Quote:
Originally Posted by TommyW
...Personal happiness is an inside job. You need to learn to achieve it at nobody else's expense. As you get older it becomes easier
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For some reason, that part didn't appear when I originally replied. Points to you for being a little closer to the truth on this half. "As you get older, it becomes easier..." Yeah, kind of... I'd say more obvious, but not necessarily easier.
"An inside job.."... yes, if if you mean not relying on other people to do things that make you happy. If that's your modus operandi, you'll be miserable forever.
"...at nobody else's expense."... nope. Happiness is not achieved based on the absence of negative impact on others, it's achieved via POSITIVE impact on others. Personal happiness is achieved as soon as you stop focusing on personal happiness. That's not the same thing as abandoning personal goals; I've set some lofty goals for myself over the decades. Some of them, I've achieved, and felt a sense of accomplishment and occasionally even joy. Some of them, I've fallen short and felt inadequate, but used that feeling to either deepen my resolve or decide that maybe my goal was just unrealistic. I wouldn't equate ANY of that with happiness. The times in my life when I felt truly happy were ALL during times when I was helping others.
Owning a specific car never even remotely figured into the equation. I'm not saying I don't enjoy driving my FR-s, nor that I don't hope to eventually find a G-wagen I can afford... but I certainly don't tie any of those things into "happiness."