Things I do to be consistently happy

Things I do to be consistently happy
joel.is

The primary reason is that there are fewer distractions. The news cycle has slowed, my FB news feed is all but dead, I'm not receiving any emails/calls/chats, my roommates are asleep, and it's too late to accomplish chores like shopping or doing laundry. I'm also less likely to desire switching to another task, having accomplished them all earlier in the day. In other words, when I get into the zone late at night, I'm more likely to stay in the zone.

Another reason has to do with the pressure of a deadline. The later it gets, the stronger that nagging feeling is in the back of my mind telling me, "It's late. Go to bed." Nothing gets me working more efficiently than a rapidly approaching deadline. And, unlike most deadlines, I can continually push this one back: "1AM? Okay one more hour. 2AM? Shit, just one more hour." I can spend an almost indefinite amount of time in "deadline mode".

Of course this only works if you don't have anything important to wake up for in the morning.

Can someone explain to me what 'being happy' means?

I have consistently failed to answer anyone who asked me if I was happy or not. All I can say is that I am content or not. Which, for me, means that I am satisfied with the situation I am in. I can do what I want to do, when I want to do it and do not have to be bothered by things that do not interest me.

Happiness, on the other hand, is not something I understand. It feels like an utterly inappropriate term to use to describe this particular sensation. I have always regarded it as this magical state of being that would be used by people who also talk of 'achieving ultimate enlightenment'.

"The ultimate goal in life is to be happy" is what I hear regularly. And I have to keep wondering what could possibly be so wonderful about it that makes this worth being the sole focus of a person's life?

edit: Fixed some grammar.

Do you actually feel like you've "won the lottery" or do you just try to remind yourself how lucky you are? I've read a number of studies that suggest we internally compare our status relative to those around us. So while I don't have to worry about access to clean water (which much world doesn't have), I don't personally know anyone without access to clean water, so I don't really feel all that lucky about it.

Conversely, I don't personally know anyone with $100 million, so if I won $100 million in the lottery, I would feel quite lucky.

I guess I ask because I'm curious if you can actually "force" or reason yourself into feeling lucky, or if that feeling is dependent on your environment.