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The money, job, marriage myth: are you happy yet?

theguardian.com

51–60 of 195 posts

Re: The money, job, marriage myth: are you happy yet?

#51

Money gave me stability. Stability allowed me to have time for introspection. Introspection allowed me to target issues in my life. Fixing those issues is lowering my discomfort in life. Money won't fix anything for you but it will provide you an environment where you can.

"Having money isn't everything. Not having money is everything" - I forgot who first said this.

First, I don't know, but most quotably: Kanye West https://genius.com/945345

Re: The money, job, marriage myth: are you happy yet?

#52
post #4

Overall I agree with the article, and would gladly trade my high paying job for one that I actually enjoy, as long as I could be sure that I can make ends meet. The one disagreement I have is the assertion that we should be happy making "just enough" money that we need. "just enough" can change due to circumstances outside our control, so earning more than enough gives you some cushion for when things don't go as pla…

I totally agree, and while a good % of HN readers probably are making a lot, the vast majority of people (at least in the US) are living month to month.

There's some comfort to that which people don't realise, living month to month means you are more in the moment, while you can always dream and strive for a more easy life, that toil gives you purpose, and you can clearly see the happy times when they come. Not to say I would want that or encourage it, but ignoring that side to it denies the happiness that could be found. It sounds like such a middle class problem, and it is. Though suffering exists no matter your income.

Re: The money, job, marriage myth: are you happy yet?

#53

“Marry, and you will regret it; don’t marry, you will also regret it; marry or don’t marry, you will regret it either way. Laugh at the world’s foolishness, you will regret it; weep over it, you will regret that too; laugh at the world’s foolishness or weep over it, you will regret both. Believe a woman, you will regret it; believe her not, you will also regret it… Hang yourself, you will regret it; do not hang yours…

For those unaware there's a broken romance behind his writing

https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/keeper-loves-flame-regin...!

Re: The money, job, marriage myth: are you happy yet?

#54

Americans are becoming too rational and this is a major problem. When you over-value rationality, you expect to be able to have a rational answer to every question. The hand-licking story that made the front page today illustrates this point perfectly. Approached rationally, the mom could not solve the problem, no amount of mental effort would yield a resolution or insight into the issue. When the mind expects an ans…

How is not addressing the cause of the hand licking rational?

The cause was not known; this is the point of the story. Hypothesis generation is not a rational process.

Re: The money, job, marriage myth: are you happy yet?

#55

There is nothing which will make you happy. You must choose to be happy. There is no job, no amount of money, no relationship, which will make you feel whole and happy and content and done. The opposite doesn't hold - there are jobs and relationships and financial strains which will certainly keep you from being happy. The goal isn't for a job or a relationship to make you happy. It's to enable other things which are…

I think "choose" isn't even the right term. Everyone has it in them to be happy, but it's way harder for some people than others.

Re: The money, job, marriage myth: are you happy yet?

#56
post #39

“Marry, and you will regret it; don’t marry, you will also regret it; marry or don’t marry, you will regret it either way. Laugh at the world’s foolishness, you will regret it; weep over it, you will regret that too; laugh at the world’s foolishness or weep over it, you will regret both. Believe a woman, you will regret it; believe her not, you will also regret it… Hang yourself, you will regret it; do not hang yours…

Not advocating hanging yourself, but it is something you will never regret since if done "successfully" you will cease to exist and therefore not be able to regret anything.

[deleted]

Re: The money, job, marriage myth: are you happy yet?

#57
post #39

“Marry, and you will regret it; don’t marry, you will also regret it; marry or don’t marry, you will regret it either way. Laugh at the world’s foolishness, you will regret it; weep over it, you will regret that too; laugh at the world’s foolishness or weep over it, you will regret both. Believe a woman, you will regret it; believe her not, you will also regret it… Hang yourself, you will regret it; do not hang yours…

Not advocating hanging yourself, but it is something you will never regret since if done "successfully" you will cease to exist and therefore not be able to regret anything.

As if death by hanging is an instantaneous atomic act, you're very likely conscious for some time both during and after the irreversible moments.

Re: The money, job, marriage myth: are you happy yet?

#58
post #39

“Marry, and you will regret it; don’t marry, you will also regret it; marry or don’t marry, you will regret it either way. Laugh at the world’s foolishness, you will regret it; weep over it, you will regret that too; laugh at the world’s foolishness or weep over it, you will regret both. Believe a woman, you will regret it; believe her not, you will also regret it… Hang yourself, you will regret it; do not hang yours…

Not advocating hanging yourself, but it is something you will never regret since if done "successfully" you will cease to exist and therefore not be able to regret anything.

Quite a lot of people who survived a suicide attempt (especially by jumping off bridges) tell how they regretted their decision the same moment they jumped

Re: The money, job, marriage myth: are you happy yet?

#59
post #39

“Marry, and you will regret it; don’t marry, you will also regret it; marry or don’t marry, you will regret it either way. Laugh at the world’s foolishness, you will regret it; weep over it, you will regret that too; laugh at the world’s foolishness or weep over it, you will regret both. Believe a woman, you will regret it; believe her not, you will also regret it… Hang yourself, you will regret it; do not hang yours…

Not advocating hanging yourself, but it is something you will never regret since if done "successfully" you will cease to exist and therefore not be able to regret anything.

[deleted]

Re: The money, job, marriage myth: are you happy yet?

#60
post #22

There is nothing which will make you happy. You must choose to be happy. There is no job, no amount of money, no relationship, which will make you feel whole and happy and content and done. The opposite doesn't hold - there are jobs and relationships and financial strains which will certainly keep you from being happy. The goal isn't for a job or a relationship to make you happy. It's to enable other things which are…

Happiness is an emotion, it comes and goes. Even the premise of "are you happy?" is missing the point. Are we talking about feeling happiness twice as much as feeling sadness? 4x, 10x? Sadness can come from things outside our control. I think a better goal is are you present? Are you listening to yourself and to what you really want for your life? Everyone will want different things but making an emotion the goal is…

I don't believe happiness is an emotion. Joy is an emotion, it comes and goes. But happiness is more than this, it can be a perpetual state of consciousness and comes in parallel to emotions.
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