Where does happiness reside?

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In summary, the conversation discusses the never-ending cycle of human desires, the temporary nature of happiness from achieving goals, and the question of whether material possessions or fame truly bring lasting happiness. The speaker shares their personal experience of achieving a dream project and realizing that the happiness it brought was short-lived. They also question the labor and sacrifices involved in pursuing these desires and wonder why happiness cannot be achieved immediately. The conversation ends with the thought of constantly chasing new goals in hopes of finding lasting happiness.
  • #1
I_am_learning
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Its surprising to notice that humans are trapped in unendding chain of desires.
You are currently working for a goal, say for example getting a very nice job. You currently imagine that after you reach that goal you will live a much happier life. When you actually reach that goal, you indeed become very happy with it. But it don't lasts long. It becomes sort of default thing, sort of like the thing that automatically is present, and so you start to desire more. And the cycle repeats forever.
This raises the question, Does the possession of physical luxuries or name and fame real source of happiness ? What is the cirtieria to be happy and how to achieve it.

Everybody can find out example in their life such as mine:
Few months ago, I had dreamt of making a magnetic levitator (A device to suspend magnetic objects in mid-air) myself. I thought that it would be such a nice thing to display it in my room. I thought that would be my ultimate project and I would earn lot of fame from it. I thought it would be my ultimate joy.
I finally made it. It indeed gave me joy and happiness. I even got some praisings. But they were all temporary. Like buildings made of ashes. The levitator now resides in a corner of my room and I (and my brother) don't have much any interest in it now.
The irony is that, knowing all of this I am again interested in doing yet another similar similar project, in the hope that the happiness brought by it would be long lasting?

Some of you might exclaim, "whats wrong with such thing, after all it gives you happiness, atleast for some time. Happiness for some time is better than no happiness at all." But what about the pains involved in it.What about the labour involved. I had stayed for late nights and mishandeled health and hygine to get the project working. And the worst of all is that if the plan don't succeed you will get pain.

The real question is, what is it that achieving the goal provides which you already don't have. Afterall happineess resides in mind. Why can't you be happy right away? Having read all of this and moreover being convinced that happiness brought to you after you achive your current goal won't last long, why do you still think --"I am not very happy now, to be very happy I need to achieve this/that/pat/hat etc?"

I hope I din't bore you.

Thanks for reading.
Its surprising to notice that humans are trapped in unendding chain of desires.
You are currently working for a goal, say for example getting a very nice job. You currently imagine that after you reach that goal you will live a much happier life. When you actually reach that goal, you indeed become very happy with it. But it don't lasts long. It becomes sort of default thing, sort of like the thing that automatically is present, and so you start to desire more. And the cycle repeats forever.
This raises the question, Does the possession of physical luxuries or name and fame real source of happiness ? What is the cirtieria to be happy and how to achieve it.

Everybody can find out example in their life such as mine:
Few months ago, I had dreamt of making a magnetic levitator (A device to suspend magnetic objects in mid-air) myself. I thought that it would be such a nice thing to display it in my room. I thought that would be my ultimate project and I would earn lot of fame from it. I thought it would be my ultimate joy.
I finally made it. It indeed gave me joy and happiness. I even got some praisings. But they were all temporary. Like buildings made of ashes. The levitator now resides in a corner of my room and I (and my brother) don't have much any interest in it now.
The irony is that, knowing all of this I am again interested in doing yet another similar similar project, in the hope that the happiness brought by it would be long lasting?

Some of you might exclaim, "whats wrong with such thing, after all it gives you happiness, atleast for some time. Happiness for some time is better than no happiness at all." But what about the pains involved in it.What about the labour involved. I had stayed for late nights and mishandeled health and hygine to get the project working. And the worst of all is that if the plan don't succeed you will get pain.

The real question is, what is it that achieving the goal provides which you already don't have. Afterall happineess resides in mind. Why can't you be happy right away? Having read all of this and moreover being convinced that happiness brought to you after you achive your current goal won't last long, why do you still think --"I am not very happy now, to be very happy I need to achieve this/that/pat/hat etc?"

I hope I din't bore you.

Thanks for reading.
Its surprising to notice that humans are trapped in unendding chain of desires.
You are currently working for a goal, say for example getting a very nice job. You currently imagine that after you reach that goal you will live a much happier life. When you actually reach that goal, you indeed become very happy with it. But it don't lasts long. It becomes sort of default thing, sort of like the thing that automatically is present, and so you start to desire more. And the cycle repeats forever.
This raises the question, Does the possession of physical luxuries or name and fame real source of happiness ? What is the cirtieria to be happy and how to achieve it.

Everybody can find out example in their life such as mine:
Few months ago, I had dreamt of making a magnetic levitator (A device to suspend magnetic objects in mid-air) myself. I thought that it would be such a nice thing to display it in my room. I thought that would be my ultimate project and I would earn lot of fame from it. I thought it would be my ultimate joy.
I finally made it. It indeed gave me joy and happiness. I even got some praisings. But they were all temporary. Like buildings made of ashes. The levitator now resides in a corner of my room and I (and my brother) don't have much any interest in it now.
The irony is that, knowing all of this I am again interested in doing yet another similar similar project, in the hope that the happiness brought by it would be long lasting?

Some of you might exclaim, "whats wrong with such thing, after all it gives you happiness, atleast for some time. Happiness for some time is better than no happiness at all." But what about the pains involved in it.What about the labour involved. I had stayed for late nights and mishandeled health and hygine to get the project working. And the worst of all is that if the plan don't succeed you will get pain.

The real question is, what is it that achieving the goal provides which you already don't have. Afterall happineess resides in mind. Why can't you be happy right away? Having read all of this and moreover being convinced that happiness brought to you after you achive your current goal won't last long, why do you still keep thinking deeply that --"I am not very happy now, to be very happy I need to achieve this/that/pat/hat etc?"

I hope I din't bore you.

Thanks for reading.
 
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  • #2
Happiness is not reading the same paragraphs repeated 3 times in a row.
 
  • #3
Yeah... that was one hell of a post.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE2Vdcv9Q_o

That's one take on happiness. :smile:
 
  • #4
Haha, really? I thought, "after posting this post, I will get rewarding comments that will give me immense happiness". But hell no. :)
 
  • #5
Does that song makes you happy? For the first time, yeah. Second time? yeah. Third time? little bit. Fourth time? No. I got to search for new songs, that is old.
 
  • #7
Maybe for you, happiness is in the conceiving and building of something. Once it's done, it's no longer interesting. Move on to the next project, whatever that may be.
 
  • #8
Happiness comes from satisfaction with what you are or you have now or not what you will be/have tomorrow.
 
  • #9
Did your brother help you with that project? Maybe happiness is knowing that he did and will do it again the next time you come up with another one of your ideas.

(By the way impressive that you built the levitator. I tried to build one when I was 15.Failed miserably. Still hurts.)
 
  • #10
aim1732 said:
(By the way impressive that you built the levitator. I tried to build one when I was 15.Failed miserably. Still hurts.)

Made me happy! :)
 
  • #11
happiness is generated chemically in response to the proper spatiotemporal history of stimuli.
 
  • #12
Brings up another good point.Happiness resides in hurting other people's emotions egos and enjoying in other's misery.:tongue:
 
  • #13
Happiness is found in the clean scent and feel of a woman's lovely bosom.

Oh, and dopamine... mostly dopamine. We're little addicts, scrambling for endogenous fixes all day, driven to rest, then spurred back into action until we drop.
 
  • #14
nismaratwork said:
Happiness is found in the clean scent and feel of a woman's lovely bosom.

Oh, and dopamine... mostly dopamine. We're little addicts, scrambling for endogenous fixes all day, driven to rest, then spurred back into action until we drop.

I'm sure it's not there, for me.
 
  • #15
Yea, I agree with nismaratwork, if you want happiness right away it would come through dope :tongue2:

I'm not sure I agree with women's lovely bosom though... *plays with hers*... I mean it's okay...doesn't really make me that much happy... :confused:
 
  • #16
Happiness is a nonstiff ordinary differential equation*...*If you're ode45
 
  • #17
Try Zen Buddhism and learn to break the chain of desires.

Then you'll realize the next chellenge.

That is, you will be desiring to not desire ;-)
 
  • #18
Femme_physics said:
Yea, I agree with nismaratwork, if you want happiness right away it would come through dope :tongue2:

I'm not sure I agree with women's lovely bosom though... *plays with hers*... I mean it's okay...doesn't really make me that much happy... :confused:

No No! Not dope... endogenous, meaning internally produced opiates and neurotransmitters such as dopamine; we're all dopamine addicts. I wasn't suggesting that one find happiness through drugs... a bit of euphoria through pot perhaps or a bit of beer, but even then...


anyway


@Lisab: I'm so dissapointed! :biggrin:
 
  • #19
You would be interested in Schopenhauer I think.
 
  • #20
Femme_physics said:
I'm not sure I agree with women's lovely bosom though... *plays with hers*... I mean it's okay...doesn't really make me that much happy... :confused:

I'd say it resides right about there. :approve:

(Sorry, but it's not like every male here wasn't thinking it. :wink:)
 
  • #21
jhae2.718 said:
Happiness is a nonstiff ordinary differential equation*...





*If you're ode45

:rofl:


...and a easy solution to a partial differential equation...
 
  • #22
Femme_physics said:
I'm not sure I agree with women's lovely bosom though... *plays with hers*... I mean it's okay...doesn't really make me that much happy... :confused:

I'm pretty sure that still fits our Little E's idea of happiness (I'm okay with the world health organization's recommendation to nurse til 2)... but she's really starting to move on to other things... like books, kittens, crayons and adult foods.
 
  • #23
Hahah, good ones :D
 
  • #24
happiness is due to neurotransmitters, mainly serotonin, dopamin, noradrenalin.
dopamin is not safe. excess dopamin can cause hallucinations and delusions.
noradrenalin is not so safe, too. excessive noradrenalin can cause aggressiveness.
serotonin is the safest. that's why I am on an SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor), Paxil. I am always happy with Paxil. no downs, always ups.
with Paxil, my brain works at maximum capacity.
 
  • #25
It's a pity some people need drugs to feel happy.
 
  • #26
Yeah, some of us just need math and physics! :biggrin:
 
  • #27
physics girl phd said:
I'm pretty sure that still fits our Little E's idea of happiness (I'm okay with the world health organization's recommendation to nurse til 2)... but she's really starting to move on to other things... like books, kittens, crayons and adult foods.

I imagine the adult foods are OK, but books, kittens, and crayons are probably not so good for snacking.
 
  • #28
Math Is Hard said:
I imagine the adult foods are OK, but books, kittens, and crayons are probably not so good for snacking.
Definitely not the kittens! :frown:
 
  • #29
Happiness or lack of comes from appraisal-of the potential for growth or betterment. If you feel you are growing, prospering then that is happiness. If you feel you are being lessened, made smaller, weaker then that is sadness or depression. The object, the thing presented to you causes you to make an appraisal as to it's benefit or threat. You get a job and you feel good. You get laid off and you feel bad. An attractive member of the opposite sex gives you an admiring look and you feel good. The same person gives you a look of disdain. and you feel your self is lessened.
 
  • #30
91774875_1e27d47611.jpg


Happiness is a warm puppy.
 

1. Where does happiness reside in the brain?

Happiness does not reside in one specific area of the brain. Instead, it involves a complex interaction between different regions such as the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus. These regions work together to regulate emotions, memories, and decision-making processes that contribute to our overall sense of happiness.

2. Is happiness determined by genetics or environment?

Both genetics and environment play a role in determining our level of happiness. Research suggests that genetics account for about 50% of our happiness, while the remaining 50% is influenced by external factors such as our relationships, experiences, and daily habits.

3. Can happiness be learned or acquired?

Yes, happiness can be learned and acquired through intentional practices such as gratitude, mindfulness, and positive thinking. These practices can help rewire our brains to focus on the positive aspects of life and increase our overall sense of happiness.

4. Does happiness differ among cultures?

While the concept of happiness may be universal, the factors that contribute to happiness can vary among cultures. For example, individualistic cultures may prioritize personal achievement and success, while collectivistic cultures may place more value on community and relationships.

5. Can external factors, such as wealth or material possessions, bring lasting happiness?

Research has shown that external factors, such as wealth and material possessions, can bring temporary happiness but not lasting happiness. True and lasting happiness comes from within and is not dependent on external circumstances. It is important to focus on cultivating inner happiness rather than relying on external factors.

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