What does it take to be happy?
Question by Chase: What does it take to be happy?
Nine ladies dancing.
Okay so I have this long train of thought I’m going to share with you. I’m looking for someone to either agree with me or try to understand my concept and explain to me why I am wrong. I’m just a 17 year old kid so something I am lacking is experience which ultimately means that I am probably lacking wisdom.
Okay so what does it take for a person to be happy? Well obviously a lot of things, that’s not really my question. My question is do you think it is healthy to think on a deeper level? I think it depends on how deep you like to think. But overall there is a point when it can be a bad thing. The people who think deeply about the meaning of life (and those who have no religion) can easily find themselves getting depressed about the thought. The people who say “There’s really no point to life” are the ones who have thought about it. Now a lot of people think about it sometimes but some people think about it more often. Well there is really no point to thinking like that. Have you ever wondered what animals think of death? I’m sure most animals don’t even realize they are ever going to die. It’s something they’ve never experienced, why would they understand it? They don’t have a language or a mind complex enough to talk and think about it.
Here is my thought. People are happy because of the “reward system” in our anatomy. A lot of people think they need meaning in order for them to be happy. People who need meaning are deeper thinkers than those who don’t care. People who need meaning actually make it much harder to be happy because they separate the anchor between happiness and their actions or surroundings. Someone has fun playing a video game, we’ll say Halo 3. But then he starts to ask himself why he likes the game so much? After a couple months of thinking in that manner he doesn’t like halo 3 anymore. Why is that? Because he realizes that it is pointless in helping him get ahead in life. Nobody really cares if he wins a game every once in a while on there. He simply realizes that it is a pointless waste of time. That’s what a lot of older people think of video games nowadays. But when you really think about it, that’s just another path to happiness that he took from his life.
So here’s what I think is key to being happy: Not asking why it is that you are happy. But simply focusing on the present. Focus on what is happening around you and think a lot less philosophically. You only need to choose a path and take it. If you find yourself miserable, use your intelligence to fix the problem and change your path. Only think what makes you happy, not why it makes you happy.
Best answer:
Answer by Don H
True Happiness happens whenever we are not judging anything.
Any time that you are not judging you are happy.
The moment that you start judging, you find something to be unhappy about.
It really is that simple.
Love and blessings Don
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
whats “it” ?
I agree with you totally and I am 47 yrs old. While I was reading your first paragraphs I was thinking of all the over-thinking you were describing. Over-thinking everything will drive you nuts. Go with what is before you right now. This horrible recession has taught us that one day you can have something and the next it’s gone. Enjoy it while it’s here. Good luck with your life, you sound like you have good common sense, you will do just fine.
an old adage from years ago hanging on my grandparent wall and i still quote it now and again and thanks to your letter i even feel a bit better today. happiness something to do, someone to love, and something to hope for.good luck
I agree with you, mostly.
i completely agree with you. i wouldn’t say to stop thinking philosophically though, because all that you just wrote is philosophical, it’s just positive philosophy.
I commend you Chase on your thought and your right. Especially on your ‘reward system” thought its hardwired in our brains to think so. Well I think technology related things is just giving us a “false” happiness; lets take video games for example, when you complete a video game its stimulates the brain in thinking that brought a sense of achievement. We all know that when we feel good about achieving something it brings a sense of happiness; is it truly happiness? Does it bring a “true” reward or is it really a reward that really benefits us in reality? Basically it is mind manipulation caused from our man-made technological advanced product. I fully agree on your happiness path. You truly hit the hammer on the nail!(no pun intended) I mean there is either a “good” or “bad” path you can take, when you take the “bad” path you look at the bad aspects on things due to over-thinking which in some cases is the source of the a person’s misery and when you lead yourself down the good path you truly follow what you think is right and the real “happiness” a person can have is what you cherish most or enjoy doing… which is the REAL happiness a person can have! Also I agree with you and I’ll quote,”Only think what makes you happy, not why it makes you happy.”
You,me and other people are among a reasonable amount of people who think like this which will benefit us in our lives; key source of pursuing our desires… for our sake and which holds our bond with our minds which is unbreakable as it is and embrace it, thrive on it and let it become our triumph victory for what lies ahead…
What Don said about not judging and what you say about focusing on the present are the same, kid. When you’re focused on the present, how can you judge? No past or future to compare to.
I like your thinking.