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intrigue
Washington, D.C9934 Posts
there are no plotlines in which our dear protagonist doesn't want to be happy. it seems that any story, by definition, is an example of a deviation from the norm. so an anecdote, i guess. a datapoint on the chart of human experience. argh already off topic!
ANYHOW. no disney princess ever needs rescuing from well-being. if you make a pros and cons chart of being happy, you'd have an infinite list of pros and 0 cons. there are some cons you can think of if you dig. a happy person would experience greater inconvenience if they were to be murdered. nonexistence is a large stretch from loving life.
this was one idea i grasped very early on. it will always be +ev to try to be happy. the human affinity for happiness is boundless. BUT WHY IS EVERYONE SO UNHAPPY? goodness are we miserable. by we i mean most of us. by us i mean you. i'm doing pretty good. what could it be?
ah, yes - circumstance. we're born so fucking stupid, you know? and on top of that we're born in varying depths of our ancestors' stupid shit. some of us are drowning, just sucking it into our lungs and into our veins and capillaries. my god.
it's a bit of a paradox because i still believe stupid people have an easier time being happy. ignorance is usually bliss, wonderful bliss. what i noticed recently though is that smart people have some advantages too, but you need a lot of attitude to pull it off. nerds tend to overprocess all the stuff in the world, like zooming into a pore on someone's face. smart people have the potential to more fully realize the tremendous beauty about them.
if you must, a starcraft analogy: in tvp at pub levels protoss is fucking easy and stomps everyone. this is stupid people and how they do pretty well on their own. at the highest level though, there is boxer and oov and nada and flash.
smart people lose all the time because they worry too much and miss their timings to do things.
try this, guys, and report back. next time one of you nerds are stressing out about something inconsequential, just smile and say 'you know what? fuck it.' go lie in the wonderful sun and read a book. expand!
 
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Expand your mind! It comes naturally. Thirdly, it's gratuitous. Well met, well read.
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I don't think stupid people are on the average more happy than smart ones. I guess the reason we tend to think so is like this:
1. People tend to hide unhappiness and show happiness - so we tend to think others are happier than we are.
2. People tend to feel themselves to be more clever than average - so we tend to think others are dumber than we are.
Put 1 and 2 together and you get why people think stupid people are happier.
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I love you Intrigue so I'm 5'ing this and... you raise some interesting points.
But I don't like how this ends  . There are a variety of reasons why people are unhappy, the 'fuck it, be happy' sort of ending puts me in mind of this:
'Don't worry, be happy' has to be the most given, least followed and most unhelpful advice in human history. - Julian Short An Intelligent Life
Still, I like the tone of this piece and I like you  (and I guess I'm feeling pretty happy atm so it agrees with me).
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intrigue
Washington, D.C9934 Posts
maybe most unhelpful because it's least followed? =P
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On April 04 2012 02:31 intrigue wrote:
maybe most unhelpful because it's least followed? =P
Perhaps that's true, but I don't think that's what the author was getting at
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People are unhappy because they're bogged down by worries and its a negative circular thought-process.
Additionally, they're unhappy because of our eternal desire to strive and achieve, which has coming to compare each other with others and how this person has more than this rather than the idea that we have differentiating qualities, achievements, successes and objects of award or value and that the comparison is and will always be needless (since our beings are so different, the comparison is hardly fair or worthwhile to do).
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I'm unhappy because both me and my girlfriend finished university and are now both unemployed for more than 2 years. Having 27 years and asking your parents for a few bucks so you can go out for a drink with a girl makes me unhappy. And no amount of 'don't worry' will change that, especially when I look at the state of the world around us, no perspective, no chance for something to change or improve.
And then when I really want to get down, I start thinking how shitty this world we're living in is, when you have people dying from hunger in the world, stupid holywood bimbos, born into wealth, holding all the magazine covers and over indulging in everything, people in NK starving while a military hunt builds more weapons instead of buying food, people killing each other for no particular reason, fucking Cristiano Ronaldo earning hundreds of millions of dollars because he kicks the boll somewhat better than the other guy, and all that while a family of 4 is trying to survive with 300 bucks a month...it's just all so depressing.
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8751 Posts
You should read The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor! =]
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On April 04 2012 03:23 Liquid`NonY wrote:
You should read The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor! =]
Happiness from Will Ferguson is a nice comedic book and basic philosophy on happiness.
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Wow we think about it 90% the same way and yes I'M DOING PRETTY DAMN FINE THANK YOU.
On April 04 2012 03:16 Odoakar wrote:
I'm unhappy because both me and my girlfriend finished university and are now both unemployed for more than 2 years. Having 27 years and asking your parents for a few bucks so you can go out for a drink with a girl makes me unhappy. And no amount of 'don't worry' will change that, especially when I look at the state of the world around us, no perspective, no chance for something to change or improve.
And then when I really want to get down, I start thinking how shitty this world we're living in is, when you have people dying from hunger in the world, stupid holywood bimbos, born into wealth, holding all the magazine covers and over indulging in everything, people in NK starving while a military hunt builds more weapons instead of buying food, people killing each other for no particular reason, fucking Cristiano Ronaldo earning hundreds of millions of dollars because he kicks the boll somewhat better than the other guy, and all that while a family of 4 is trying to survive with 300 bucks a month...it's just all so depressing.
If you have already abandoned hope you should know that hopelessness can be happiness as well. I don't know why but I found my happiness in the numbness of hopelessness and then that happiness turned into hope and actions. But this probably is not your case, sorry to meddle.
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yea im gettin there hold up
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i'd like to add that i think a lot of people dont smoke enough of the good shit
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It's not really clear what your idea of "smart" and "stupid" are. It's not really clear what your idea of happiness is either. "Happy" is quite a general word used to describe a vast number of emotions. It's used to describe almost anything we perceive as good, ironically, including sadness if we feel the emotion is appropriate or needed for completeness. As an example, if a book affected you enough to make you sad or anxious, you might say you were happy to have read it. You've "expanded" as you put it.
I think we might be looking at the difference between optimism and pessimism, thinking a lot and not thinking much. Are people who think a lot more pessimistic? If one imagines the old man peacefully rocking his chair on his porch not thinking of much, is it easy to think he must be optimistic about life?
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On April 04 2012 03:03 Torte de Lini wrote:
People are unhappy because they're bogged down by worries and its a negative circular thought-process.
Additionally, they're unhappy because of our eternal desire to strive and achieve, which has coming to compare each other with others and how this person has more than this rather than the idea that we have differentiating qualities, achievements, successes and objects of award or value and that the comparison is and will always be needless (since our beings are so different, the comparison is hardly fair or worthwhile to do).
I was thinking exactly the same thing . I liked how you touched on the psychological and sociological (I was going to say 'psychological, sociological and circumstantial' as reasons for human unhappiness, but I worried I'd sound too pretentious).
You and Odoakar summed it up neatly.
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intrigue
Washington, D.C9934 Posts
hm, i should explain the things i find to be inconsequential
On April 04 2012 03:16 Odoakar wrote:
I'm unhappy because both me and my girlfriend finished university and are now both unemployed for more than 2 years. Having 27 years and asking your parents for a few bucks so you can go out for a drink with a girl makes me unhappy. And no amount of 'don't worry' will change that, especially when I look at the state of the world around us, no perspective, no chance for something to change or improve.
And then when I really want to get down, I start thinking how shitty this world we're living in is, when you have people dying from hunger in the world, stupid holywood bimbos, born into wealth, holding all the magazine covers and over indulging in everything, people in NK starving while a military hunt builds more weapons instead of buying food, people killing each other for no particular reason, fucking Cristiano Ronaldo earning hundreds of millions of dollars because he kicks the boll somewhat better than the other guy, and all that while a family of 4 is trying to survive with 300 bucks a month...it's just all so depressing.
you are educated, you aren't lonely, you have a place to live. getting allowance from your parents for leisure time may be a blow to your masculinity or whatever, but if that's your biggest problem then man you have it pretty great. isn't it amazing that on top of having all your basic necessities provided for you can still get extra?? and that your parents like you enough to support you... i don't mean to belittle your problems but there are people out there who read your post with envy.
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"try this, guys, and report back. next time one of you nerds are stressing out about something inconsequential, just smile and say 'you know what? fuck it.' go lie in the wonderful sun and read a book."
I do something similar. I normally ask them if this will be a problem in ten years time? If so is there anything you can about it right now? If so, why aren't you doing it? If they answer no to either of the first two then stress is just making them feel worse than they need to. If they answer yes to the first two than they should have no reasonable answer to the last one.
There is that wonderful serenity prayer
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference."
The god bit can be ignored if it offends you. There is something empowering about knowing you can change some things and also something freeing knowing some things are beyond your control.
It isn't easy to choose to be happy. People have legitimate concerns and sometimes it makes sense to worry. But often the small problems seem bigger than they are and the big ones don't get noticed until it is too late.
Interesting blog but I don't think life is as simple as simply choosing to be happy.
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I for one like the sentiment, the 'fuck it' attitude. Generally I apply it to procrastination: sometimes I take time off from whatever it is I have to do and hang out with friends, have a drink, etc. I (usually) manage to finish things on time, but I think it's important to know when to hang it up and step outside.
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On April 04 2012 15:00 intrigue wrote:hm, i should explain the things i find to be inconsequential Show nested quote +On April 04 2012 03:16 Odoakar wrote:
I'm unhappy because both me and my girlfriend finished university and are now both unemployed for more than 2 years. Having 27 years and asking your parents for a few bucks so you can go out for a drink with a girl makes me unhappy. And no amount of 'don't worry' will change that, especially when I look at the state of the world around us, no perspective, no chance for something to change or improve.
And then when I really want to get down, I start thinking how shitty this world we're living in is, when you have people dying from hunger in the world, stupid holywood bimbos, born into wealth, holding all the magazine covers and over indulging in everything, people in NK starving while a military hunt builds more weapons instead of buying food, people killing each other for no particular reason, fucking Cristiano Ronaldo earning hundreds of millions of dollars because he kicks the boll somewhat better than the other guy, and all that while a family of 4 is trying to survive with 300 bucks a month...it's just all so depressing. you are educated, you aren't lonely, you have a place to live. getting allowance from your parents for leisure time may be a blow to your masculinity or whatever, but if that's your biggest problem then man you have it pretty great. isn't it amazing that on top of having all your basic necessities provided for you can still get extra?? and that your parents like you enough to support you... i don't mean to belittle your problems but there are people out there who read your post with envy.
But society will not respect you.
Our cultural attitudes towards work and responsibility do not match the facts on the ground.
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Korea (South)17174 Posts
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EPT
