Key to a happy life

[rxbandit]

I've wondered since I was young what is it that makes one's life the best that it can be. I stumbled over many hypothesis' an experimented a bunch both chemically, socially and morally. I delved into the works of all the great philosophers and came up with one simple hypothesis.

Negative emotions and consequences arise when are body and mind are faced with contradictions. When our actions contradict our beliefs and morals are mind has a conflict which taints are reason and logic. This conflict effects largely our whole system of thought and feeling. Natures tendency is to homeostasis. If we push the equilibrium to either side both mentally and chemically, the balance must be restored in one way or another.

Furthermore, I believe that most of the turmoil in the publics life is a response to abnormal sleep patterns, inadequate nutrition, and a lack to use every capability they are blessed with. Poor sleep hygiene is one of the most overlooked causes of deteirorating mental health.

I have looked into many religious texts as well and heard alot of anecdotal responses on the topic. My conclusion seems to be that using your mind to its fullest, exercising your body, and keeping your integrity in check is good for living a happy life.

I am really curious what other peoples outlooks on this issue are and would like to hear any and all theorys on the topic.

[Solidly-here]

Happiness is a state of mind . . . not based upon the outer stimuli.

A person can live in a castle, and have a staff of 100, waiting on his every need.
This person can be happy. ... OR, this person can be miserable.

A person is locked-away in jail for being a political dissident.
Many such people have a Spiritual awakening, and write their best stuff in jail.
They get out 10 years later, and they are happy to be alive.

Feelings are NOT objective . . . they are subjective.
Since I can interpret my Life as either awful or good-enough, maybe I will pretend that it's good-enough.
This interpretation will ease my stress, help my sleeping, my body won't be so tired all the time.

This feeling-good thing is what most people feel when they start taking Drugs.
The old (lousy) World fades away, and is replaced by this NEW Fun World.

Over a period of time, many people lose this Magic.
Then, Life gets progressively less-Fun.
This may be a time to curtail Drug use, but then people take more, but it works to LESS Fun (instead of more): The vicious circle.

Reputation Comments on this post:

insightful

[MrG]

It is important to live in the Present.

By this I mean that there are many, many people who constantly harp on about how shitty their childhood was and end up mistakenly making decisions in the present that are based on how they are still living in the past.

For example, lets all accept that *most* people had part of their childhood that was shitty ok? Now, if you are the type of person (I sure as hell know someone directly related to me who is like this) who consistently whines about how life has handed you a bum deal and carp on about tough times when you were growing up, well get this:

As soon as you are out of your childhood years *you* and only *you* are responsible for how you let the past affect you mmkay?

As the years go by, you will have no constructive memories of your life because you will have spent most of your time reminiscing and attention seeking, without actually *doing* anything worth remembering.

All your emotional investment becomes worthless because you are unable to accept the simple fact - Some things don't actually happen for a deep spiritual reason, they just happen because of the nature of cause and effect.

The same philosophy also applies to the Future. Many people who end up in the negative loop of the past often end up making excuses for not doing anything constructive in the Present and, instead, spend valuable time dreaming about a future that they can't be arsed to create. When they, invariably, fail to achieve their dreams they can easily blame it on the poor hand dealt them in, guess what?, The Past!!!!!!


Whilst one is often warned about living for the present and not planning for the future, the inverse is often the most common reason for many years of frustration and unhappiness.

To coin the cheesy old line: Don't be a Human Being, be a Human Doing.

I'm not talking about some "change your life by following these easy steps and just sitting on your fat ass for 12 hours a day" wanky motivational course, I simply mean that it can be awfully easy to keep putting stuff on the back burner coz you just aint up to making the effort to start climbing the ladder towards the future you really want.

Ask yourself this, In thirty years time, will you look back at what you are doing at this time in your life and feel positive about it?

Reputation Comments on this post:

i enjoy your take on life, thanks for sharing

[dip]

^
Some could gives thanks for their shitty childhood. Swim doesn't bitch about the past, and when life gets him down he doesn't bitch about it, he'll paint instead.

Happiness is a state of mind . . . not based upon the outer stimuli.

Yeah, one can be happy in the comfort of their mind. One can block external facts, become swept up into their own world of delusions. Chemically: happy. Mentally (socially/morally): no, or N/A. Of course ... I don't see how long this imbalance could last. Happy for a while, but not afterwards.

If swim looks back to his paintings, he may ask was it worth it?
Socially speaking: No. But did he have a choice? Either way - he doesn't just say oh well. "It is important to live in the Present" - yeah, do something about it, if your not living life to it's fullest. The past affects your present mind-set, but you still make your own decisions, duh. Make the best present-day decisions to make up for past missfortunes to live a happy life. You don't just sit around and blame past experiences (drug-induced or not). I'm pretty much in agreement, not argueing by the way.