What is Happiness?

[Lorizael]

Ouch!

[Provost Harrison]

Originally posted by Lorizael
I try to make a habit of alienating myself.

Do you paint yourself green and put little antennae on your head?

[Ninot]

Sorry Lori

[Lorizael]

Huh?

[Spec]

Happiness is giving a money shot.

Spec.

[MRT144]

Originally posted by Spec
Happiness is giving a money shot.

Spec.

[notyoueither]

The happiest I've been in the last several years was last Saturday. I had to work alone, and I had to do everything. I had to do things I haven't had to do in several years, like get hands on and actually fix something myself because someone needed help and there was no-one else to do it.

We're short staffed and I'm having a ball, I'm actually doing useful things that help people rather than sitting on my ass and paying someone else to do it.

It's funny what makes me happy.

[Ãskallin]

Its the absence of negative thoughts, without negative thoughts we are happy by default. Think of a infant, ever seen a unhappy infant, they are happy by default. That the natural state of mind happy I think. Unhappyness is caused by ourselves and we can always just think positive thoughts and exchange them with the negatives.

Emos

[Proteus_MST]

I don´t think so.

As happiness is caused by endogenous drugs, its effect wears off and permanent happiness canot be archived.

Periods of unhappiness (or less happiness) are therefore inevitable.

[Lorizael]

Originally posted by Ãskallin
Think of a infant, ever seen a unhappy infant, they are happy by default.

I'd like to know what you think an infant is...

[Arrian]

They do spend a lot of time wailing.

NYE Occasionally I get that feeling at work. It's rare, but every so often I'm actually proud of what I did on a given day

Mostly I'm happy because:

I'm (largely) healthy
My wife and I love each other and get along great, share goals, etc.
My family, while occasionally nutty, is mostly comprised of good folks
I've got a good, cushy job and like the people with whom I work
I want for nothing

I'm sure there are other reasons, but those are what spring to mind.

On a more... instant-to-instant basis, I could be happy because I really like the beer I'll be drinking in ~5 hours, or because I love the way my neighborhood looks when covered in snow.

-Arrian

[Ãskallin]

Infants, newly born babies 1-18 months or something like that. Yes they wail when they hit their head or are hungry or something like that. Most of the time they are just happily exploring the world.

Tsk tsk, I dont really belive in that some bodily functions control if I am happy or not (endegenous drugs). You can decide that you are going to be happy or just go with the flow and be a slave of others by reacting to what they do or say unhappily.

Thats just one mans oppinion though and yours might be just as right

[Arrian]

Heh. I should tell my friends, parents of a 3-month old, that. They'll be amazed.

-Arrian

[Lorizael]

Originally posted by Ãskallin
Infants, newly born babies 1-18 months or something like that. Yes they wail when they hit their head or are hungry or something like that. Most of the time they are just happily exploring the world.

Tsk tsk, I dont really belive in that some bodily functions control if I am happy or not (endegenous drugs). You can decide that you are going to be happy or just go with the flow and be a slave of others by reacting to what they do or say unhappily.

Thats just one mans oppinion though and yours might be just as right

I'm too lazy to get into a consciousness/free will debate, but...

If you "decide" to be happy, one of two things has happened. Either there were enough "happy" chemicals already present in your brain that you were able to make this decision or, upon actually making this decision of yours, your brain releases said happy chemicals to make happy happen.

When people think things, their brain changes. We know this. Scientists have run lots of tests. When people feel certain emotions, get into certain moods, remember certain events... the brain changes. Some places get brighter, some places get dimmer.

There is no conflict between believing that happiness is a state of mind and believing happiness is the right chemicals in the brain. States of mind simply are the chemicals, firing neurons, etc. that make up your brain.

Neither of these two descriptions necessarily defines how the brain works, though, and you shouldn't make the mistake of believing that because happiness is just chemicals in the brain, it's out of your control; you are your brain.

[General Ludd]

Happiness is over rated.

Contentment is where it's really at.