by lynnetye on 11/20/19, 6:18 PM with 168 comments
by Diederich on 11/20/19, 9:46 PM
He said little, but one phrase he did repeat more than any other was simple: "Any day you're breathing is a good day." To him, every day, every year, every one of the six decades past 1944 was a cherry on top gift.
Growing up in the 1970s in the United States, conducting nuclear attack drills with regularity, many of us felt that it was fairly likely that we would be incinerated before our 21st birthdays.
"Every day you're breathing is a good day."
There are certainly limits to these 8 simple words, but radical gratitude is at their core.
It's quite likely that everybody reading this post is having a FAR better life than 99.9% of every other human being who exists and has ever existed.
I'm a generally happy person because, from a young age, I have chosen to focus on that simple truth.
This perspective need not lead to complacence. Those who know me will say that I've always been a driven person, personally and professionally.
Every day you're breathing is a good day. Thanks, grandpa, for the wise words. He would have celebrated his 100th birthday last month.
by devmunchies on 11/20/19, 10:14 PM
I think as we focus on mastery or craftsmanship, happiness finds us.
Not everyone, but I'd say modern society is hedonistic—we seek happiness instead of achievement and get neither.
by topmonk on 11/20/19, 11:05 PM
If at anytime we become truly happy this hurts these goals. For example, if an old man could be building a wall or an arsenal of bows an arrows, or inventing a better way to go fishing, his tribe would be more likely to survive. But if he just sat there, content to being alive, this is bad for his offsprings' future.
You could say, well why can't he do these things and be happy at the same time? I can't really explain why not being happy leads to a better outcome for the safety and procreation of society in general, but I would assume that it must serve some purpose in that goal, or the whole concept of it would have been removed by evolution long ago.
So, I think it's better just to resign yourself to the fact, barring using mind altering drugs, that you'll never be much happier than you were on average before, or much sadder, either.
And as far as this 70 yo lady is concerned, I'd bet when this was written she was simply riding the high of accomplishing something, and probably soon crashed back down below her baseline, only to recover back to it sometime later.
by starpilot on 11/21/19, 2:38 AM
How to be a billionaire: Work hard!
How to start a business: Start working, believe in yourself!
Now that I've read OP article, I realize what I've been doing wrong all my life. I had disabled my "fun" switch. Glad someone finally pointed it out. Everything is so much better now, wow! Thank you!
by Cougher on 11/20/19, 8:49 PM
by ericajohnson on 11/20/19, 7:35 PM
"Conventional wisdom holds that if we work hard we will be more successful, and if we are more successful, then we’ll be happy. If we can just find that great job, win that next promotion, lose those five pounds, happiness will follow. But recent discoveries in the field of positive psychology have shown that this formula is actually backward: Happiness fuels success, not the other way around."
by UnpossibleJim on 11/21/19, 12:53 AM
And for the record - we both are social, but it isn't our natural state =)
by gfs78 on 11/21/19, 2:33 PM
Happiness is about being able to live in the present moment and share your life with the people that you love. Of course a minimum of wealth, health, etc. is needed and that minimum could be quite an effort to reach depending on where you start with.
I´ve never met a happy unloved person no matter how rich or powerful.
by callesgg on 11/20/19, 8:43 PM
To others to yourself. To everyone.
by doodlewind on 11/21/19, 2:04 AM
He raised me up and I am proud of him. All the difficulties and chaos that happened in this country doesn't affect his perseverance doing researches and making my family better off. He is still optimistic and healthy today. With your stories, I found that as human being, we are really seeking for and sharing similar happiness, which can go beyond ideology.
Thanks for all your sharing again.
by toephu2 on 11/20/19, 11:18 PM
Just think about yourself and your own natural happiness level. For my siblings and I, it seems very similar to our parents. Of course not everyone is this way but I definitely believe some people are born a lot happier than others.
[1]actually the jury is still out on that one
by paulz_ on 11/20/19, 8:58 PM
I wish her and Courtland would do a regular podcast together.
[0] https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/086-lynne-tye-of-key-va...
by ken on 11/21/19, 3:05 AM
The author has her MBTI on her profile, and it's nearly the opposite of mine. That suggests to me that her preferences are likely quite different from mine.
by Pistos2 on 11/20/19, 9:18 PM
Contentment comes when "the way you want it" and "the way it is" overlap enough -- but sometimes in life, you can really only change one of those.
by hindsightRegret on 11/21/19, 7:38 AM
by ropiwqefjnpoa on 11/21/19, 2:18 AM
This is enticing blanket statement. However, there are many things you'll need to do that will not or should not be fun. And if you fully believe this sentiment, during those times you are not having fun, you may feel like you're "doing it wrong" when this is just how it is and that's ok.
Happiness is more related to contentment than fun.
by spark28 on 11/20/19, 7:55 PM
by Scapeghost on 11/20/19, 10:50 PM
There's too much depressing shit in the world, too many injustices happening to other people and lifeforms, to truly be happy with that knowledge even if your own life is perfect.
by starpilot on 11/21/19, 2:35 AM
by alexanderscott on 11/21/19, 2:42 AM
by pi-squared on 11/21/19, 1:10 PM
by yters on 11/20/19, 9:25 PM
by GoodJokes on 11/20/19, 8:19 PM
by bitfhacker on 11/20/19, 6:24 PM