What Things Do We Think Make Us Happy, But Actually Don't?

[The_CEO]

The Stoic philosophers, Buddha, and Thoreau contemplated this question -
how to achieve tranquility.

Of course, Thoreau famously went to live in isolation in the woods for two years in search of enlightenment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walden

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."

 

[el mechanico]

Well you know what makes you happy Basil.

I've been buying up all the things that DID make me happy and still do because I connect with them. My father had an Norton Commando when I was probably about 6 years old.. I used go into the garage and jump up on it. I as an enthusiast do NOT LIKE the bike so much but remember the way the handlebar grips felt. The grips make me happy so I buy NOS ( new old stock) stuff like that on eBay all the time and have been living a continuos state of Christmas morning at my mailbox and ups - fed ex acting as Santa.

More to come

I'd say the best toys are not about the toys, but what you do with them. They all have little qualities like your grips you're talking about.

There's something about sitting down to an instrument that can't be replicated. While my neighborhood was blowing up from fireworks last night (it's a Mexican neighborhood) I cranked my amp up, turned it so it was facing outside my screen door, and did my best rendition of Jimi Hendrix's star spangled banner. It was cheesy but I had a few beers in me and it sounded pretty good.

That made me happy.

Also back when I was a serious musician I played cello for about 3 years. That instrument made me happy. The way the sound reverberates through your body is pretty awesome, on top of playing music that's hundreds of years old, sort of connecting with an ancient era. Good stuff.

I think people in this age need to get off the computer and experience real life.

 

[Veloce]

I think people in this age need to get off the computer and experience real life.

Yeah too late to turn back. People are gonna get more tied up with their computers and smart devices until the singularity event and a superhuman is created. By most accounts it'll happen in our lifetime.

At this rate the first cyborg will be the IRT who uses his powers to create a harem of white blonde chicks.

 

[Eusebius]

Lots of dietary things. Caffeine, alcohol, sugar, wheat, some would say meat.

 

[The Lizard of Oz]

I've been buying up all the things that DID make me happy and still do because I connect with them. My father had an Norton Commando when I was probably about 6 years old.. I used go into the garage and jump up on it. I as an enthusiast do NOT LIKE the bike so much but remember the way the handlebar grips felt. The grips make me happy so I buy NOS ( new old stock) stuff like that on eBay all the time and have been living a continuos state of Christmas morning at my mailbox and ups - fed ex acting as Santa.

Just reading this made me happy... :thumbup:

 

[BadWolf]

Abstaining from marriage and children.

 

[arribaperro]

Having the most beautiful girlfriend/wife you can find.

 

[Windom Earle]

Excessive concern over hygiene - this might seem off the wall, but with a lot of hygiene products, once you stop using them, you look, feel and smell better off afterwards. Going back to those fake nice smelling scents is repulsive to your nostrils.

I think you're referring to a lack of proper hygiene, and using "hygiene" products to cover up poor hygiene.

Proper hygiene makes everyone happy.

 

[testos111]

Contrary to the popular opinion, I think drugs and other momentary pleasure boosters (mostly considered vices) do result in happiness because it's not just about what happens when you're doing them, it's also about the excitement that comes along during the waiting period where you know that something pleasurable awaits you.

 

[Basil Ransom]

Great responses, the thread got a lot deeper than I was thinking initially . Meditation as mentioned by thedude and others is definitely something I'm going to study and practice.

Excessive concern over hygiene - this might seem off the wall, but with a lot of hygiene products, once you stop using them, you look, feel and smell better off afterwards. Going back to those fake nice smelling scents is repulsive to your nostrils.

I think you're referring to a lack of proper hygiene, and using "hygiene" products to cover up poor hygiene.

Proper hygiene makes everyone happy.

Food preparation is a good example. When I've prepared food among roommates and coworkers, lots of people throw these little hissy fits about the cleanliness of my operation, that because I touched raw meat I'm going to get ebola or something. These people generally don't know what the fuck they're talking about, and their cooking regimen consists of microwaving Lean Cuisines.

Turns out, idiots like that are actually in charge of regulating restaurants and food - you'd think that such officials would be a little more savvy. Eg, the FDA considering banning aging cheese on wood, only for the entire world to tell them what dumbfucks they are - http://insidescoopsf.sfgate.com/blo...ts-its-stance-on-aging-cheese-on-wood-boards/ . Or California passing (and thankfully repealing) a law banning food workers from handling food with their fingers - http://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-me-glove-law-20140627-story.html

This ignorant obsession with hygiene actually worsens our health, because it leads to people eating junk food more because they're scared of preparing their own, healthier fare. The irony is you rarely hear of someone getting food poisoning from home cooked meals, but everyone has a story of getting poisoned at a restaurant or two. According to this article, there were twice as many outbreaks of disease from restaurant meals than home cooked meals. If you assume that for every restaurant meal people eat three home cooked meals, that means restaurant food is six times deadlier.

 

[Goldmund]

Most people I meet have this obsession with being busy, around a social group, all the time.

They are scared to be alone.

Being alone is the only time you can realize your true desires, weaknesses, wants, goals...

It's different for girls, I can understand their desire to want someone around to talk to all the fucking time.

But for men, we need solitude, need that downtime to recharge and reflect on the self.

 

[Kvothe]

I awlays thougth that being "happy"is kinda lame. I had an idea that only with pain and hardship we can grow as a person and live our lives freely.

 

[The Reactionary Tree]

Women often feel that having children will improve their lives and make them happy.

 

[Steve9]

Great responses, the thread got a lot deeper than I was thinking initially . Meditation as mentioned by thedude and others is definitely something I'm going to study and practice.

To get started try a 10 day silent meditation retreat. This Vipassana course is free (donation only) including accommodation and all meals. For the first 3 days you will learn how to quiet the mind (tying the puppy to a post), then on the 4th day they start teaching the Vipassana technique.

They have hundreds of retreat locations worldwide, including 17 in USA :

http://www.dhamma.org/en-US/locations/directory

 

[TigerMandingo]

Food preparation is a good example. When I've prepared food among roommates and coworkers, lots of people throw these little hissy fits about the cleanliness of my operation, that because I touched raw meat I'm going to get ebola or something. These people generally don't know what the fuck they're talking about, and their cooking regimen consists of microwaving Lean Cuisines.

Yes to this.

People are shocked when they see me pick up some food that dropped on the floor and eat it. One guy (a veterinarian for christ sake) said I would catch tuberculosis by doing that.

 

[Basil Ransom]

Most people I meet have this obsession with being busy, around a social group, all the time.

They are scared to be alone.

Being alone is the only time you can realize your true desires, weaknesses, wants, goals...

It's different for girls, I can understand their desire to want someone around to talk to all the fucking time.

But for men, we need solitude, need that downtime to recharge and reflect on the self.

Yes, this is a function of age. When I see a woman out lounging somewhere by herself, say on the beach, she is almost always over 30. Young women generally have very little tolerance for doing things by themselves, and I'm not sure young men are generally much different.

One difference between men and women though is that girls love to fill up their agenda (and then they can tell people how busy they are), while guys are considerably more lax.

 

[kinjutsu]

I used to love the thrill of the hunt.
I was very blue pill in the way i was looking for a girl to be with, but now hunting girls is just a paper thin ego boost for me.

I still believe in the need for game though lol

 

[Fortis]

Alcohol and adulation. I usually want the praise and attention of others, until I grow to detest their constant attention. Alcohol is pretty self-explanatory. I like it, but I'm not happy when I'm drunk, I'm just drunk. My emotions tend to just stabilise in the middle and not hit extreme polls. I have to be doing something extremely ridiculous for me to get "happy."