Less you know someone, happier they seem.<p>I have made some deep friendships with people who are always joking, laughing, etc. but when they finally open up, you realize they are also unhappy about many things. Sometimes more than serious people.<p>The happiest person I know is probably one of my best friends. He complains more than other people. He knows what he likes and rarely accepts alternatives. He is one of those people who will send food back if it is not cooked right. He also knows when to verbalize his issues and when to stay quiet. If he is not comfortable at a party or something, he will just leave.<p>He recently got a new job, didn’t like the company immediately started looking for a new job. He also runs his own business and fire his customers if they cause issues. Having dual incomes gives him some financial stability that unfortunately many people don't have. Also he has never complained about something more than once. That is because he doesn’t stay in bad situations for long.<p>It sounds like he might be miserable person but it is opposite. He truly loves life, is happy most of the time. Strangers and friends love him. He got a big circle of friends. We say he is eccentric and kind of love his antics.<p>He is artist at heart and he pursue his art very seriously (though not successful yet). If job or business gets in the way of him working on his art, he will quickly fix that. Perhaps he is happy because he has a mission in life and not letting anything stop him from getting what he wants.
I will use this definition of "happiness" in my reply: an emotional state arising from a way of life that is fulfilling, meaningful, makes the person fully satisfied but at the same time eager to explore, to set new exciting goals.<p>I know someone who has some unique qualities: this person is passionate but at the same time deeply analytical and profoundly sincere. E.g. he goes to the deepest possible degree of being honest with himself (by unflinchingly scrutinizing his beliefs, feelings, reactions), and does so in systematic, thorough way, gaining more and more understanding about how mind works.<p>This understanding allowed him to build his personal system of self-improvement (he describes it in several books which I don't link here because they are not translated yet into English), so he was able to rework himself into a truly happy person.<p>I've used some of his methods and I personally attest that they can be very effective if applied properly. But it is rather difficult to apply them! Because you have to be alike to the person who invented these methods: sincere, passionate, and persevering. Not everybody has these qualities.<p>I think that the key to the happiness is to be sincere, to strive for honesty. To know yourself and understand how your mind works, what it wants and why. Once a person truly understands themselves, they will be able to figure out their personal path to happiness. Which is unique for everyone.
Probably myself. I am pretty much always content.<p>Though, I get the sense that because I am chill and not manic, others sometimes think "something is up" when I'm just thinking about black holes or something. The key point here may be "the happiest person you know may not be obvious." I tend to equate manic happiness with stress and anxiety.<p>Some perhaps key points:<p>- I constantly run into challenges and roadblocks in life, but acknowledge they are a normal part of growth. I recently read the popular book The Obstacle Is The Way and it felt like somebody was stealing parts of my life philosophy out of my head.<p>- I'm not really into "gamification", but I tend to treat everything like a game or a puzzle to solve, especially hardships.<p>- Often things don't happen <i>to</i> you. They happen <i>regardless</i> of you. Or <i>you caused</i> it, so fix it.<p>- Exercise to think and de-stress. Often, no music or podcasts, to force the former.<p>- I used a lot of hallucinogens in my younger years and had a few key trips that really framed life and reality for me. Rather than attempt to explain and fumble it, I'll point you to another book that does a better job of it: Illusions by Richard Bach.
I don't know of one individual who has just remained consistently happy 100% of the time, but in my experience it amounts to communal humor and innate stability.<p>As far as a happy lifestyle, for about 4 months I lived with a family in the American Midwest that was poor. They were all very happy due to a sprawling, thriving ecosystem of diverse positive social contacts. Some of that can be attributed to the church, whose benefit is the social opportunities it creates.<p>As for individuals who are outliers in their positivity, they typically come from a healthy, supportive, funny, and interesting family.
I don't know a person that I'd consider happy. They might, but from my perspective they aren't happy. I have been wondering for a while if this depends on (A) how I view the world or (B) the selection of people I know.<p>As far as I can look back, I've never met a person that I truely admired / marveld for the life they're living. At some point I got to the cognition, that this might be a problem for me, because I can't follow along someone elses path. But I'm not sure yet how important of an observation this is ...
A 63 year old Down’s Syndrome Uncle. He has since passed but brought happiness to the family with his love of everything and having been loved all his life and was quite the character.
If being in a constant state of happiness was a disorder my girlfriend would 100% have it. She is unhealthily happy. I've been with her for over a decade and I've never once seen her sad – it's that extreme. I used to suspect she was psychopathic, but over time I've become less convinced of that and now think she's just an outlier.<p>For some perspective, the last year has been awful for us. Things have not stopped going wrong in our lives and I'd argue our future can never be as bright as we once hoped. As a result I have entered a serve depression, yet all this time she has kept smiling and can only see positives in things.<p>This will sound quite mean to those of you who value deep thought and self-reflection, but I think the reason she is so happy is because she's unable / unwilling to think deeply about anything. It's not that she's stupid, but she just doesn't really appreciate cause and effect so naturally lives in the moment at all times.<p>I used to find this frustrating because I'm the total opposite and obsessively try to anticipate the future. It used to bug me how she couldn't see why things were bad. I kinda experienced this again during Covid because I had to repeatedly explain that Covid really was serious and she needs to change her behaviour instead of assuming things will be fine.<p>My friend used to say that depression is a disease of intelligence. I think if there's truth to that, but I suspect it's probably more that depression is a product of deep recursive thought.<p>Think about it like this – finding out you've failed an exam or lost your job isn't going to cause you any immediate harm. Such an event is only immediately painful in your mind if you consider the cause and effects.<p>That said, I think it's probably partly just how you're wired. For example, I'd imagine optimistic people have a slight bias towards seeing positive outcomes and are therefore generally happier as a result.
I myself am a happy person. I can enjoy watching the void. Seriously, I can waste time like that and be completely happy.<p>But it makes me kinda sad when I realize that I need to be responsible. Because of the external factor it forces me out of my comfort. As a result, these external stuffs makes me regret the time I enjoyed when I was staring to the void.
me. Something happened in pandemic and i stopped dwelling in past or future. I am happy most of the times. I do get unhappy momentarily but its minor irritation rather than anything prolonged.