A forgotten dimension of this problem is that you’re never happy if you care too much. Intelligent people care too much. If you don’t care enough you’re probably causing trouble for other people. I’d rather hurt myself than other people.
If you’re so smart, how come you’re not happy?
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Re: If you’re so smart, how come you’re not happy?
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
I disagree, they are just not necessarily associated. Less intelligent people have problems too. Children constantly throw tantrums, for instance. I do agree that overthinking and the high neuroticism that usually comes with intelligence will lead to an unhappy life usually. Contentment imo requires understanding your insignificance in the universe and having strong values to drive your behavior. Usually that means n…
Interesting counterexample. I would argue that throwing tantrums when distressed — instead of bottling up anger, frustration, and disappointment — actually enables children to embrace happiness more easily than we do during the non-tantrum moments. We learn to suppress and not feel our difficult emotions, but unfortunately we can’t selectively numb just the hard feelings. I’m not claiming our society should be filled…
Dwelling in one's own subjective experience is typically fruitless. However, paying attention to emotion ("attention is all you need") as a detector of mismatches between reality and expectations is quite useful. But, attending to ones emotional state is only useful if you are willing to update your internal state (beliefs, expectations) and actions to reflect reality more closely.
Re: If you’re so smart, how come you’re not happy?
#33The smarter you are, the more unhappy and lonely you will be. Been known for millenia; doesn't have to stay this way. edit/ sorry got shadow banned over this post. cant reply to anyone.
It takes wisdom to be happy. Smart people are more likely to become wise over time.
Just my personal experience but to me it seems like intelligence is a handicap for wisdom - you're more likely to rationalize stuff in a way that doesn't fit the "common sense" answer to things
Re: If you’re so smart, how come you’re not happy?
#34The smarter you are, the more unhappy and lonely you will be. Been known for millenia; doesn't have to stay this way. edit/ sorry got shadow banned over this post. cant reply to anyone.
It takes wisdom to be happy. Smart people are more likely to become wise over time.
> It takes wisdom to be happy.
Umm, no? The world is full of happy and unwise people. "Ignorance is bliss", etc.
> Smart people are more likely to become wise over time.
I'm not sure if this is true either. We're talking about terms that are very difficult to properly define, but wisdom is gained through experience, and has no relation to IQ. There are many wise people we wouldn't consider intelligent, and intelligent people that are not wise.
Re: If you’re so smart, how come you’re not happy?
#35If you're smart and unhappy, it seems like the best next step is to read some books on the topic of Positive Psychology written by researchers that study it. Two great starts: The How of Happiness and Stumbling on Happiness but there are many more.
ps - 4DWW (Four Day Work Week) would be an amazing improvement to happiness to anyone who gets it. Let's all work on making it the norm!
Re: If you’re so smart, how come you’re not happy?
#36Buddhism principles do not lock you in their system if all you want is to understand how happiness works and why you are not happy. But people just ignore it anyway. Which is precisely the problem. Why address things when you can either ignore them or you can fight against yourself, but in both scenarios you always go round and round in the same loop. In the current global consciousness, happiness is attributed to ma…
Would you mind sharing a "starting point" for this? I would like to learn how happiness works and why I am not happy, I just have no idea how to navigate or approach this enourmous and sometimes conflicting concept that seems to be Buddhism.
Re: If you’re so smart, how come you’re not happy?
#37[deleted]
Re: If you’re so smart, how come you’re not happy?
#38Buddhism principles do not lock you in their system if all you want is to understand how happiness works and why you are not happy. But people just ignore it anyway. Which is precisely the problem. Why address things when you can either ignore them or you can fight against yourself, but in both scenarios you always go round and round in the same loop. In the current global consciousness, happiness is attributed to ma…
> Buddhism principles do not lock you in their system if all you want is to understand how happiness works and why you are not happy.
Except, eschewing desire altogether which, as I understand it is the goal of Buddhism, isn’t finding happiness it’s merely swapping overt suffering due to unrequited desire for absolute numbness.
Re: If you’re so smart, how come you’re not happy?
#39If you're smart and unhappy, it seems like the best next step is to read some books on the topic of Positive Psychology written by researchers that study it. Two great starts: The How of Happiness and Stumbling on Happiness but there are many more. ps - 4DWW (Four Day Work Week) would be an amazing improvement to happiness to anyone who gets it. Let's all work on making it the norm!
I'd rather say that if you're smart, so-called Positive Psychology seems like a fraud.
Fulfilling and meaningful life > „positive“ life. Although it may bring less „happiness“ in short term.
„Dopamine Nation“ is a good easy read.
Re: If you’re so smart, how come you’re not happy?
#40Buddhism principles do not lock you in their system if all you want is to understand how happiness works and why you are not happy. But people just ignore it anyway. Which is precisely the problem. Why address things when you can either ignore them or you can fight against yourself, but in both scenarios you always go round and round in the same loop. In the current global consciousness, happiness is attributed to ma…
> happiness is attributed to material possessions, which ironically is also what makes you unhappy.
This is a rather extreme position since beyond a certain level material possessions to not contribute to happiness but won't necessarily make you unhappy. Likewise, a complete lack of material possessions will probably make you unhappy.