> The only way you should concern yourself with living is to try to be happy every day, whatever that means to you.
Barf. There's a lot more to life and human flourishing than just making yourself happy.
Barf. There's a lot more to life and human flourishing than just making yourself happy.
Genius does what genius knows will make him/her happy[1].
That's it. Simple as that.
___
[1] Of course we know and appreciate the difficulty of defining that. Or that we've appreciated that happiness is probably only "achievable" obliquely. Or that happiness isn't what we are after ... after all, and that it's meaningfulness that we seek. Or that even after searching for meaning we come to the absurd conclusion that our existence is devoid of any meaning! Doesn't matter really, just be happy. FFS.
But I think a strategic view of "what big choices in life will contribute to long term happiness?" is a still good thing to consider.
I think if a person's "happiness every day" is "smoke crack and gamble in search of a short-lived rush", he needs to reevaluate, because that won't serve long term happiness.
OTOH, if a person's "happiness every day" is "do yoga, spend time with family, and work reasonable hours at a job he enjoys", then that's a good idea.
Ideally, the short term and the long term are reasonably aligned, otherwise you get problems.
Personally, I aim to enjoy life and ensure that any children I have can do the same. I'm not sure if I'd see a point if there wasn't happiness in it for me. Fundamentally, we're fairly insignificant. Your interpretation of life is all you have. Why not be happy?