make me happy? Yes, but the feeling wears off and often requires greater and greater investment to attain. Instead, I optimize for contentment. Am I content with the life I've built for myself in the place and time that I live? Absolutely.

bix6 1y ago

Are you?

chistev 1y ago
No

abstractspoon 1y ago

Much more so since retiring