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Post by bballgirl on Dec 5, 2016 10:16:40 GMT -5
I read this article this morning and I will probably reread it a few times. I think that there are some good messages here about givers and takers. I have always said to "find your happiness" and I still stand by that despite the message in the article. I do have a meaningful life between my career and my kids and there was a time in my life that I was seriously depressed because of the SM but the meaningful part of my life helped snap me out of it as well as detachment, living for the day, finding happiness in even small things like a song on the radio but it wasn't a happy life. I did get out of my SM and I am happier because a taker isn't in my life anymore on a daily basis. So I hope you all enjoy this article as much as I did. www.businessinsider.com/a-lesson-about-happiness-from-a-holocaust-survivor-2014-10 |
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Post by lwoetin on Dec 5, 2016 13:42:27 GMT -5
Nice article. Thanks. It doesn't have to be happy vs. meaningful though. Both are good.
Search for the meaning of life is too hard. Can't wait for the college football playoff! Offers no meaning in life whatsoever but offers happiness.
"Having children, for example, is associated with the meaningful life and requires self-sacrifice, but it has been famously associated with low happiness among parents, including the ones in this study. In fact, according to Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert, research shows that parents are less happy interacting with their children than they are exercising, eating, and watching television."
I think it is the other way around. The kids (esp. older) have low happiness when interacting with their parents. Until they need money and they become sweet again.
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Post by bballgirl on Dec 5, 2016 18:31:01 GMT -5
Nice article. Thanks. It doesn't have to be happy vs. meaningful though. Both are good. Search for the meaning of life is too hard. Can't wait for the college football playoff! Offers no meaning in life whatsoever but offers happiness. "Having children, for example, is associated with the meaningful life and requires self-sacrifice, but it has been famously associated with low happiness among parents, including the ones in this study. In fact, according to Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert, research shows that parents are less happy interacting with their children than they are exercising, eating, and watching television." I think it is the other way around. The kids (esp. older) have low happiness when interacting with their parents. Until they need money and they become sweet again. That made me laugh about the low happiness for kids except when they need money. I agree with you about both happy and meaningful, that it can be both. My life is definitely meaningful - no doubt about that! My life is happy as well but it would be happier if I had a committed relationship with a man. It doesn't have to be now. I don't think I'm ready for it yet but eventually I think I would want that. |
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Post by obobfla on Dec 5, 2016 19:40:49 GMT -5
Happiness comes and goes. Meaning stays.
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Post by baza on Dec 6, 2016 18:27:29 GMT -5
It is interesting that in our American cousins Declaration of Independence, "the pursuit of happiness" is enshrined as a right.
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The pursuit of happiness is a right.
The attainment of happiness is not a right. That's down to you and your choices and the outcomes that ensue from your choices.
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Perhaps some people find "meaning" in that pursuit.
In other words, it is the journey, not the destination, that is meaningful.
Personally, I am inclined toward that view.
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Very thought provoking post Sister bball. Thanks for putting it up.
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Post by bballgirl on Dec 6, 2016 18:31:18 GMT -5
It is interesting that in our American cousins Declaration of Independence, the right to "the pursuit of happiness" is enshrined as a right. - The "pursuit" is a right. The attainment of happiness is not a right. Exactly!! I point that out to my students all the time. I'll ask them, What word is most important in that statement? Most answer with "happiness". I tell them No it's "pursuit". |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2017 17:19:56 GMT -5
I read this article this morning and I will probably reread it a few times. I think that there are some good messages here about givers and takers. I have always said to "find your happiness" and I still stand by that despite the message in the article. I do have a meaningful life between my career and my kids and there was a time in my life that I was seriously depressed because of the SM but the meaningful part of my life helped snap me out of it as well as detachment, living for the day, finding happiness in even small things like a song on the radio but it wasn't a happy life. I did get out of my SM and I am happier because a taker isn't in my life anymore on a daily basis. So I hope you all enjoy this article as much as I did. www.businessinsider.com/a-lesson-about-happiness-from-a-holocaust-survivor-2014-10Wow ... That article is certainly worthy of a few more rereads. Thank you SO much for posting that link! There's a lot there to think about and to let sink in deeply. I know one thing, I'm definitely a 'giver'. I have a caretaker personality with a healthy dose of empathy to go along with it. Giving in that way has always filled my life meaning. Still, I do believe that it is best to try to maintain a balance between giving and taking. Extremes of either one are never good. With balance, I do believe that it's possible to experience both a meaningful life and a happy one. I believe that within a relationship, both giving and taking should be a mutual experience of reciprocity. |
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