71–80 of 477 posts
Most people, esp. in the US especially and in Western Europe in general fake happiness. esp in public. With true friends less. US: I lost my job. I am so happy. It was time for a change, and I know there are so many better opportunities out there. Russia: I was fired from my job. It sucks. How am I to find a new job in this economy? What am I to do? Followed by vodka with friends. (Stereotypes that may or may not be…
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I once heard that Americans motivate themselves positively: If I manage to finish this work today, great things will happen! ... while Germans motivate themselves negatively: If I don't finish this work today, I'll lose my job, home, family and cat.
That’s questionable. Germany is social state. It has great protections for ordinary people. It’s really hard to lose everything because of bad work. Sounds more like US where you could be fired any minute without warnings.
In the US, if you lose your job, you're "between jobs". In Germany, you're "arbeitslos" (jobless), which some people use as an insult. There are entire TV channels that make fun of jobless people - think TLC type shows, but strictly about poverty and joblessness.
Most people, esp. in the US especially and in Western Europe in general fake happiness. esp in public. With true friends less. US: I lost my job. I am so happy. It was time for a change, and I know there are so many better opportunities out there. Russia: I was fired from my job. It sucks. How am I to find a new job in this economy? What am I to do? Followed by vodka with friends. (Stereotypes that may or may not be…
IMHO when someone needs something concrete from you, and quotes one verse from the 33, but when you’re in trouble they’re happy to “pray for you” if you’re lucky, if not break out the weak faith routine you alluded to, what you’re really dealing with is the same people who give Atlas Shrugged or the Fountainhead place of privilege on their bookshelves.
I’m not a person of particularly strong religion or even spirituality, but I’m on team: the 33, while flawed, are my preferred mode of interaction over the 66.
Most people, esp. in the US especially and in Western Europe in general fake happiness. esp in public. With true friends less. US: I lost my job. I am so happy. It was time for a change, and I know there are so many better opportunities out there. Russia: I was fired from my job. It sucks. How am I to find a new job in this economy? What am I to do? Followed by vodka with friends. (Stereotypes that may or may not be…
>One could aim for "contentment". Even that is unattainable for most people.
That has been my goal, which has been more or less achieved. What more can you really ask for or expect out of life? Sometimes extraordinarily bad things are going to happen, and you are going to feel sad for a while. Likewise, sometimes extraordinarily good things happen, and you are going to feel happy for a while. But you can't (shouldn't) live your life with the ever-present anticipation (or dread) of these infrequent events. We're all on this planet for a very short time in the big scheme of things, and we'll all experience a variety of pleasant and unpleasant things. At the end of the day all you can do is navigate down the bumpy road as best you are able and not worry about things that are outside your control.
> Which comes first, succeeding and then being happy, or being happy and then succeeding? Er, that sounds suspiciously like the eternal question "which came first, the chicken or the egg?". If you start off with a "happy" state of mind because of "external" reasons, you are probably more likely to succeed at work too, but of course your work also should contribute to maintaining your happiness. So it's either a virtu…
The chicken/egg question always irks me. Eggs came first. Eggs have existed far longer than chickens (eg dinosaur eggs). Whatever the first thing we could possibly call a chicken came from an egg.
Let me try - rivers or rain? - ping or pong?
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I once heard that Americans motivate themselves positively: If I manage to finish this work today, great things will happen! ... while Germans motivate themselves negatively: If I don't finish this work today, I'll lose my job, home, family and cat.
That’s questionable. Germany is social state. It has great protections for ordinary people. It’s really hard to lose everything because of bad work. Sounds more like US where you could be fired any minute without warnings.
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I think Americans are more optimistic and thus are happier. Someone somewhere said it was America’s super power, that we believe things will always get better and it creates a self fulfilling prophecy.
Not sure about the happier part, I may be wrong as I've never been to the States but it looks like the meth/drugs epidemic is a major issue in much of the US. A happy populace wouldn't need to resort to drugs.
Happiness is a lifestate and a choice.
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The chicken/egg question always irks me. Eggs came first. Eggs have existed far longer than chickens (eg dinosaur eggs). Whatever the first thing we could possibly call a chicken came from an egg.
You're right but for the people who are confused, it's because of the semantics of the question. If you specify the question a little more and ask "What came first? The chicken or the chicken egg" then the question is how do you define a chicken egg. Is it the egg that comes from a chicken or the egg that a chicken hatches from. In the first case, the chicken came first and in the second case, the egg came first. I t…
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You're right but for the people who are confused, it's because of the semantics of the question. If you specify the question a little more and ask "What came first? The chicken or the chicken egg" then the question is how do you define a chicken egg. Is it the egg that comes from a chicken or the egg that a chicken hatches from. In the first case, the chicken came first and in the second case, the egg came first. I t…
It's not even that simple. Evolution occurs gradually, so gradually in fact that there is no "first" chicken. Any given chicken/ancestor you pick will be so genetically close to its parents/children, that they're the same species by any definition. Another way of putting the paradox is "Which chicken arrived first, the chicken or its parent"?