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How to Live a Happy Life (2016)

ox.ac.uk

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Re: How to Live a Happy Life (2016)

#41

Post by chii »

katzgrau wrote: post #21
timoth3y wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> 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…

I think a better argument is that there is no objectivity to begin with. It's all subjective. If you believe life is meaningless, it is. If you believe there's meaning, there is.

> If you believe life is meaningless, it is. If you believe there's meaning, there is.

If you believe that there's meaning, and struggle to achieve said meaning, but ultimately failing, or ultimately proven that the struggle was ineffective at achieving said meaning, you will turn bitter and end up unhappy.

If you believe life is meaningless, you will observe that your internal model is correct, and thus be vindicated, if not cynical towards everything.

That's why ignorance is bliss.

Re: How to Live a Happy Life (2016)

#42

Post by JetAlone »

chii wrote: post #39
bigDinosaur wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, that does sound like a joke.

it sounds like a joke because people who cannot lower their expectations don't believe those who did and their new found happiness must be a lie. I guess it really is dependent on personality, upbringing and other nurture of the person.

There's a point past which it falls apart. I can just lower my expectations to the point that I don't expect my basic human such as food etc. to be met and be happy? Really?

The only way I have seen where this actually succeeds involves believing there is something better than this existence, available on the other side through the deprivation. And at that point, arguably, there is not a lowered expectation, but rather a new, heightened one.

Re: How to Live a Happy Life (2016)

#44

Post by lucjac »

Nice article, highly agree with it! :) i’ve spent the last few years building an app fir your first point: “write down three things you’re grateful for every day” https://mindhappy.page.link/app Its really amazing to see entries from years ago and you can effectively learn what you like from doing this consistently

Re: How to Live a Happy Life (2016)

#45

Post by cehrlich »

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…

I think there is some truth to this. Many of my colleagues who come from well-off families seem to struggle with finding meaning in their life, and I suspect it might be because work quite literally doesn't have a purpose for them - they could quit working today and not have to worry for many years, possibly forever.

To me, I work so I can earn money and provide for my family, which I don't take for granted. That alone makes any work-related annoyance not such a big deal.

Of course I also like getting intrinsic pleasure from work, social relationships, rewarding hobbies, etc., but I find meaning in life prior any of those, which is a good defense mechanism for when one or more of those things aren't going so well.

Re: How to Live a Happy Life (2016)

#46

Post by gundmc »

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?

On one level, this has an appealing certain kind of logic. But in practice I've found this leads to depression and cynicism.

Re: How to Live a Happy Life (2016)

#47

Post by gmadsen »

randmeerkat wrote: post #20
timoth3y wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> 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…

meaning can be as simple as loving the people around you. It doesn't need to be a divine master plan

Re: How to Live a Happy Life (2016)

#50

Post by v-erne »

gundmc wrote: post #46
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?

On one level, this has an appealing certain kind of logic. But in practice I've found this leads to depression and cynicism.

Cynicism or realizm? Sometimes its really hard to tell because the people that call You cynic are often lost in their idealizm.

And I believe that depression in this situation means that You are simply still expecting too much.

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