How to Live a Happy Life (2016) • Hacker News Board

Re: How to Live a Happy Life (2016)

#11

Post by bigDinosaur » Mon, Apr 04, 2022, 1:40 AM UTC

mbrodersen wrote: post #7

It’s actually quite easy: simply lower your expectations until your life is better than you expected. Sounds like a joke. But is it really?

Yes, that does sound like a joke.

Re: How to Live a Happy Life (2016)

#12

Post by MerelyMortal » Mon, Apr 04, 2022, 1:42 AM UTC

mbrodersen wrote: post #7

It’s actually quite easy: simply lower your expectations until your life is better than you expected. Sounds like a joke. But is it really?

That's a little-bit of what I've done. Maybe put in another way: I've become more adaptable.

Re: How to Live a Happy Life (2016)

#13

Post by evocatus » Mon, Apr 04, 2022, 1:58 AM UTC

No post body was provided.

Re: How to Live a Happy Life (2016)

#14

Post by MerelyMortal » Mon, Apr 04, 2022, 2:05 AM UTC

evocatus wrote: post #13

Quoted post unavailable.

Edit: my mistake for trying to focus on the other parts of an otherwise racist comment.

Edit 2: The reply was edited significantly prior to the "Edit:"

Re: How to Live a Happy Life (2016)

#15

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Apr 04, 2022, 2:05 AM UTC

MerelyMortal wrote: post #14

evocatus wrote: post #13

Quoted post unavailable.

Edit: my mistake for trying to focus on the other parts of an otherwise racist comment. Edit 2: The reply was edited significantly prior to the "Edit:"

[deleted]

Re: How to Live a Happy Life (2016)

#16

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Apr 04, 2022, 2:15 AM UTC

MerelyMortal wrote: post #14

evocatus wrote: post #13

Quoted post unavailable.

Edit: my mistake for trying to focus on the other parts of an otherwise racist comment. Edit 2: The reply was edited significantly prior to the "Edit:"

[deleted]

Re: How to Live a Happy Life (2016)

#17

Post by evocatus » Mon, Apr 04, 2022, 2:26 AM UTC

MerelyMortal wrote: post #14

evocatus wrote: post #13

Quoted post unavailable.

Edit: my mistake for trying to focus on the other parts of an otherwise racist comment. Edit 2: The reply was edited significantly prior to the "Edit:"

No post body was provided.

Re: How to Live a Happy Life (2016)

#18

Post by osrec » Mon, Apr 04, 2022, 2:27 AM UTC

I seem to find happiness when I'm not concerned with finding it, and just fully involved in the situation/moment.

Perhaps this is because I don't really pay attention to my happiness level when I'm actually happy, and so can "enjoy" the moment by being fully present.

Yet, I feel my happiness isn't tied to how good or bad the particular situation I find myself in is (as I can't really control that), but more about how I deal with it.

It's almost as if my happiness is tied to my ability to step up to the plate and meet any situation head on.

Re: How to Live a Happy Life (2016)

#19

Post by non-cotton » Mon, Apr 04, 2022, 2:28 AM UTC

Do you want a happy life, or a worthwhile life? I think they're probably correlated, but I don't think you can guarantee one without risking the other. In that light, optimizing for happiness seems like the wrong move.

Re: How to Live a Happy Life (2016)

#20

Post by randmeerkat » Mon, Apr 04, 2022, 2:32 AM UTC

timoth3y wrote: post #4

alecbz wrote: post #2

> you could be joyful but think your life is worthless I find this hard to believe. At a certain point I think a lack of meaning in your life is going to make you day-to-day unhappy, whatever you’re spending those days doing.

>> you could be joyful but think your life is worthless > I find this hard to believe. Albert Camus developed the philosophy of Absurdism around a very similar idea. A gross oversimplification is that in the grand scheme of things, logically and objectively our lives have no meaning, but our brains are wired to need meaning. The solution is to create that meaning for ourselves even while acknowledging that meaning is…

Alternatively, what’s wrong with just accepting that there is no meaning to our existence..? Why not laugh at the absurdity of it all instead? Don’t worry about this or that, just be…