I don't have much to be happy about with the current state of my life. In fact I honestly cannot remember the last time I was happy. Or the last time I woke up and was proud to start the day. The only thing that keeps me here is playing SC. My dream is to become good enough to be able to play at an MLG or such events. But I am nowhere close. Been trying to about 2 and a half years now. Nobody wants to help. Nobody cares.
What is like to excel at something like SC? Is it worth it? For those who have competed in a live event, I envy you. I want to be that good at this game. I think that will make me happy. It would make me happy. But I doubt it will happen.
What is it like to be happy? What do you consider happiness to be?
Are you absolutely destitute? Dying of hunger? Do you have a terminal disease?
Find something that makes you appreciate life, even if you're not the best at it. Find a hobby or a job, or just enjoy the little things. Find a person who respects you and loves you for who you are.
Happiness for me is the ability to wake up for one day and have no worries of the past and no concerns about the future. To be able to live the day at its fullest without the reminder that it ends, but to remember how each feeling felt before a new one bloomed.
On September 10 2012 10:03 DarkPlasmaBall wrote: Are you absolutely destitute? Dying of hunger? Do you have a terminal disease?
Find something that makes you appreciate life, even if you're not the best at it. Find a hobby or a job, or just enjoy the little things. Find a person who respects you and loves you for who you are.
True happiness for me comes in the smallest moments, and is only there for the briefest amount of time before it is gone. I know, it sounds corny, but i can' think of any other way to express it.
When the happiness is gone, then comes the longing to replicate, or exceed that happiness, thus is the nature of human beings, and of progress.
The problem you face is that even if you play in a live event, you wouldn't be happy for long. How far would you get? Lets say you won two games and then got cheesed out of the tournament. What would be going through your mind? Would you be happy, more than you would be angry? You would probably need to come back and do better next time.
There are things to be happy about all around you, and it doesn't have to revolve around Starcraft.
Lets take DeMuslim (sorry Ben) as an example. When i see him play at tournaments he always looks so unhappy, especially when he gets knocked out. But at home, with his friends in the EG house, he always seems so happy, like a different person. I am not saying he (or you) shouldn't play in tournaments, but what i am saying is that happiness doesn't always appear where you think it is going to.
I am an awful starcraft player, but every week, about 3 times, i play in a BSG tournament. I will probably spend half the day looking forward to the tournament, only to be disappointed when i get knocked out int he first or second round. It makes me wonder if my life would be better if i didn't play, because then i would enjoy my life alot more (moment to moment) because i wouldn't be spending it thinking about some future 'thing' that i might not even enjoy.
For me personally, happiness comes with philosophy. Having a realisation of the truth of how i see the world is what makes me happy. These realisations can come at the most unexpected of times. Once i was really depressed at work (i used to be a chef and i hated my job), and then i went for cigarette and while i was smoking i just stared at a tree. Without knowing it i started thinking about the biology of the tree, the atoms that make up the tree and so on, and i just sat and thought about how awesome the world is. The rest of my day just seemed so much brighter because of this. Of course this can't really happen if you try and make it happen, but that's human brains for you. Also taking hallucinogenic drugs makes me happy (that's just me though, and if i did it often i doubt it would).
I guess i feel kinda cheesy talking about it like this but i don't see how else to approach the subject.
interesting topic. I believe happiness stems from social interaction and being able to connect and empathize with another human being. Id love to see what other people are going to post on this topic
On September 10 2012 10:21 Mr Showtime wrote: My answer would differ based on your current situation. Are you in high school? college? graduated from college? in the real world?
If you can answer that, I can do my best to give a good answer.
In the "real world", with a job that underpays me, I have a degree in something I hate. I have no money with lots of health problems...the list goes on.
having meaningful relationships with people I actually like and respect. Freedom to do things that hold my interest. A certain spiritual fulfillment that comes from improving my life situation and knowing that i take good care of my family. Most of all, happiness comes from balance. A lot of people find one thing that makes them happy (video games for instance) and focus on that to the exclusion of all else. That is no way to live. Unfortunately, I think that's a fact everyone must learn for themselves.
Happiness is what you make it. You can have all your dreams and be miserable because you want more, or you can be happy because you've been fortunate enough to still be alive. If you're as depressed as your post seemed, you should get professional help (anti-depressants tend to make depressed people "happy" from what I've seen)
From what i've gathered from my (relatively short) time on Earth, I don't think there's a lot of happiness. I don't feel happy too often, and i'm sure many of you are the same. That doesn't mean things are bad, though. It's that state of being where.. for a few moments in life, nothing is going to shit. You aren't feeling bad, you don't feel stress, there's nothing wrong; you are just "being." No problems to pick up after. And for every time I am dealing with one of those problems, I know (and look forward to) that eventually, after i've solved it, i'll be able to just lay down, recharge, and not have to deal with anything for a short amount of time until the next. To me, it seems like, in our own ways, we just all strive for stability. To milk "being" for as long as possible.
After contemplating it for awhile, though, I pretty much end up at the same answer i've always gotten, in my root of thoughts and ideology; It is shit. Life. Delude and distract yourself until death. But really, there's no reason not to give it a go, and see what you can get out of it.