Happiness.

nk4e
The more you complicate the understanding; the more you won't achieve it.
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Very true. đź‘Ť I'm trying my best to keep my mind off things and let it come naturally.
ITCC_Andrew
An interesting thing to point out:

A Korean friend of mine and I are car-pooling. We're both happier to have someone to drive to/from school with.

Happiness is as much about the company you choose to keep, as it is about material possessions, if not even more so.

Don't surround yourselves with jerks.
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Great tip. đź‘Ť And I liken that company you keep as true happiness as opposed to false happiness which I see as material possession.
 
Happiness?

Without happiness, my life would be nothing.

Happiness is when I'm with my mates, sharing the banter, playing the sports we love, having a good time.

Happiness is when I'm at the Emirates Stadium, watching the team I love, singing along with thousands of other fans from the heart, creating a noise like no other when the ball hits the back of the net, as 60,000 of us share a moment of euphoria.

Happiness will continue when I'm finally with that perfect girl,
when I'm driving a Lamborghini Aventador on the perfect road,
and when Arsenal win the League

Happiness is what I strive for in life. I seek it more than money and good fortune, because
without happiness, my life would be nothing.
 
You know what makes me happy as well?

A decent interval training (running). It gives me such a satisfying feeling when I'm running, almost, at my limits and then, rest for a minute or so before starting to run again.

This gives me a really good feeling (maybe a sudden release of dopamine?).
 
Ryanswannell
Happiness?

Without happiness, my life would be nothing.

Happiness is when I'm with my mates, sharing the banter, playing the sports we love, having a good time.

Happiness is when I'm at the Emirates Stadium, watching the team I love, singing along with thousands of other fans from the heart, creating a noise like no other when the ball hits the back of the net, as 60,000 of us share a moment of euphoria.

Happiness will continue when I'm finally with that perfect girl,
when I'm driving a Lamborghini Aventador on the perfect road,
and when Arsenal win the League

Happiness is what I strive for in life. I seek it more than money and good fortune, because
without happiness, my life would be nothing.
Click to expand...

There's something to be said about making your happiness contingent on things completely out of your control. Probably not very wise.
 
Forgive me for I've yet another mad post to make.

I think I've come to a final conclusion. Happiness is contentment. If you are not contented with what you have, you will never achieve happiness. Why did it took me so long to realize that.

It's a simple concept but I don't know why is it so hard to come to terms with. :indiff:

Is the grass really greener on the other side, or does it only seem to be? Why look elsewhere when you all you could ever want is right in front? I think it has got to do with hope, being grateful and maybe a little greed. Why be mediocre when you can be better? Why settle for good when you can have better? Is the strive to be/have better considered greed?

How can I lose hope and just be contented with what I already have?

I guess the only conclusion out of all this, is that, the human will never be satisfied.
 
kennylmao
Forgive me for I've yet another mad post to make.

I think I've come to a final conclusion. Happiness is contentment. If you are not contented with what you have, you will never achieve happiness. Why did it took me so long to realize that.

It's a simple concept but I don't know why is it so hard to come to terms with. :indiff:

Is the grass really greener on the other side, or does it only seem to be? Why look elsewhere when you all you could ever want is right in front? I think it has got to do with hope, being grateful and maybe a little greed. Why be mediocre when you can be better? Why settle for good when you can have better? Is the strive to be/have better considered greed?

How can I lose hope and just be contented with what I already have?

I guess the only conclusion out of all this, is that, the human will never be satisfied.
Click to expand...

Maybe there is something that your not content with. If you want to put it into a 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.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

--Reinhold Niebuhr
 
I can understand Serotonin and Melatonin being genetically affected, but is the Dopamine, the endorphins and the Anandamide that too? :confused:
 
nk4e
Maybe there is something that your not content with. If you want to put it into a prayer:
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Thanks nk4e. I don't believe in God but that was very insightful. đź‘Ť
Dean J
I can understand Serotonin and Melatonin being genetically affected, but is the Dopamine, the endorphins and the Anandamide that too? :confused:
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Are they readily available at the pharmacy, preferably in an easy to ingest form? :sly:
 
There are also people whom have a genetic defect which makes the serotonin reuptake pumps to work in overdrive all the time or don't have enough serotonin receptors or their receptors aren't sentitive enough. This is different from what I believe is my problem. People with this problem probably need to take medication their entire life. While me not being able to cope with stress like I should makes it possible (not sure yet) that I can do without medication, one day. I do need to avoid as much stress as possible and relax or meditate from time to time.

I'm not a doctor, nor am I a specialist. I could be completely wrong but I think my reasoning is going in the right direction.
 
kikie
There are also people whom have a genetic defect which makes the serotonin re-uptake pumps to work in overdrive all the time or don't have enough serotonin receptors or their receptors aren't sensitive enough. ..........XsnipX
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Good post, kikie.

Happiness is also a habit, much like Automatic Negative Thoughts - a known phenomenon in Psychology; once your brain starts to run a thought process through your circuits it is hard to re-route it, or change the tone of the thought. This is why a good movie or a good book is relaxing - the brain has something to munch on without too much effort. People 'zone-out' while engaging their senses with what the brain finds relaxing.
Working habitually to get rid of A.N.Ts and replace them with thoughts of gratefulness, or happy anticipation, will train your brain to engage itself with positive processes, and even direct (subconsciously) your senses to pick-up on anything around you that will make you happy.


 
kennylmao
Forgive me for I've yet another mad post to make.

I think I've come to a final conclusion. Happiness is contentment. If you are not contented with what you have, you will never achieve happiness. Why did it took me so long to realize that.

It's a simple concept but I don't know why is it so hard to come to terms with. :indiff:

I guess the only conclusion out of all this, is that, the human will never be satisfied.
Click to expand...


I would like to disagree with how you jumped to that conclusion so quick. I can shed some light on this as I've had this argument about how one can acquire happiness. Anyone is welcome to add more or pick it apart, just be constructive if you can. For the most part I see two major forms of happiness:

1) Taking the cards you're dealt and making the most out of what you have (or can have).
2) Constantly aiming for more, the betterment of yourself because you aim for a better quality of life.


The first form is you facing reality. Not everyone is as fortunate as others so sometimes you have a limit to what you can go do with your life and you just live with it by coping with it. That's perfectly fine in that you've accepted yourself, your situation, and you're doing what is plausible. You're never let down, you know how to go and find time to relax, and you've also decided not to strive for more in yourself because you feel there's no need to anymore. You're not going to dedicate yourself to daily routines like exercise, healthy diets or whatever practice you do. You aren't ambitious, but you like the idea you don't have to deal with these things anymore. You're not unhappy in that regard, but at least you are still smiling each day. Your happiness never goes away, but it doesn't change dramatically in any way.

The second form is you fantasizing about something even more spectacular than your current routine and having the drive to accomplish it. You love the idea of being that person who is at the top of the world at whatever occupation, practice, hobbies it is you've grown a passion for. You love seeing yourself become better than you were last year, that you're doing something you feel is special and meaningful in some way or another, and that you're making progress to continue growing. Happiness is not obtained and settled on. You meet your one goal, acquire happiness, and you set another goal to obtain more happiness. You will struggle through hardships (times of unhappiness) to go that extra mile to excel even further. That does however makes the value of accomplishment that much more rewarding once you make it through. Therefore happiness is not constant, but you've got your eye on the bigger picture and that's what you aim for each time. It's about creating memories someone else can remember you for; proof of it.


Note: By no means do I imply one sides with one only. I feel these are the two extremes of happiness which get applied to every little thing we do in our lives, how we dress, how we choose to spend our free time, how we want to spend our money, etc.. I am so theorizing heavily by separating the two ideas into extremes to share the idea it is not one simply one big lump. I'm fairly certain we try our best to mix the two how ever way we can.

That said, there is no one definitive way to acquire happiness. I personally acquire mine through the ambition of being someone well known in a small community either throughout the niche hobby of customizing hot wheels, drawing or Street Fighter. Being known as a designer was one of my bigger dreams, but I later learned the parameters to that occupation would likely conflict with my preferred lifestyle so I've retracted from that. I do find happiness in the betterment of my hobbies. Instead of just painting another toy car, drawing another picture or just playing a video game, I try to become more proficient at it. There's something I can strive for, it'll give me something to do and accomplishing goals or reaching milestones is a sign that improvement has been made so I know I'm becoming better than ever before. I acquire happiness through learning more about the inner-workings of my hobbies so that's another drive for continually working the way I do.
 
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AOS-
I would like to disagree with how you jumped to that conclusion so quick. I can shed some light on this as I've had this argument about how one can acquire happiness. Anyone is welcome to add more or pick it apart, just be constructive if you can. For the most part I see two major forms of happiness:

1) Taking the cards you're dealt and making the most out of what you have (or can have).
2) Constantly aiming for more, the betterment of yourself because you aim for a better quality of life.


The first form is you facing reality. Not everyone is as fortunate as others so sometimes you have a limit to what you can go do with your life and you just live with it by coping with it. That's perfectly fine in that you've accepted yourself, your situation, and you're doing what is plausible. You're never let down, you know how to go and find time to relax, and you've also decided not to strive for more in yourself because you feel there's no need to anymore. You're not going to dedicate yourself to daily routines like exercise, healthy diets or whatever practice you do. You aren't ambitious, but you like the idea you don't have to deal with these things anymore. You're not unhappy in that regard, but at least you are still smiling each day. Your happiness never goes away, but it doesn't change dramatically in any way.

The second form is you fantasizing about something even more spectacular than your current routine and having the drive to accomplish it. You love the idea of being that person who is at the top of the world at whatever occupation, practice, hobbies it is you've grown a passion for. You love seeing yourself become better than you were last year, that you're doing something you feel is special and meaningful in some way or another, and that you're making progress to continue growing. Happiness is not obtained and settled on. You meet your one goal, acquire happiness, and you set another goal to obtain more happiness. You will struggle through hardships (times of unhappiness) to go that extra mile to excel even further. That does however makes the value of accomplishment that much more rewarding once you make it through. Therefore happiness is not constant, but you've got your eye on the bigger picture and that's what you aim for each time. It's about creating memories someone else can remember you for; proof of it.
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In a Student Success class, you are taught to change your attitude about something. By changing your attitude from "I hate this " to " I can work with this" can mean alot and probably give that push you are talking about. Or easier saying from my step-father,"
There is no goal in life, there only is the Journey"
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But playing in a competitive hobby, you may have the potiential to strive for more than just being "proffcient" in it.
 
^ Sounds like something I've experienced - impressing ourselves with accomplishing an achievement we thought (in the beginning) was not possible, can make us more happy than impressing others with that achievement.

People climb mountains, unknown, for this reason. :)

Or battle alcoholism, drug-addiction, or even paralyzed legs, alone, and they beat it - and only they know the difficulty that was involved. The sense of self-empowerment is heady . . . a powerful personal happiness.

But, of course, all happiness is personal. Till shared. ;)
 
It's been a while since I've been in this thread, an intriguing read I must say. Even looking back at my posts, it's quite interesting to see how my interpretation of happiness seemed to consistently change based on the situations I was facing or the experiences I just endured. But really, that's just it:

I always have the ability to feel happiness, but my willingness to accept that feeling is based off my own perspective of how life is at that time.

And really, if that is the case, it proves that for me anyway, I can manipulate what I "feel" into whatever emotion I want to convey. If I want to be happy, then I will be happy. Such seems like an obvious concept, and it is, but I know in my past I was unable (did not allow myself) to think that was actually possible.

Happiness seems to be whatever you want it to be, I know that in my mind, the way I perceive happiness (as a force that pushes me to want to achieve my goals), I won't truly feel the full element of happiness until either I've done everything I've wanted to, or I'm about to die. That doesn't mean I never feel happy, it's that I constantly want to improve myself and the situations I find myself in.

So, I guess you could say that for myself, happiness is the constant fight to improve the life of myself and the others that are around me.
 
Happiness has 2 sub-catagories.

Happiness as a state of life. When you know your life is complete. You've found the meaning of it, or at least the meaning of yours. You've obtained everything you want, everything you dream. Perfection, even though there have been many perils along the way of life. Very few people achieve this, even less understand it, and even less appreciate it.

Happiness as a feeling. You feel happy. Even if your life is a mess, there's issues, you may be depressed even. You feel happy. You don't cry, you don't feel down. You just feel.. fine (although fine is often used as a cheats way of getting out of answering the question at hand). A temporary high, that likely won't last.

To achieve feeling happy is relatively easy. To achieve a happy life is almost impossible. Nothing is completely impossible, but true happiness is damn close.
 
TankAss95
True happiness for me is joy with the absence of pride. Anything other than this is polluted with bitterness and sin.
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Interesting. Pride is practically a requisite of happiness for me. You're missing out on life if you're trying to avoid pride.

I'm going to go ahead and say that in my experience happiness is almost always contentment or beauty. Pride is a major factor in contentment for me, even if it's just pride in what I accomplished with my day at the end when I sit down to rest. Contentment is fleeting, as is beauty*, and so is happiness.

* I don't mean beauty is fleeting because of age, it's fleeting because you grow accustomed to it, and so you stop seeing the beauty. The first time you listen to a great song, it is beautiful. The 100,000,000th time you listen to that song, the beauty is diminished and you're not as moved.
 
kikie
An upset stomach makes me feel less happy at the moment. Too much Lasagne with extra cheese. While eating the Lasagne, I was very happy though.
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"Happiness comes and goes [easily]", I suppose.

----
I think I've, after a while, finally figured out what happiness could be for me; when the bad feelings goes away, when I'm not feeling stressed and/or pressured, and when there's no expectations for me... I still have the idea that it's something the brain tricks me to feel, and not something one I really, deeply, feel... I could be wrong though. :boggled:
 
Must be worse when you're unhappy. Unless you're getting the two mixed up. :)

This makes me wonder, though; are we not happy if we are not conscious of it? Should we give ourselves the attention required when we are actually happy? Or to put it another way - are we taking our happiness for granted, and therefore not being aware that we are actually happy after all?

Sometimes, if I want to give myself happiness, I make myself aware of something to be grateful about. That makes me happy.

Maybe it's quite possible hat some of us are unhappy because we don't remember what we have to be happy about.
 
photonrider
Must be worse when you're unhappy. Unless you're getting the two mixed up. :)

This makes me wonder, though; are we not happy if we are not conscious of it? Should we give ourselves the attention required when we are actually happy? Or to put it another way - are we taking our happiness for granted, and therefore not being aware that we are actually happy after all?

Sometimes, if I want to give myself happiness, I make myself aware of something to be grateful about. That makes me happy.

Maybe it's quite possible hat some of us are unhappy because we don't remember what we have to be happy about.
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Even the small positives are the best solutions.
 

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