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What makes people happy?

What do you think makes people the most happy? (Pick up to three)

  • Total voters
    32
Nick2253 said:
The same could be said about anything. Entertainment and being "put off" is basically what makes us happy. I might like going on roller coasters, and roller coasters make me happy, but they don't do anything more than drugs do.
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I disagree that cheap thrills actually make people happy. I mean, I get drunk every once in a while and it's fun at the time...but I wouldn't say that it actually makes me any happier in the grand scheme of things. Similarly, I think getting high or ****ing a random person might give someone some temporary excitement, but in the long term I don't think it actually makes them happier.

IMO the things that make people happy in the long term generally involve relationships with other people, exercise, learning, religion/spirituality (although I'm an atheist myself), leisure, the warm and fuzzy feeling from trying to change the world, etc.
 
I'm reminded of something I saw on a TED Talk video: One year after the event, people who had won the lottery and people who had been in an accident that left them paraplegic were equally happy with their lives.
 
GreenvilleGrows said:
Consistent happiness is a choice.

Love, productivity, health, a clear conscience, helping someone, "enough" money, seeing humor in most anything, and not taking myself too seriously.
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Yes, a clear conscience. Knowing that I have done an honorable day's work and treated others with respect and courtesy is very satisfying. So is taking time to "smell the roses" (and to prune them too!).
 
Kandahar said:
I disagree that cheap thrills actually make people happy. I mean, I get drunk every once in a while and it's fun at the time...but I wouldn't say that it actually makes me any happier in the grand scheme of things. Similarly, I think getting high or ****ing a random person might give someone some temporary excitement, but in the long term I don't think it actually makes them happier.

IMO the things that make people happy in the long term generally involve relationships with other people, exercise, learning, religion/spirituality (although I'm an atheist myself), leisure, the warm and fuzzy feeling from trying to change the world, etc.
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How do any of those things provide "long term happiness" other than through a union of numerous short-term happinesses? I'm not saying that those things don't provide happiness; I mean the thing that brings me the most happiness is coming home to my girlfriend and getting a "welcome home" hug. But when I look back on what makes me "happy," I see numerous short term events and experiences that have created me for who I am today.
 
Where is none of the above and "na"?

We are happiest when we forget we're dying.
 
Assuming you are not living in extreme poverty and have the means to meet your basic needs in life (food, clothing and shelter), then happiness is not determined by external conditions in your life. Happiness at its core is a choice that you make yourself. You have to choose to be happy and content with your life. No one can make you happy. Nothing can make you happy. Its all you.

I am happy with my life. I have a good wife, 3 great kids, a job that enjoy doing at a good company, I exercise religiously, and have various passions in life that I enjoy. None of those things made me happy though. There are people that have a good husband or wife, but are still not happy. There are people that have wonderful kids but are still not happy. There are people that have a great job and are still not happy. There are people that are extremely fit and are still not happy. There are people that have never wanted for anything in their entire lives and are still not happy. Yet, there are people that live very simple lives with very limited means that are happy and content with there lives. In the end, its all a choice you have to make.
 
yes drugs are so innocent..
 
Nick2253 said:
How do any of those things provide "long term happiness" other than through a union of numerous short-term happinesses? I'm not saying that those things don't provide happiness; I mean the thing that brings me the most happiness is coming home to my girlfriend and getting a "welcome home" hug. But when I look back on what makes me "happy," I see numerous short term events and experiences that have created me for who I am today.
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Take exercise, for example. I run for 3 miles, about five times per week. The act of running itself is not particularly pleasurable or displeasurable for me...I just do it and concentrate on the running, without really thinking about how it's making me feel at the time. But when I'm not running, I'm far happier than I was when I was a couch potato. Running improves my health, self-esteem, body image, and self-confidence, which in turn make me a happier person...even though I don't necessarily look back on any specific instance of running with great pleasure. So I disagree that long-term happiness is nothing more than a series of short-term happiness.
 
SouthernDemocrat said:
Assuming you are not living in extreme poverty and have the means to meet your basic needs in life (food, clothing and shelter), then happiness is not determined by external conditions in your life. Happiness at its core is a choice that you make yourself. You have to choose to be happy and content with your life. No one can make you happy. Nothing can make you happy. Its all you.

I am happy with my life. I have a good wife, 3 great kids, a job that enjoy doing at a good company, I exercise religiously, and have various passions in life that I enjoy. None of those things made me happy though. There are people that have a good husband or wife, but are still not happy. There are people that have wonderful kids but are still not happy. There are people that have a great job and are still not happy. There are people that are extremely fit and are still not happy. There are people that have never wanted for anything in their entire lives and are still not happy. Yet, there are people that live very simple lives with very limited means that are happy and content with there lives. In the end, its all a choice you have to make.
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I would hazard a guess that there are very few people who have good families, who have jobs they enjoy, and who exercise...but are still not happy with their lives. I agree that happiness is largely a choice, but I disagree that external factors play no role in it. As I see it, the choice isn't so much "I've decided to start being a happy person," but rather "I've decided to start taking action to improve my relationships, employment prospects, and fitness so that I become a happy person."
 
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I think i'm the happiest when I'm unhappy and have something to bitch about.
 
It's always a bit difficult to know what other people mean by 'happy', because we're all so different, but I think we are best off when we get our attention of our imaginary 'selves' and get on with something useful, particularly something creative which needs most of our talents to get it done.
 
I find it interesting that being religious is last on the list.
 
DashingAmerican said:
I find it interesting that being religious is last on the list.
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Personally I think that being religious and/or spiritual DOES make people happy, on the whole (although I didn't vote for it because I think there are other things that have a bigger impact on happiness). The statistical data seems to strongly point to the conclusion that religious people tend to be happier, even after controlling for other variables. And I'm an atheist.

EDIT: Not that I'm suggesting anyone should change their beliefs just to make themselves happy. I'd be lying to myself if I tried to convince myself that there is a God. But there are other ways to be spiritual. I'm very much an empirical, scientific method type of guy...but I've been experimenting with meditation recently because there seems to be some actual scientific basis for the mental health benefits of meditating, once you strip away all of the New Age or Eastern philosophy.
 
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I'm married to a great lady. We have total trust in each other. We are both pretty independent and we like it that way. I'm a lucky man. Not working makes me happy. Travel outside the U.S. makes me extremely happy. My children, dogs, old friends, craft beer, loads of books to read, good music, foreign films, good whiskey, college football, the desert after a good rain, grits and a log fire makes me happy.
 
Obviously, all these things make some people happy. I'd say the things that make just about everybody happy as a general rule, though, are love, friends, free time and money.
 
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