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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?

#71

Post by Towaway69 »

yboris wrote: post #35

If 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'm on a 7DWW and couldn't be happier.

I work my own stuff, do whatever happens to be important for me in the now, and trust in myself that I will reach my goals.

This redefines "work" as being something that isn't financially beneficial immediately rather mental and personally enlightening.

But I have worked for the (wo)man and can appreciate the difference.

Re: If you’re so smart, how come you’re not happy?

#72

Post by javier123454321 »

nyokodo wrote: post #38
skilled wrote: post #16

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. 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.

Depends on the school and what you as a practicioner bring to the table. Hinayana buddhism focuses a lot on renunciation of worldly affairs, but that's not all there is.

In vajrayana buddhism, you work with the knowledge that you have everything to be happy already inside you, and all you need to do is to stop limiting yourself and experience the inherent bliss of all experience. You take everything as an expression of the limitless potential of space to manifest, and you enjoy everything just because it can happen. Your happiness does not depend on anything external so you enjoy things as they come, but don't attach yourself and your wellbeing to an ever changing external world. Enlightenment is an absolute bliss filled experience, not a state of numbness.

Re: If you’re so smart, how come you’re not happy?

#73

Post by skilled »

ravishi wrote: post #36
skilled wrote: post #16

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. 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.

Simple version? Try stillness. Practice sitting quiet for 30 minutes every single day at the same time for a month straight. Some call it meditation, but to get to meditation it takes a lot of practice, anything before that is sitting still and experiencing how your thoughts form themselves.

The best part about this approach is that no scary monsters are going to come and get you. The only monster you'll encounter is that voice in your mind that never ceases to blabber on about things.

And it's not easy. Nothing is when it comes to being quiet. If you struggle with behavior or have emotional tendencies - learning to be quiet is a humbling experience.

What to expect? A lot more breathing room, not only in your mind but also in your life. Doing this process is the same as installing a window in a room that has been windowless for a hundred years. Fresh air, natural light, and a much broader view on life.

Re: If you’re so smart, how come you’re not happy?

#74

Post by brookst »

adamsmith143 wrote: post #68
hinata08 wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would you even make the connection between work and happiness ? HR and corporations don't work to make you happy, some just play you to get better job and money themselves. I've just learnt to get happiness and fulfillment in clubs, friends and family, so that some abusive managers don't have the power to make me happy or not. And I've become more minimalist. I should be able to survive, if I change of job.

Yes, it turns out work will NOT make you free...

"Free" is an absolute that can never be achieved.

But work (or at least the money it produces) can deliver types of freedom not otherwise available. Like just deciding to spend a weekend in Paris, or buying a boat, or whatever. Not that everyone can/should want those kinds of freedoms, but money really is a proxy for freedom in this world.

Re: If you’re so smart, how come you’re not happy?

#76

Post by mach1ne »

gooseus wrote: post #57

I also think "getting what you want" is less important than "knowing what you want", the fables and folklore of every culture has cautionary tales that boils down to "be careful what you wish for". True happiness (imho, and I am no expert here) is about resonating with a moral philosophy you truly believe in, and then acting in a way that you believe truly aligns with it. I think the more people around you who valida…

I agree with your main point but I don't think less smart people are any happier for believing in more mainstream philosophies. The reason smart people usually don't resonate with these philosophies is that they're brittle; look at them a little closer and you can see the cracks. People who choose these philosophies will come to know of the existence of the cracks, usually by others pointing them out. After that it's some form of willful ignorance which nags at the soul.

Re: If you’re so smart, how come you’re not happy?

#78

Post by brookst »

skilled wrote: post #16

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. 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

Is it?

I see far more people saying that material possessions don't make one happy than that they do. How many movies, novels, etc, are about living for oneself rather than possessions? How many say the opposite?

IMO everyone knows that material possessions are nice to have, in the sense that we all want what we want, but also that they do not produce happiness. Does anyone say otherwise?

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