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Re:The Problem With Happiness by basetop on Saturday May 04, 2019 @01:03PM (#19827704)
The older you get, your "highs" are never as high as in the past, but your "lows" are also never as low. You'll never be as happy or excited as you were during your first christmas. But you'll never be as disappointed as you were when you didn't get what you wanted. You'll never be as happy or excited as you were on your first or the first few dates. But you'll never be as disappointed as you were when you were first rejected or had your first breakup. Christmas and dates, like life itself, becomes transactional. The great joys and disappointments are gone. At some point society beats you down, you gain experience and life goes on autopilot. You've pretty much seen it all and done it all and there isn't any more "magic" or disappointments.

And I agree that "nothing is really new anymore".

Nihil sub sole novum.

Re:The Problem With Happiness by mdeg on Sunday May 05, 2019 @03:11AM (#19831584)
This is a very sad perspective. You have thousands of years of art, history, media, culture to dive into. There are more hobbies out there than you could ever even attempt in your lifetime. There are more regions of the world than you could ever visit, more hikes than you could ever hike. Every day, artists all over the world make entirely new creations the world has never seen before - and there'll be even more tomorrow.

Having your life on autopilot is a choice you make.

Re:The Problem With Happiness by TomMarius on Saturday May 04, 2019 @04:08PM (#19828992)
I sold my startup stake and found out that "nothing is really new anymore" couldn't be further from the truth. Not even any big amount of money. The time I gained helped me more than the money.
Re:The Problem With Happiness by mdeg on Sunday May 05, 2019 @03:40AM (#19831667)
Was the stake enough to never work again (if you chose)? If so, how do you conceive of the rest of your life?
Re:The Problem With Happiness by TomMarius on Sunday May 05, 2019 @02:14PM (#19834100)
Not in my country but yes in Thailand etc.

I moved to the frontier of technological development and intend to stay here for the foreseeable future. What I think about now is pushing technological boundaries, not fulfilling my personal monetary needs.

Re:The Problem With Happiness by pistachiopro on Saturday May 04, 2019 @06:12PM (#19829715)
Could you expand on this?
Re:The Problem With Happiness by TomMarius on Saturday May 04, 2019 @07:45PM (#19830133)
Go backpack for a year or two to Ukraine and Russia, it's fun and you'll see things you've never even imagined

If you have family, going around in a converted van/bus is a very fun thing to do with endless possibilities

Re:The Problem With Happiness by moneywoes on Sunday May 05, 2019 @01:37AM (#19831353)
How much time did you get? How has that experience changed you today?