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Clearly. We should strive to be miserable and frustrated because that's a lot better.
by theorique 14y ago
Clearly. We should strive to be miserable and frustrated because that's a lot better.
- jessriedel 14y agoWe should strive for something greater than ourselves.
- theorique 14y agoFair point. Chasing happiness (esp. short term pleasure) as an end in itself, rather than as a side effect of doing valuable things, is unlikely to result in happiness. But I think a strategic view of "what big choices in life will contribute to long term happiness?" is a still good thing to consider.
- jessriedel 14y agoIsn't that the opposite of the original sentence I quoted?
- theorique 14y agoIt could be. I think if a person's "happiness every day" is "smoke crack and gamble in search of a short-lived rush", he needs to reevaluate, because that won't serve long term happiness. OTOH, if a person's "happiness every day" is "do yoga, spend time with family, and work reasonable hours at a job he enjoys", then that's a good idea. Ideally, the short term and the long term are reasonably aligned, otherwise you get problems.
- jessriedel 14y agoIn that case, "happiness every day" is a uselessly vague term.
- theorique 14y agoIt could be used as a mantra to remind a person to focus on things that bring him happiness. The details matter, of course.
- leoedin 14y agoWhat does this even mean? Surely it's all relative, measured by our interpretation of what's great. I'm sure many theoretical physicists would consider their life work to be great, while many others would consider abstract theoretical physics with no practical application completely useless. Personally, I aim to enjoy life and ensure that any children I have can do the same. I'm not sure if I'd see a point if there wasn't happiness in it for me. Fundamentally, we're fairly insignificant. Your interpretation of life is all you have. Why not be happy?
- maigret 14y agoMeaningful life != happy life. http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/01/theres-more-to-life-than-being-happy/266805/ http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/01/theres-mor...
- d0mine 14y agoPeople can have different priorities in life e.g., instead of "be happy everyday" one can choose to focus on "leave the world a better place".
- irlib 14y agoisn't thought about better world make you happy?