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One is free to have any number of aims. But the odds of reaching them are pretty slim. Lots of factors determine whether or not you succeed - innate gifts, good health, family, connections, right circumstances, etc. So more often than not, majority of people are only setting themselves up for disappointment if they continue to have various goals and objectives.
The key to happiness is therefore complete aimlessness. Just drift, enjoy whatever life throws at you.
Agree or disagree?
I disagree. If you look at the Olympic athletes, for instance, they have goals, big goals, but those goals are not the reason they are performing and practicing their sport...it is the love of the sport. The process of doing the sport they love IS what brings them happiness, whether they win a gold medal or not.
If you read any kind of Buddhist type readings, they'd say enjoy the process of whatever you are doing in the moment - for instance in planting a garden, of course there is a goal and objective, to have a crop of vegetables in the end...but the key to happiness is enjoying each part of the process, to fully immerse yourself in the digging, the weeding, etc in each moment. The problem is most people think their happiness is dependent on the end goal rather than the journey and process.
According to zen buddhism, when the issue of your happiness ceases to be an issue, that’s when you find it.
The more self-centered you are, the less happy you become
I used to get really jealous of people who don't seem to have any driving desire to accomplish something. There are so many things I want to do!
I don't know if this relates to Buddhism, but I've found I'm happier if I take the "want" away.
I can still have goals, but I don't have to "want" something that is already part of me, like , for example, taking photos. I "want" to be good enough to enter a few contests. But because I just like taking photos and
and learning the craft, the knowledge and success will come anyway. I don't have to "want" it.
In the end, it won't be about me. It will be about the subject, and whatever the viewer gets out of it.
That probably sounds pretty weird. I don't know how to explain it.
I used to get really jealous of people who don't seem to have any driving desire to accomplish something. There are so many things I want to do!
I don't know if this relates to Buddhism, but I've found I'm happier if I take the "want" away.
I can still have goals, but I don't have to "want" something that is already part of me, like , for example, taking photos. I "want" to be good enough to enter a few contests. But because I just like taking photos
and learning the craft, the knowledge and success will come anyway. I don't have to "want" it.
That probably sounds pretty weird. I don't know how to explain it.
Please read Victor Frankl's thoughts on success; your idea seems similar to his.
I think happiness is when you don.t feel the necessity to look at yourself from all the possible angles. Its more important to know that giving love and attention to the ones close to you could represent real satisfaction. Life is about sharing and caring and, as soon as you start being self centered things go wrong.
I believe the key to happiness is accepting and appreciating what you have.
Agreed. The less time you spend worrying about what everyone else has, and focus on what you do have, and how lucky you are to have them, the happier you will be.
When I was younger, I asked my dad what he would have done if he could have done anything that he ever wanted to do. His answer was that he wanted to be a Forest Park Ranger. He was an electrical engineer. He said that he had responsibilities, he had kids, he had to do what he had to do. Knowing how happy he was when he was out in the wilderness, camping, hiking, fishing, whatever, I couldn't figure out why he wouldn't have become one. He was a different person out there; he was clearly much calmer and happier. I asked, "Wouldn't you have been happier as a Forest Park Ranger?" His reply? "Well, I wasn't unhappy."
I vowed never to live my life like that. I didn't want to go through life, "not unhappy", I wanted to go through life "happy". I realized that to do that, I would have to understand that the typical definition of success, what people view as success, is not the same thing as actual happiness. I could make boat loads of money, but would I really be happy? Sure, I could afford a lot of things, but when would I actually have time to use those things?
If you were to look at my work history, or how much I made, you would think that I'm "doing okay....I guess" in the typical "success" department, but if you looked at my life experiences, what I have been able to do because I let go of that line of thinking, you would realize that I have gotten to do a lot of what I've ever wanted to do. And because of that, I've had a pretty rich life, and it has made me pretty happy.
I don't go for goals like, 'buy my own house, buy a nice car, buy a (insert toy of choice here), go to Hawaii every year' etc. I go for goals that allow me to actually experience places, people, and things in this life. With exception of just a few places, I've been to just about every place I've wanted to go, I've seen a lot, and I've met boat loads of people.
I've done just about everything I said I wanted to do when I was 5 years old. Of course that 5 year old goal is slightly altered because it's impossible. The goal at 5 years old was to "meet every person on the face of the earth and tell them a joke so that the whole world will be smiling". I can't meet every person on the face of the earth, but I've sure made one hell of a dent. And that? Makes me very happy.
One is free to have any number of aims. But the odds of reaching them are pretty slim. Lots of factors determine whether or not you succeed - innate gifts, good health, family, connections, right circumstances, etc. So more often than not, majority of people are only setting themselves up for disappointment if they continue to have various goals and objectives.
The key to happiness is therefore complete aimlessness. Just drift, enjoy whatever life throws at you.
Agree or disagree?
No. That's just pubescent nihilism masquerading as depth.
The absolute essential ingredient for happiness, regardless of what path you take in life, is courage. Courage to do what your heart's desire, courage to do what is difficult, courage to examine your own life, and courage to speak your mind. The world is filled with people who have achieved what they wanted in life because they had the fundamental strength of character to persevere.
Sorry to ruin your pat little theory, but it doesn't work.
One is free to have any number of aims. But the odds of reaching them are pretty slim. Lots of factors determine whether or not you succeed - innate gifts, good health, family, connections, right circumstances, etc. So more often than not, majority of people are only setting themselves up for disappointment if they continue to have various goals and objectives.
The key to happiness is therefore complete aimlessness. Just drift, enjoy whatever life throws at you.
Agree or disagree?
Completely disagree.
The key to happiness is complete awareness - not "aimlessness"
According to zen buddhism, when the issue of your happiness ceases to be an issue, that’s when you find it.
The more self-centered you are, the less happy you become
Part of happiness is knowing what one want's out of life. This means finding the goal of each human action. Aristotle explains this in the Nicomachean Ethics ethics. For example, the goal of investing is profit, the goal of fitness is health, the goal of beautification is beauty, ect.
I don't think that there is one singular "key" to happiness. For me, it's acceptance, resilience, and balance. There's nothing wrong with setting and achieving goals, provided that one doesn't fall into a cycle of perpetual dissatisfaction. I also agree with those that say that happiness is the journey and not the destination.
Reading this thread made me think of the story about the Harvard MBA and the fisherman. It's interesting to see the different perspectives of what constitutes the "good life".
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