Forget Happiness. Try This Instead.

meeelting · 2016-06-28T15:39:34+00:00

People didnt smile in old photos because they considered it 'low class', or for entertainers, and if they were lucky maybe 2-3 pictures were taken of them during their entire lifetime. So that wouldve been a waste of a photo.

Didnt help that their teeth were often rotting out. You can see the same thing going on in modern Russia.

Its got nothing to do with being manly, since machosism wasnt even established until the late 1800s together with patrioism, both stemming from the nationalistic romanticism from the late 1700s.

The women didnt smile either, same reasons.

Di-onysos · 2016-06-28T19:11:09+00:00

Hayao Miyazaki is a very smart man and said exactly this very well.

http://i.imgur.com/TuRKwkt.jpg

Barsukas_Tukas · 2016-06-28T19:12:50+00:00

I really like your post.

However, I want to share some philosophical thoughts about laughter.

Laughing is overrated. We oftentimes laugh out of nervousness and the failure to consciously acknowledge a Truth.

First of all, I'm in my early 20-ties with little of real life experience (but not zero) and I hold Absurdistic view on life along with trying to adopt Stoic teachings in my life. From my point of view, both philosophies fir pretty well in aspects that I consider relevant.

Now, if one accepts that life is absurd and pointless, he will inevitably get depressed. Life is unfair. It seems like the only way you can fight back and protest this by laughing into life's face.

Yes, you can set yourself goals, have ideals, find purpose. You can life joyful and fulfilled life, go your own road, be alpha as fuck. But once in a while you will stop and remember how pointless it all is. The only thing you can do then, is laugh about it continue doing what you were doing. Laugh just to stop yourself from crying about it.

Finally, a short story of mine. I was celebrating the New Year with couple of friends in the city. There was this "magic" place where you would spin 3 times, make a silent wish and then the wish would come true. And so, everyone of us had to make a wish. And somehow I then I had an existential moment. After spending quite a long time thinking about what I really wanted in my life I made a wish. "So that in the end I would have a good laugh about everything".

Maybe that's just my immature philosophy, but I think that Laughter is important. Maybe it's even underrated and not overrated, but its's hard to tell. It might be that most people, like you said, are too often using it to escape their harsh realities. But fuck, reality is harsh and we have a way to escape it at least for a brief moment. We should value that.

ChadThundercockII · 2016-06-28T22:10:04+00:00

A month ago, I discovered that I didn't need to be happy, but satisfied. That was thanks to some posts here and and Maslow's pyramid.

alphabeta49 · 2016-06-29T00:14:13+00:00

In my work I focus on helping people identify unmet needs that lead to dysfunction, codependency, and addiction. The unmet need that will fuck you up the most is unconditional positive regard. How many of us were told by our elders growing up, "You're always so serious! Let's see a smile!"

Because of shit like that, I developed a strong sense of guilt about my introverted outlook on life, even going so far as to change my facial expression to a more "happy" one.

To accept myself for who I am, objectively assess what I want to become, and not let a single fucking human's judgement alter my vision for myself... That's my fulfillment.

NietzscheExplosion · 2016-06-28T22:04:38+00:00

Modern People are simply stupid. Stupid people are often happy.

"Where the good begins.-- Where the poor power of the eye can no longer see the evil impulse as such because it has become too subtle, man posits the realm of goodness; and the feeling that we have now entered the realm of goodness excites all those impulses which had been threatened and limited by the evil impulses, like the feeling of security, of comfort, of benevolence. Hence, the duller the eye, the more extensive the good. Hence the eternal cheerfulness of the common people and of children. Hence the gloominess and grief - akin to a bad conscience - of the great thinkers. from Nietzsche's The Gay Science, s. 53, Walter Kaufmann transl."|

redpillschool · 2016-06-29T18:01:07+00:00

Address the community properly. Rules are on the sidebar.

LegendaryPeace · 2016-06-28T15:01:33+00:00

Really nice post.

The term "happiness" should be banished. It has too much cultural baggage attached to it. It's all about good feelz and has nothing to do with the Truth.

Were Sitting Bull, Tupac Shakur, Ernest Hemingway, Theodore Roosevelt and other self-actualized dudes Happy™ in the modern sense?

No.

Creative, bursting with life, and aggressive as hell? Yes.

I am also a retired funny guy. It's a beta-role to play - the court jester basically. You get to hang around with some high value guys since you're entertaining and easy to be around, but in the things that actually matter you lose out.

Any ways, our culture is totally messed up right now. It's basically the Hampster Wheel on a national scale and really needs to be pulled back into reality.

Koalasonfire · 2016-06-28T20:10:08+00:00

I will say that the smiling thing has been brought up before and doesn't always compute. Teddy Roosevelt is one example, also when you think of a guy with game or charm you think of a guy who smiles and jokes. When I think of a witty person I think of smiles as well

Expectations1 · 2016-06-28T21:17:34+00:00

Well i have to echo what Eckhart Tolle said "You cannot reduce the present moment as a means to an end, your life has never been not now and will never be not now"

Diddly-Doodly · 2016-06-29T01:27:06+00:00

Can you give more clarifications on the difference between joy and amusement? Give us examples of joy like you gave us examples of fulfillment. Try describing the middle road man better. Very interesting post.

raisins3142 · 2016-06-29T03:33:26+00:00

I battled mild to mid-depression until one day I realized I no longer cared so much about being happy, that it was overrated and a cultural obsession. Now, I'm fine for the most part. Happiness is not a fish that you can catch.

I rarely ask myself "am I happy?". I rather be other things like fulfilled, accomplished, knowledgeable, confident, and the list goes on.

idgaf- · 2016-06-29T05:20:22+00:00

The Middle Road

Buddhism is sometimes referred to as the Middle Way. You'd enjoy it, if you haven't already been studying it.

EAZYE079 · 2016-06-28T21:45:17+00:00

“Happiness” is about the “highs and lows”. Ups and downs. Buddhist monks have long warned that happiness comes with pain. You cannot have one without the other. All the highs that you experience will fall into lows. Pain complements happiness.

As 50Cent once said in one of his songs : "Some days wouldn't be special if it wasn't for rain, joy wouldn't feel so good if it wasn't for pain"

illicitwit · 2016-06-28T18:50:03+00:00

"The essence of greatness is the perception that virtue is enough."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

The_Other_Sun · 2016-06-29T05:11:54+00:00

Live how you want. See what happens. Because thats all you can really do.

2ChainZinMedSchool · 2016-06-29T07:58:54+00:00

Dam 5 humour is not a adult defence mechanism 😜

throwaway-aa2 · 2016-08-07T15:44:46+00:00

Um so where can I go to look at this post? I want to read this.

heapbigfun · 2016-06-28T17:38:00+00:00

But, a man on the Middle Road no longer needs humor, drugs, stimulation, entertainment… dare I even say… women?

Don't be so tentative. Your post is backed by centuries of eastern and western philosophical thought.

Redpillgawd · 2016-06-29T00:16:25+00:00

I think either way you look at it life is about getting as much pleasure as you can before you die. Now if you do drugs and alcohol and kill people you most likely will die soon. Instead make choice that give you the most pleasure out of life but also do not decrease your life span as much. If you want to party travel and die at 55 that seems reasonable considering you may live to what 80 but never have lived life. Seek happiness let it drive you. IDK where you got this idea but our entire being is about seeking happiness or more rather having experiences that are great with friends/family. So you're right invest in things like education health for that fulfillment but not smiling or enjoying life is retarded. Don't smile because you are more attractive to women not because you want to be alpha lol

Title	Forget Happiness. Try This Instead.
Author	lurking_lion
Upvotes	75
Comments	48
Date	June 28, 2016 2:33 PM UTC (10 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/TheRedPill
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/TheRedPill/comments/4q9pzg/forget_happiness_try_this_instead/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/TheRedPill/forget-happiness-try-this-instead.60321 https://theredarchive.com/post/60321

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