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Ayer99

- 1 year ago

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Is happiness a way of life, or a state of being?

Some seem to think that happiness is something that starts in the mind and can stay there, like a constant optimism. Then there are others like myself who see it as more of a result of a sense of achievement... What do you think? Is it possible to always be happy? Or is self inflicted happiness simply a fake rush one gives their brain?

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Seen in a comic....

Dog owner: Why are you always so happy?
Dog: It beats the alternative

I think a lot of the time it's a choice, unless your PMSing :)

I think happiness is an underlying mindset that your minute to minute emotions layer on top of. Personally I'm unhappy, but I still have fun, experience joy, and once in a while love. But underneath that there is constantly the central default of unhappiness that I fall back into once the glamour and fireworks fade.

Of course this is the opinion of somebody that is slightly insane, so take it with a grain of salt.

i think happiness is a decision you make everyday. i choose happy.

I find it hard to be happy. I think it takes certain things to be happy all the time.

I've been trying to figure out lately a lot of things about happiness. I like the way you said it was a result of a sense of achievement. For me, I don't think it's possible to always be happy. I've heard people say that they make the choice to be happy, but I don't understand that. If I could choose to be happy all the time, then I would.

Our bodies aren't physically capable of maintaining the chemicals that make us feel happy for long periods of time, so it is a state of being.

Happiness to me comes in moments. Not something that is 24/7. Life is hard, people are stressed and anxious, but yet happiness can be found by something as small as spending an evening with family and friends or reading a good book. I envy somewhat the people that seem to be always happy. How is that even done? Is it for real? Unfortunately I think I'm too cynical and sarcastic to fake my way to happiness. Like I mentioned, for me it's in moments. Just wish there were more of those moments.

An emotion that comes and goes.

State of being.

It's a way of life. At times, an illusion.

We all have are days but at the end of the day it's a choice. I choose to be happy (;*

I think the emphasis on happiness in American society is misguided. Happiness is a transient emotion, like being sad. It would be foolish to have as one's aim "to be sad." Also, I think our capitalist, consumer society causes us to focus on fulfilling every transient desire, hence the emphasis on "happiness." I think we can be content in accepting life, or free from conflict and minimize our suffering. I think we can be relatively at peace.

No... I don't think it's possible to always be happy. You need sadness at times, to balance out the happiness.... balance... moderation.... that's what it is about. So to me, happiness is a state of being.

Ah- the search for happiness.
Happiness is probably more tied into whats happening around you. Doing and actions/reactions. It usually is fleeting as JR2 points out.
Inner peace, calm isnt. Otherwise meditation would be considered a pretty lame waste of time, wouldnt it?

It's a fleeting state.

It isnt a choice so much as a concretion. Though circumstance wobbles, of course.

Is that why you are such a jackass to people who appear happy but don't meet your standards? I'm just assuming. Many 'achievers' are that way. Are you outraged by the fact that poor people are often more happy than rich people? What should be done to keep them from being happy?

Seems to me that "to always be happy" you would have to be somewhat brain-dead.

"Happiness, in the reduced sense in which it is acknowledged to be possible, is a problem concerning the economy of the individual libido. There is no advice that would be beneficial to all; everyone must discover for himself how he can achieve salvation." ~Sigmund Freud

To quote the great Carlin "It's bullshit and it's bad for ya."

Nobody is "happy" like the way we think some people are. Nobody's just walking around constantly optimistic and constantly totally satisfied forever and ever. Life is struggle, whether you're a billionaire or an infant born with HIV. Don't ever accept the idea that you can be set for life at some point due to wealth or power or a new home because, as a human, you'll be generally dissatisfied and full of longing 'till you're dead. There are ways to reduce that kind of suffering, but you'll never be sunny both inside and out 100% of the time. It's lunacy to think so and yet it's a common fantasy that is shared by many.

Ayer99

Is happiness a way of life, or a state of being?

Airyfairy125

Seen in a comic....

Dog owner: Why are you always so happy?
Dog: It beats the alternative

I think a lot of the time it's a choice, unless your PMSing :)

megaraptor

allymcb

i think happiness is a decision you make everyday. i choose happy.

CheyenneRae

I find it hard to be happy. I think it takes certain things to be happy all the time.

kchopes

CrackityJones

Our bodies aren't physically capable of maintaining the chemicals that make us feel happy for long periods of time, so it is a state of being.

queban