NationStates Jolt Archive

What's truly important in life is that which makes you happiest. Nothing else matters.

For me, that's my spouse. I don't care about money. I don't care about wealth. All I care about is my spouse and their happiness.

You will never find this secret in any religious book that I'm aware of. They all spout off about their deities and how important they are. Of course, they are blatently wrong.

Then there's consumerism. Owning lots of stuff will make you happy. Entirely untrue, but that's what people really believe.

The only thing that will make you happy is what will make you happy. It's not necessarily money. It's not necessarily church or religion. It's not necessarily any of the usual things we try to force on people.

Give someone peace and what will make them happy, and you have a person who will do whatever they can for those who make them happiest.

Try screwing them over, like the United States loves to, and you end up seeing a lot of bitterness, hatred, and yes, even apathy, come out if it.

The United States sucks, but as far as I am aware, so does the rest of the world.

I guess I'm just curious to see how people will argue the point. I mean, who can argue it? How can you argue it?

Thus far, I've found no one who could.

Well, trying to argue that would be like trying to argue if purple is the most awesome colour or not.

There's a nice little book I read a while back about what makes people happy. Being with loved ones was one of the most important things, be the spouse, friends, family, you name it.

The closest thing to a religious book I have is "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint Exupery. It's really all about this, that book, and I've tried to live up to it. But whenever I mention that people should read it because it teaches things the Bible clearly misses, they somehow get offended. I find it mind boggling that they do ... I mean, the truth it teaches is so obvious, and yet so overlooked ...

*OP*

Well said, man.

That's my life.

And I'm a blessed man to live it.

Yeah, pretty much what the OP said.

The people I love are what's important in my life. Without them, I'd be miserable.

What's truly important in life is that which makes you happiest. Nothing else matters.

For me, that's my spouse. I don't care about money. I don't care about wealth. All I care about is my spouse and their happiness.

Until this point, I was nodding my head:

You will never find this secret in any religious book that I'm aware of. They all spout off about their deities and how important they are. Of course, they are blatently wrong.

Now I'm shaking my head.

Then there's consumerism. Owning lots of stuff will make you happy. Entirely untrue, but that's what people really believe.

Now I think you're a bad poster child for people who have similar beliefs to you.

The only thing that will make you happy is what will make you happy. It's not necessarily money. It's not necessarily church or religion. It's not necessarily any of the usual things we try to force on people.

Now I'm thinking "'we'? Don't you dare group me in with you."

Give someone peace and what will make them happy, and you have a person who will do whatever they can for those who make them happiest.

Now I think you're dellusional, because you can't give someone peace.

Try screwing them over, like the United States loves to, and you end up seeing a lot of bitterness, hatred, and yes, even apathy, come out if it.

Now I think you're relatively unintelligent.

The United States sucks, but as far as I am aware, so does the rest of the world.

Now I'm laughing... at you.

I guess I'm just curious to see how people will argue the point. I mean, who can argue it? How can you argue it?

Now I'm thinking "what point? He didn't make a point. He doesn't seem capable of making a point. He went from asking 'what's important in life?' to ranting about the USA."

Thus far, I've found no one who could.

Now I'm thinking "I don't think it's that he's found no-one to argue with him, it's that he hasn't found anyone who'll speak to him".






Now I'm thinking I'll leave this ridiculous thread.

The only thing that will make you happy is what will make you happy.

It's hard to argue with that :p

But what exactly is your point? It's quite obvious that this is true, consumerism etc are just flaws in how people think they will be happy (unless it does make them most happy, which is doubtful).

whats truly important in life is pussy in experience

yes I built a time machine when I was 15 and have decided to see how my life is going :p

The United States sucks, but as far as I am aware, so does the rest of the world.

no. its all a conspiracy for you see outside of America we are all living in a Utopian paradise where milk never goes bad and Mexican slave labor is a rare thing

for me its creating and exploring. accumulation, excitement, even companionship, don't gratify shit. not well or for long anyway.

everything that does, in some way involves in some sense creating and exploring.

exploring for all living creatures, and creating for all "thinking" ones.

people who put accumulation, excitement, or even companionship, ahead of creating and exploring, rob themselves and each other of the only real and lasting sources of gratification.

=^^=
.../\...

SNIP

I had a sinking feeling you would be all over this thread like a hot cake :)

I had a sinking feeling you would be all over this thread like a hot cake :)

yes, i like company who'se brains taste good.

=^^=
.../\...

Anyone who says "money doesn't make you happy" doesn't really understand what money is. Of course pieces of paper don't make you happy. There's even a good chance that a fancy car all by itself won't make you happy.

But money represents something on a deeper level than that. It's the materialisation of your efforts, the acknowledgement of a certain (very important) kind of achievement. And if doing something well, having dreams and realising them and achieving what you set out to achieve are something you consider "good", then money is, ideally, a representation of moral value. And if it is, then I don't see why money shouldn't make you happy, considering what it stands for.

Some people want to achieve a big family with lots of kids. Others want sporting glory or to be loved by others. Those are simply achievements in a different field. You don't get paid in dollars, you get paid in other values. I for one don't stand here judging what sort of value others should be after or telling them what can and can't make them happy.

http://www.working-minds.com/money.htm
"So you think that money is the root of all evil?" said Francisco d'Aconia. "Have you ever asked what is the root of money?...

yes, i like company who'se brains taste good.

a vegetarian you must be then ;)

and for the pic (http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2007/04/ice-cream-zombie.jpg)

Anyone who says "money doesn't make you happy" doesn't really understand what money is. Of course pieces of paper don't make you happy. There's even a good chance that a fancy car all by itself won't make you happy.

But money represents something on a deeper level than that. It's the materialisation of your efforts, the acknowledgement of a certain (very important) kind of achievement. And if doing something well, having dreams and realising them and achieving what you set out to achieve are something you consider "good", then money is, ideally, a representation of moral value. And if it is, then I don't see why money shouldn't make you happy, considering what it stands for.

Some people want to achieve a big family with lots of kids. Others want sporting glory or to be loved by others. Those are simply achievements in a different field. You don't get paid in dollars, you get paid in other values. I for one don't stand here judging what sort of value others should be after or telling them what can and can't make them happy.

http://www.working-minds.com/money.htm

And yet, I've yet to meet a poor person with a loving family who feels lonely and unfullfilled. I've met plenty of rich folks without friends who are...

And yet, I've yet to meet a poor person with a loving family who feels lonely and unfullfilled. I've met plenty of rich folks without friends who are...
That doesn't really prove anything, other than that it's important to be able to choose your priorities or, better yet, achieve in multiple areas at once.

Anyone who says "money doesn't make you happy" doesn't really understand what money is.

to the contrary, anyone who says that money, in and of itself, does make you happy doesn't really understand what it is.

certainly there is a sense of feeling secure that comes from being able to USE symbolic value as a MEANS of aquasition.

that makes it something you CAN (though most people don't think of nor use it that way) be creative with. but it's still only a symbol that represents POTENTIAL value.

it's only when it is used creatively, or used to aquire methods of creativity that doing so contributes to the gratification. that still comes, not from the symbol, but from the being creative.

just like the sex thing, because its something to explore.

its still the creating and exploring that gratify, not their outward superfiscialities.

=^^=
.../\...

And yet, I've yet to meet a poor person with a loving family who feels lonely and unfullfilled. I've met plenty of rich folks without friends who are...

i meet many poor unhappy family's, and i meet plenty of single rich happy folk. Different things make different people happy. I happy with my family now but before my daughter was born i was equally as happy earning more money, and playing, drinking and doing the wrong sort of women.

nether state was less happy then the other

Anyone who says "money doesn't make you happy" doesn't really understand what money is. Of course pieces of paper don't make you happy. There's even a good chance that a fancy car all by itself won't make you happy.

But money represents something on a deeper level than that. It's the materialisation of your efforts, the acknowledgement of a certain (very important) kind of achievement. And if doing something well, having dreams and realising them and achieving what you set out to achieve are something you consider "good", then money is, ideally, a representation of moral value. And if it is, then I don't see why money shouldn't make you happy, considering what it stands for.

Some people want to achieve a big family with lots of kids. Others want sporting glory or to be loved by others. Those are simply achievements in a different field. You don't get paid in dollars, you get paid in other values. I for one don't stand here judging what sort of value others should be after or telling them what can and can't make them happy.

http://www.working-minds.com/money.htm

I think the statement 'money doesn't make you happy' still is correct though. Building up a successful business or being rewarded/appreciated for your work or something might make you happy, but I don't think winning or inheriting a large sum without having to do anything for it makes one that much happier.

to the contrary, anyone who says that money, in and of itself, does make you happy doesn't really understand what it is.
I don't think you get what I'm saying. I suggest you have a read of the link.

Anyways, my point is that money doesn't get its moral value (and therefore the happiness associated with it) from how you use it, but from how you acquire it. Whether you have a million-dollar car or a million dollars in a bank account only makes a somewhat superficial difference. The fact that you were able to achieve things that were worth a million dollars to someone is much more important.

That's the thing to be proud of and to derive happiness from, much in the same way that the guy in "Castaway" derived pride and happiness from making a fire to a much greater extent than the happiness the fire itself provided. It's the achievement that mattered, not the particular form it took.

That doesn't really prove anything, other than that it's important to be able to choose your priorities or, better yet, achieve in multiple areas at once.

Not saying money doesn't help towards overall happiness. I'm just saying that just money isn't going to make a person happy. Just friends and family, yes. Just money, no.

Humans are after all social animals. Without others who we care for and who care for us, we don't feel happy.

I think the statement 'money doesn't make you happy' still is correct though.
Well, we'd be getting into semantics.

Yes, it is possible to have money and be unhappy. It's also possible to not have money and be happy. But it's not impossible to be happy because you have money.

I think the thing I'm disagreeing with is the notion that trying to earn money is not a valid way of becoming happy, like it's a bad lifestyle choice or something. And that notion is most likely to come about because the people who hold it don't value that sort of achievement very highly. But that's like me saying "gay marriage doesn't make you happy", just because it wouldn't make me happy. When I put forward my argument for why I think earning money would make me happy, it's basically like trying to explain why gay marriage might make a gay person happy - and that perhaps that also works not just on a superficial (eg "because it pisses off conservatives") level, but on a more meaningful one.

i meet many poor unhappy family's, and i meet plenty of single rich happy folk. Different things make different people happy. I happy with my family now but before my daughter was born i was equally as happy earning more money, and playing, drinking and doing the wrong sort of women.

nether state was less happy then the other

You've met a loving family that was unhappy? Wow, that's hard to believe...

I think the thing I'm disagreeing with is the notion that trying to earn money is not a valid way of becoming happy, like it's a bad lifestyle choice or something. And that notion is most likely to come about because the people who hold it don't value that sort of achievement very highly. But that's like me saying "gay marriage doesn't make you happy", just because it wouldn't make me happy. When I put forward my argument for why I think earning money would make me happy, it's basically like trying to explain why gay marriage might make a gay person happy - and that perhaps that also works not just on a superficial (eg "because it pisses off conservatives") level, but on a more meaningful one.

Trying to earn money and being successful in it might make you happy, in the same way that most rewarded effort makes one happy. The happiness doesn't lie in the reward (material) but in being rewarded (~being appreciated).

I think the statement 'money doesn't make you happy' still is correct though. Building up a successful business or being rewarded/appreciated for your work or something might make you happy, but I don't think winning or inheriting a large sum without having to do anything for it makes one that much happier.

You can't be serious. Money doesn't buy happiness, but lack of money brings a LOT of unhappiness.
I'm comfortable, but not loaded. I have a wife and 2 children, a stable job, a house, the capacity to spend time on recreation (such as be on NSG), but if I won truckloads of cash, I'd be happier.

I could quit my job. I don't hate my job, but I don't love it. I could go travelling. I could study a completely useless liberal arts degree. I could spend a lot more time with my wife and kids. More time with my mates. More time doing recreation.

...and to derive happiness from, much in the same way that the guy in "Castaway" derived pride and happiness from making a fire to a much greater extent than the happiness the fire itself provided. It's the achievement that mattered, not the particular form it took.

which precisely gets us back to creating and exploring! rather then the smoke and mirrors of symbolic value.

=^^=
.../\...

which precisely gets us back to creating and exploring! rather then the smoke and mirrors of symbolic value.
Yeah, because of a figurative example I used. Really, every single action a human being can take can be classified as creating or exploring. So by saying that makes us happy, you're not saying much.

Of course, neither am I when I say "achievement" makes people happy (and money is one measurement of a certain form of achievement and is therefore as closely correlated with it as to be indistinguishable in practice) - but I don't claim to include and exclude certain actions from what should or could make people happy.

Whats truly important in life?

I can't belive that nobody has yet said:

'To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the vomen'

What are you lot like really, not even you LG, *shakes head*

You've met a loving family that was unhappy? Wow, that's hard to believe...

yes, they couldn't afford there day to day needs. If you don't have all you need in life whether that food, warmth or the knowledge of sucerity that money often brings, then how can you be happy?

yes, they couldn't afford there day to day needs. If you don't have all you need in life whether that food, warmth or the knowledge of sucerity that money often brings, then how can you be happy?

Dunno, I always was when I had friends around me. Money has a way of being found one way or another, good friends aren't so easy..

Dunno, I always was when I had friends around me. Money has a way of being found one way or another, good friends aren't so easy..

i agree good friend make it easier but you may still not be happy. Love and happiness don't always mix well

Whats truly important in life?

I can't belive that nobody has yet said:

'To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the vomen'

What are you lot like really, not even you LG, *shakes head*

Hey, I just got here!

As far as what's truly important in life, that's easy. Entertainment. Life is a quest for entertainment and the structures that allow you to be entertained(sundries like food, shelter and money).

i agree good friend make it easier but you may still not be happy. Love and happiness don't always mix well

True. But I've observed that most people need a few worries in order to be able to be happy. If you take all their worries away by giving them lots of money, and surrounding them with love, they will inevitably create new worries for themselves and fret over those.
I find those who worry about money are generally happiest, compared to those worrying about love, their health, or even made-up worries.

What's truly important in life is that which makes you happiest. Nothing else matters.

For me, that's my spouse. I don't care about money. I don't care about wealth. All I care about is my spouse and their happiness.

You will never find this secret in any religious book that I'm aware of. They all spout off about their deities and how important they are. Of course, they are blatently wrong.

Then there's consumerism. Owning lots of stuff will make you happy. Entirely untrue, but that's what people really believe.

The only thing that will make you happy is what will make you happy. It's not necessarily money. It's not necessarily church or religion. It's not necessarily any of the usual things we try to force on people.

Give someone peace and what will make them happy, and you have a person who will do whatever they can for those who make them happiest.

Try screwing them over, like the United States loves to, and you end up seeing a lot of bitterness, hatred, and yes, even apathy, come out if it.

The United States sucks, but as far as I am aware, so does the rest of the world.

I guess I'm just curious to see how people will argue the point. I mean, who can argue it? How can you argue it?

Thus far, I've found no one who could.

What's truly important in life? What makes me happy? My fiance, my family and the satisfactions from my job.

Hey, I just got here!

As far as what's truly important in life, that's easy. Entertainment. Life is a quest for entertainment and the structures that allow you to be entertained(sundries like food, shelter and money).

Wow! Thats a true philosophical gem from you there LG, waaait a mo, have you started taking them pills again?

Stop it man, spit it out right this instance!

Wow! Thats a true philosophical gem from you there LG, waaait a mo, have you started taking them pills again?

Stop it man, spit it out right this instance!

Despite several attempts by 'professionals', I am unmedicated. :)

True. But I've observed that most people need a few worries in order to be able to be happy. If you take all their worries away by giving them lots of money, and surrounding them with love, they will inevitably create new worries for themselves and fret over those.
I find those who worry about money are generally happiest, compared to those worrying about love, their health, or even made-up worries.

true, you need contrast to be truly happy, but happiness level is arbitrary by nature, i have met plenty of people who would say that money or there own health is more important then love. i be honest, there not nice people to be around normally but that may be just because there values are massively different from mine.

Consciousness. It's the vehicle by which we all recognize peace from the truth.

BTW, considering the recent amount of feminine input on many topics here (including this one) and the quote on the first page about money being the root of all evil, I figured I'd post the mathematical proof that women are evil (I'm betting some if not most of u have seen this already, but it's still funny enough to show).

There are two factors to women. Time and money.
Women = time*money
time = money
Women = money^2
money = root of all evil = evil^(1/2)
Women = [evil^(1/2)]^2
Women = evil

BANF!

Despite several attempts by 'professionals', I am unmedicated. :)

Well I'm happy to hear that, could you imagine a medicated LG *shudder*

What's truly important in life is that which makes you happiest. Nothing else matters.
*snip*


What if I'm happiest torturing people? That makes it what's "truly important"?

What if I'm happiest torturing people? That makes it what's "truly important"?

Maybe...;)

For me it would have to be having fun and creating worlds, preferably simultaneously. Spending time with friends and loved ones is probably also high on the list, but until I have any of them I can't really comment.

Life is a collection of stories. You are basically a bunch of memories. Most people say happiness is more important but being right is more important than happiness. People say things that contradict their actions. When you ask about values, people say they value peace and happiness, but most people spend most of their time buying things for themselves instead of working for global peace, and they do things that make them unhappy such as cut off someone on the highway. When you cut off someone on the highway, it doesn't make you feel good, it makes you more angry. The reason people do that is because they like to convince themselves that other guy had no right to steal their highway space. Being right about everything is the only thing most people care about.

Life is a collection of stories. You are basically a bunch of memories. Most people say happiness is more important but being right is more important than happiness. People say things that contradict their actions. When you ask about values, people say they value peace and happiness, but most people spend most of their time buying things for themselves instead of working for global peace, and they do things that make them unhappy such as cut off someone on the highway. When you cut off someone on the highway, it doesn't make you feel good, it makes you more angry. The reason people do that is because they like to convince themselves that other guy had no right to steal their highway space. Being right about everything is the only thing most people care about.

You're confusing "most people" with "a bunch of idiots".

You can't be serious. Money doesn't buy happiness, but lack of money brings a LOT of unhappiness.
I'm comfortable, but not loaded. I have a wife and 2 children, a stable job, a house, the capacity to spend time on recreation (such as be on NSG), but if I won truckloads of cash, I'd be happier.

I could quit my job. I don't hate my job, but I don't love it. I could go travelling. I could study a completely useless liberal arts degree. I could spend a lot more time with my wife and kids. More time with my mates. More time doing recreation.

Actually this has been researched (http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/invest/forbes/P95294.asp), and there doesn't seem to be a large gap in happiness between the very rich and the poor. This was the first article to pop up out of google, you can probably find much more.
Of course I agree that lack of money brings a lot of unhappiness, but when you have gained a certain level of income you happiness doesn't seem to improve much by earning more.

Whats truly important in life?


Sex, coke, violence, booze, and cash (to get sex, coke, violence, booze and cash).



:p

Let's start with some foundational things;
I toast therefore i am. a little Red Dwarf is always funny.
I eat and i sleep therefore i am conscious.
I think and feel emotions. Although not all of them at an equal rate.
I have senses to help me detect new or different things.
Sometimes the toast falls on the buttered side.
Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between being awake and dreaming.
Emotions aren't always easy to control.
The senses can be decieved.
Using just this short description of myself i can say that whatever makes me happy could equally have made me unhappy in another life, therefore happiness cannot be the same for all people, neither can sadness.
What's most important to me is to find...

Anyone who says "money doesn't make you happy" doesn't really understand what money is. Of course pieces of paper don't make you happy. There's even a good chance that a fancy car all by itself won't make you happy.

But money represents something on a deeper level than that. It's the materialisation of your efforts, the acknowledgement of a certain (very important) kind of achievement. And if doing something well, having dreams and realising them and achieving what you set out to achieve are something you consider "good", then money is, ideally, a representation of moral value. And if it is, then I don't see why money shouldn't make you happy, considering what it stands for.

Some people want to achieve a big family with lots of kids. Others want sporting glory or to be loved by others. Those are simply achievements in a different field. You don't get paid in dollars, you get paid in other values. I for one don't stand here judging what sort of value others should be after or telling them what can and can't make them happy.


Money doesn't represent something on a deeper level than that at all. That's pseudo-philosophical nonsense.

Money is desirable because it gives you power.

Let's start with some foundational things;
I toast therefore i am. a little Red Dwarf is always funny.
I eat and i sleep therefore i am conscious.
I think and feel emotions. Although not all of them at an equal rate.
I have senses to help me detect new or different things.
Sometimes the toast falls on the buttered side.
Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between being awake and dreaming.
Emotions aren't always easy to control.
The senses can be decieved.
Using just this short description of myself i can say that whatever makes me happy could equally have made me unhappy in another life, therefore happiness cannot be the same for all people, neither can sadness.
What's most important to me is to find...

Hear hear!!
http://eclectech.co.uk/b3ta/drunkcatwallpaper.jpg

Hear hear!!
http://eclectech.co.uk/b3ta/drunkcatwallpaper.jpg

reminds me of last night, oh god can't believe i smoked a cigarette, eurgh, they're horrible by the way.

reminds me of last night, oh god can't believe i smoked a cigarette, eurgh, they're horrible by the way.

The one that cracks me up is the cat inhaling on a magic-marker.:D

What is best in life? To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women! (If someone's already mentioned this, ehh, it won't kill anyone to read it twice.)

What's important isn't always what makes you happy. 'Happy' is ephemeral at best. When I was five, 'happy' was an extra cookie at snack-time, and now that I'm 30, it's not really progressed much beyond that in terms of 'happiness.' I have gained a greater sense of, and a broader perspective on what is important though.

Duty, honor, responsibility, these things are what are important in life, but they won't always make you happy. In fact, if pressed, I might go so far as to say what makes a man a man is his ability to distinguish between what is important and what makes him happy.

What is best in life? To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women!

AAARGH!!! The last post! I was going to post it myself!

Money is desirable because it gives you power.
Hence why I said that you don't understand what money is.

Hence why I said that you don't understand what money is.

An accountant, upon being paid, thinks "good, I can now get food and water and pay my mortgage and maybe go on vacation in the summer". What part of his payment provokes the following capitalistic masturbation:

"It's the materialisation of your efforts, the acknowledgement of a certain (very important) kind of achievement. And if doing something well, having dreams and realising them and achieving what you set out to achieve are something you consider "good", then money is, ideally, a representation of moral value."

What's truly important in life is that which makes you happiest. Nothing else matters.

For me, that's my spouse. I don't care about money. I don't care about wealth. All I care about is my spouse and their happiness.

You will never find this secret in any religious book that I'm aware of. They all spout off about their deities and how important they are. Of course, they are blatently wrong.

Then there's consumerism. Owning lots of stuff will make you happy. Entirely untrue, but that's what people really believe.

The only thing that will make you happy is what will make you happy. It's not necessarily money. It's not necessarily church or religion. It's not necessarily any of the usual things we try to force on people.

Give someone peace and what will make them happy, and you have a person who will do whatever they can for those who make them happiest.

Try screwing them over, like the United States loves to, and you end up seeing a lot of bitterness, hatred, and yes, even apathy, come out if it.

The United States sucks, but as far as I am aware, so does the rest of the world.

I guess I'm just curious to see how people will argue the point. I mean, who can argue it? How can you argue it?

Thus far, I've found no one who could.

Having sex with picnic tables, that's what's important.

Well, trying to argue that would be like trying to argue if purple is the most awesome colour or not.

It is, by the way. Right next to Green.

no. its all a conspiracy for you see outside of America we are all living in a Utopian paradise where milk never goes bad and Mexican slave labor is a rare thing

*nods*

I'm actually a paid professional actor.

What's truly important in life is that which makes you happiest.

Family and friends. :D