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> Basically, comparison causes conflict, conflict causes anxiety, anxiety causes fear, and fear makes mind dull. Unfortunately, I can report that I have done a

> Basically, comparison causes conflict, conflict causes anxiety, anxiety causes fear, and fear makes mind dull. Unfortunately, I can report that I have done all of my best work in my career when I was extraordinarily anxious, feeling like I was holding to the side of the cliff with just my fingernails. Whenever things have started to get too comfortable, I found that hubris has disrupted my successes. It's a sad thought, but I see absolutely no reason to believe that the natural state of humanity is to be happy (or, more specifically, content). The Environment of Evolutionary Adaptiveness [0] seems like a pretty harsh place, and that's also where I've found most brains function best. [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolutionary_psychology#Environment_of_evolutionary_adaptedness http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolutionary_psychology#Environ...

eloisant 12y ago
The question is not really what the "natural state" for humanity is to be happy, but what would you choose? Would you rather be happy or productive?
- lgas 12y ago
  If I had to pick just one, I guess it would be happy. But I choose both. Fortunately for me I am happiest when I am productive, so it works out.
- pdiddy 12y ago
  Producing a happiness revolution would be the most productive thing I can imagine and being happy is a good first step.
- miloshadzic 12y ago
  false dichotomy alert
- nallurirr 12y ago
  How come Happiness and Productivity have become opposite things. Why there is no happiness in Productivity ? Can an unhappy person be truly productive, not just doing some thing mechanically and painfully ?
mkagenius 12y ago
Looks like there are multiple paths for success :) Human being is such a complex machine, I don't know why people think that there is only way to succeed - _genuine_ motivation for the job. What is genuine and what's not? If the job is getting done, who cares! Sometimes its just good enough to be like cockroaches to survive and succeed.
otakucode 12y ago
>I see absolutely no reason to believe that the natural state of humanity is to be happy (or, more specifically, content) What about the fact that stress is tremendously destructive to our health? It is directly a threat to the survival of both individuals and the societies they live in. If being in an anxious state for extensive periods of time were the most advantageous to survival, then evolution seems not to have noticed it. The structure and functioning of our endocrine system heavily suggests that humans were built for occasional short bursts of high stress, not extended periods of constant high stress (as we have designed society to require of most people).
- DawkinsGawd 12y ago
  Fear is biologically advantageous in moderation. Without fear (anxiety, stress, etc) you would have not lived past infancy.
- hueving 12y ago
  Stress doesn't kill you until after the age of reproduction. There is no way for evolution to select against it.
noddingham 12y ago
When you say you were anxious and holding to the side of the cliff with fingernails, were you also particularly busy? I ask because I can recall several times in both school and career when I was much more productive because I had to be due to time constraints than when I had ample free time and was not as burdened. I'm wondering if you are describing that as well.

eloisant 12y ago

The question is not really what the "natural state" for humanity is to be happy, but what would you choose? Would you rather be happy or productive?

lgas 12y ago
If I had to pick just one, I guess it would be happy. But I choose both. Fortunately for me I am happiest when I am productive, so it works out.
pdiddy 12y ago
Producing a happiness revolution would be the most productive thing I can imagine and being happy is a good first step.
miloshadzic 12y ago
false dichotomy alert
nallurirr 12y ago
How come Happiness and Productivity have become opposite things. Why there is no happiness in Productivity ? Can an unhappy person be truly productive, not just doing some thing mechanically and painfully ?

mkagenius 12y ago

Looks like there are multiple paths for success :) Human being is such a complex machine, I don't know why people think that there is only way to succeed - _genuine_ motivation for the job. What is genuine and what's not? If the job is getting done, who cares! Sometimes its just good enough to be like cockroaches to survive and succeed.

otakucode 12y ago

>I see absolutely no reason to believe that the natural state of humanity is to be happy (or, more specifically, content) What about the fact that stress is tremendously destructive to our health? It is directly a threat to the survival of both individuals and the societies they live in. If being in an anxious state for extensive periods of time were the most advantageous to survival, then evolution seems not to have noticed it. The structure and functioning of our endocrine system heavily suggests that humans were built for occasional short bursts of high stress, not extended periods of constant high stress (as we have designed society to require of most people).

DawkinsGawd 12y ago
Fear is biologically advantageous in moderation. Without fear (anxiety, stress, etc) you would have not lived past infancy.
hueving 12y ago
Stress doesn't kill you until after the age of reproduction. There is no way for evolution to select against it.

noddingham 12y ago

When you say you were anxious and holding to the side of the cliff with fingernails, were you also particularly busy? I ask because I can recall several times in both school and career when I was much more productive because I had to be due to time constraints than when I had ample free time and was not as burdened. I'm wondering if you are describing that as well.