Ask HN: Are you happy? If so, how did you get there? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Are you happy? If so, how did you get there?

6 pointslinhir4 comments

In economics there is an idea called marginal utility theory, which basically says, in the case of money, that every next dollar is worth less than the last. This makes intuitive sense, your one millionth dollar is worth less to you than your ten thousandth. Psychologist who study happiness, whatever that means, have produced studies that show that after $60,000 a year or so, individuals do not get more happy with each dollar they have.

That might not jive with our conception of fuck you money, but I wanted to know in contrast to http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1610824 , who would say they are happy? How did you get there? Was your goal in life to maximize happiness or was that just a byproduct of trying to maximize wealth?

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Yes, amazingly happy; I have a functioning brain, and it's transport vehicle is in full working order. =) <3 :D =p

Appreciation.

All people face difficulties. Though they may be characteristically different, they all are the same in a relativistic sense. That is one's bout with cancer might be relativistically equivalent to my inability to make friends. It may sound stupid but people respond differently to different things. And therein lies the point. We can control our response to all things. A cancer patient who is able to appreciate his life is likely a lot happier than any human inable to appreciate his non-cancer life.

If we can appreciate all things, we give ourselves the opportunity to eliminate stress and free ourselves to be happy. Humility, laughter, positivity; these all come from a root sense of appreciation. Yes it CAN be funny to go bankrupt during your first startup attempt - that's life!

To stress my point, this has nothing to do with money in any capacity. The most dirt poor nation in the world still has an opportunity to be happy. "Life is Beautiful" is perhaps the most cheesy movie I've ever seen. But it is also an amazingly beautiful movie in my eyes. If you've never seen it, it's a comedy about the holocaust. It's beautiful.

All you need to be happy you have right now.

> =) <3 :D =p

Working order? Your breasts are sagging, you're wearing a diaper and standing in a bedpan, but I think the most disturbing thing is that you have two navels :/

You become happy through a combination of factors.

First, resolving not to do anything beyond a level that you would recognise as "hard work." You set the bar on what level of work you would call "hard" and stick to that level.

Second, knowing when a certain amount of income is enough, and working to maintain that income level so people get used to you working at this level. If you keep putting in overtime to get more money, sooner or later the bosses will start thinking that they're underworking you and suddenly you'll be swamped.

Third, maintaining your ripcord. Put aside your "fuck you" money and save it. Add to your pot and forget about it unless and until you need it.

Fourth, making your work environment the place where you earn your money - not the arena in which your life is played out. Your colleagues are not your whole life. Work in the hours you have to, but live your life the rest of the time.

Fifth, don't bring work into your home life. Assert your right to bring your home life into your work. Let them see how unimportant work is to you.

Sixth, even if your home life and work life are tied up, everybody crowding you at home and at work, make certain that you have something to do that is entirely your own. Whatever it is, this is the thing you genuinely love. Share this with no one.

Seventh, become a polymath. Get interested in a whole bunch of things, not just your work. Imagine if you pick up mental arithmetic from reading of the Trachtenberg Method and start teaching it to your kids so they won't be afraid of maths. Now imagine picking up skill in a musical instrument, swimming, studying body language and learning Portuguese. All at once. Come on. It's fun.

Finally, the only way to be happy is to choose to be happy; to understand that you own your time, and to respond accordingly. Being happy comes first. Everything else is just gravy, because it's all something you will want to do.

Me, I'm broke, between jobs and under pressure to find one fast. And yeah. I'm ecstatically happy. And damned if nobody can figure out why.

Being happy is a state of mind. There are many paths. Money is never one of them.

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