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1. There is an old saying, "no brains, no headaches." Sometimes I think there is truth this this one.
2. Define "smart people". I know folks that have off an off the charts IQ with zero and I mean zero common sense. What's the purpose of being a Mensa member if you forget to tie your shoes when you walk out the door each day?
The perfect blend is above average intelligence and above average common sense.
Thinking deep thoughts about the nature of this world can only produce trouble and misgivings. Better to suppress the intellect and feel joy about the simple things in life. The sun rises and sets. Days come and go. The joy of being alive another day.
Thinking deep thoughts about the nature of this world can only produce trouble and misgivings. Better to suppress the intellect and feel joy about the simple things in life. The sun rises and sets. Days come and go. The joy of being alive another day.
There's no need to 'suppress the intellect' in order to feel joy re: being alive (and all that entails). In fact, intelligence only serves to enhance joy in my book as one can appreciate it is all we have.
There's no need to 'suppress the intellect' in order to feel joy re: being alive (and all that entails). In fact, intelligence only serves to enhance joy in my book as one can appreciate it is all we have.
I agree.
I also think that it's a form of...well, not necessarily the intellectual sort of intelligence, but rather, wisdom...that happiness is often a matter of how one chooses to think and see the world. It's not a matter of the things that are happening outside of you, TO you. It's a thing you are. But then that's a lot of "locus of control" stuff.
I've tried to explain this to external locus of control people and they just seriously do not understand it.
I was telling my son last night about some good news, several good things happened in my life yesterday, and he said that he's always afraid when good things happen, that something bad is about to happen. To "balance the karma." First of all I don't think he's understanding what karma even means, secondly...just...no? I told him that the way it seems to work in my life, is more that I'll go a few months with a low key stress state going on because of some situation. It's not enough to really make me anxious or upset, but whatever it is, it's kind of lurking in my peripheral thinking. Then all of a sudden several excellent solutions fall right into my lap. It feels kind of like the Universe was listening.
So whether I'm particularly "intelligent" or not, I've been a more or less happy person whether rich or poor, through hardship and times of ease. I tend to focus on what I've got, rather than what I don't.
I also think that it's a form of...well, not necessarily the intellectual sort of intelligence, but rather, wisdom...that happiness is often a matter of how one chooses to think and see the world. It's not a matter of the things that are happening outside of you, TO you. It's a thing you are. But then that's a lot of "locus of control" stuff.
I've tried to explain this to external locus of control people and they just seriously do not understand it.
Yeah, I agree in re: insight (and it takes a certain level of knowledge or life experience - or 'intelligence', if you will - to obtain it).
That said, most correlate happiness with a moment of pleasure or joy relative to an event or moment. This is eveident when someone states, 'but happiness can't last'. It's true those moments of pleasure can't last continuously (and we all have those moments of sadness as well) - but happiness can; as you say, it's a state of mind i.e. a 'thing you are' (well said).
Yeah, I agree in re: insight (and it takes a certain level of knowledge or life experience - or 'intelligence', if you will - to obtain it).
That said, most correlate happiness with a moment of pleasure or joy relative to an event or moment. This is eveident when someone states, 'but happiness can't last'. It's true those moments of pleasure can't last continuously (and we all have those moments of sadness as well) - but happiness can; as you say, it's a state of mind i.e. a 'thing you are' (well said).
LOL or I could just be a conflict avoiding dopamine junkie!
I mean, I'm thinking, when my first child was a baby, there's a while there that when you smile at them, they smile back at you. And when it's your kid at least, it's freaking magical. I grinned at him so much my face hurt. And I was full of happiness and joy, more often than not.
Also during this time, my Ex was spending all of our money on weed because he said he couldn't guarantee that he would be able to even be civil to me or someone I could live with, if he wasn't high on a daily basis. We weren't paying the rent and were shortly to become homeless, forced to trek from Ohio to Iowa with what we could carry on a Greyhound bus so his family could help us survive by putting us up in a fleabag motel for a few weeks. I'd just had a baby and was down to 98 pounds. I'm 5'3" and 98 pounds is not a healthy weight for me. We just didn't have enough food to eat and I was breastfeeding a baby, every bit of my nutrition was going to him. We were (for a short time) housed in a 3rd floor walkup on the very edge of what was then the most dangerous neighborhood in the entire nation, and we had no air conditioning in a summer with record high temps that were killing people left and right. Arguably, life SUCKED.
Yet I was happy.
Years later, we reached a point where my Ex got out of the military and had disability money coming in and could do whatever he wanted with his time. He didn't even have to work. We had a big, beautiful house. We lived in an area where he could spend time with his old Army buddies and close friends. Our debts were paid off, we had everything we needed and wanted. We were prosperous. And he was more miserable and angry than ever, and making everyone else miserable too, since he had no better way to spend his time I guess. I was still trying to seize hold of happiness where I could, but he wasn't making it easy.
He and I always fundamentally disagreed on the point of being alive. I believe that it is to enjoy life and strive for happiness wherever and however you can find it. He believes that it is to suffer and survive crisis and hardship, that "life sucks." And living through all of those years with him has taught me that depending on your basic nature, you can always find excuses to be happy or to suffer, if that's what you're looking for.
Thinking deep thoughts about the nature of this world can only produce trouble and misgivings. Better to suppress the intellect and feel joy about the simple things in life. The sun rises and sets. Days come and go. The joy of being alive another day.
I know a lot of rich people. None of them are happy. some are smart, some are not smart - at or below average. I was what some people would call rich for a while. I was not any happier than when I was poor. In fact I was more stressed so probably less happy. Money makes things easier, but it does not make you happier.
Tests say I am unusually smart. I am not sure that is so, but I am not as happy as many people I know. I get bored easily and sometimes the stupidity of many people annoys the heck out of me. So, if I am smart, it may be making less unhappy.
He and I always fundamentally disagreed on the point of being alive. I believe that it is to enjoy life and strive for happiness wherever and however you can find it. He believes that it is to suffer and survive crisis and hardship, that "life sucks." And living through all of those years with him has taught me that depending on your basic nature, you can always find excuses to be happy or to suffer, if that's what you're looking for.
Yep! This is why I say it's largely a 'state of mind' - if you believe "life sucks", it's going to suck. Emotional intelligence can help toward an understanding in re: making the best of the moment/life we have (because this is all we have and there's no point in going through it miserably) and that, in turn, creates happiness.
Last edited by CorporateCowboy; 12-14-2019 at 09:46 AM..
I know a lot of rich people. None of them are happy. some are smart, some are not smart - at or below average. I was what some people would call rich for a while. I was not any happier than when I was poor. In fact I was more stressed so probably less happy. Money makes things easier, but it does not make you happier.
Most people understand money doesn't make happiness (though it may certainly enhance happiness in those with emotional intelligence). People who inherit money, generally speaking, are far less happy than those who earn it.
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