Future and Happiness

[Euphanasia]

I am sure there are people out there who believe they have their lives figured out. They are in serious relationships and they plan on soon or eventually being married, having children and happily living out their lives. I'm sure there are also plenty of people who are single, but are pretty much certain that they will someday get married and settle down and find happiness.

But I'm wondering how many people out there have serious doubts they will find the happiness in their lives that they are constantly seeking. People who live in fear that they will never live the lives they want to live, never achieve their goals or realize their dreams.

I mean, many people on this planet don't find true happiness and don't embrace the futures they desire.

 

[Sebastian]

I dont know but i belong to the first group of people youve mentioned.

 

[Farzin]

My life is far from figured out. I don't know if I'll ever get married and find that true happiness but I am not someone who just gives up either. I plan on achieving my goals one way or another.

It would suck to live fearing not ever achieving anything or amounting to anything all the time. Sure I have my doubts sometimes too but I don't let it get me down because rather than it helping the situation it would just make it worse.

 

[S O F I]

I've wondered about this in regards to many people. I mean, I don't know how a typical Somalian feels about his/her future and happiness but I'm talking about people who generally speaking have opportunities for success. To me, I just feel really optimistic about the future. I feel like good things are coming. It's innate, it can't go away. I have a feeling that a lot of people are optimistic about the long-term even if they're the biggest pessimists in the short-term. I mean, living without a belief for better times is like living without hope. If you have no hope...how can you live and maintain through the most mundane things in life?

When I was watching Drugstore Cowboy (good movie), one particular part hit me. When the dude was talking about addiction, he said something like "Addicts hate the thought of having to tie their own shoe in the morning". That's what I feel like life is without hope at times.

 

[ill-matic]

I'm with Farzin on this one.

At the ripe age of 20, I really doubt that many people who share this age really have a true grasp of what they actually want to do with their lives, or how they want to end up. On that note, I do have a few of my friends who are adamant to achieve a certain thing, milestone, or to just be a certain someone (whether it be a social worker, lawyer, doctor etc).

Some people have been truly blessed. Blessed in the sense that from a young age they recognised their talent, their passions etc, and have constructed a path which they will follow to live out this talent / passion. And in doing this, happiness (or some level of contentment) will soon follow.

But the problem with a lot of youth these days is that they have become so disenchanted with what they want, and who they want to be. As i mentioned above, some people are blessed with recognising their talents, and, ultimately,what they feel they should be doing with their lives. However, on the flip side there's always those who are lost in some kind of wilderness; in that they are all searching for something, but are not sure what they're looking for; but nonetheless they are still searching.

What are my passions? What can i do with my life? What career do i want for myself? Do i even want a career? What are my talents?

I've come to this point in my life where such questions plague the depths of my mind all day. It creates confusion for me. I try to get some counsel from my friends, but really, i'm starting to believe they are just as confused and lost as i am. They regurgitate some cliched advice about "follow my passions, and do what i enjoy doing with my life".

But what if such things are limited to hobbies? I can't forge a career in football. I can't forge a career in reading the political biographies of Putin, Obama etc. I can't forge a career out of half the sh*t i'm interested in.

Which leads me to ponder, what is something that i can do with my life, yet still really enjoy? If i don't find it, can i still be happy?

The point of this entire post was to just say that i don't really know HOW to be happy.. in the sense that i'm not sure what i should be doing with my life.

 

[Bobby Sands]

i have no clue what the future holds for me.

 

[Flipmo]

Things were much simpler 40-50 years ago. Happiness was 'easy' to find. You'd find someone spcial, marry them, and have kids. Once you did that, you were kinda set.

Now it's different. Most people don't stick with 1 job their whole life. They have plenty of careers, also, its harder for people in a relationship to stick together. Everything is harder in a way. I think the problem with people finding happiness is the fact that people don't know how to settle. They always want something more. 'I know i can do better' mentality. The day we can just look at our surroundings and say: "You know, I like what I have" is the day you know you really found happiness.

 

[tHuG $TyLe]

I want to be an astronaut.

 

[Shadows]

Things were much simpler 40-50 years ago. Happiness was 'easy' to find. You'd find someone spcial, marry them, and have kids. Once you did that, you were kinda set.

Now it's different. Most people don't stick with 1 job their whole life. They have plenty of careers, also, its harder for people in a relationship to stick together. Everything is harder in a way. I think the problem with people finding happiness is the fact that people don't know how to settle. They always want something more. 'I know i can do better' mentality. The day we can just look at our surroundings and say: "You know, I like what I have" is the day you know you really found happiness.

Kudos for that post.

I know what I want but what makes me unhappy is that I feel as though I wont get there. Maybe it has to do with me always accomplishing something, then something bad happens.

I think that always makes me re-think and make me feel like I can or can't do better. :notrust:

 

[Duke]

I have no clue about the future. I dunno what I want.

Don't really worry about it, either. I'm not a worrying person.

 

[Sebastian]

I want to be an astronaut.

You want to make love to Ronaldo, thats all you ever wanted.

 

[tHuG $TyLe]

You want to make love to Ronaldo, thats all you ever wanted.

I almost did. Remember the transvestities?

 

[Sebastian]

Oh yeah, must have slipped my mind.

I have no clue about the future. I dunno what I want.

Don't really worry about it, either. I'm not a worrying person.

Sounds like a typical pothead attitude.

 

[Duke]

Well, I've felt the same long before I even started smoking weed, so, your joke fails.

illmatic made a good post about "knowing where your talents are". Some people figure this out from the start, they know what they want, they are suitable for it, they pursue it. Others have to figure it out. Great.


" I'm not a worrying person."

- Sounds like a typical pothead attitude.



I'd rather not worry than consume myself with irrational fears and worrying all the time. Fussing about every little fucking thing. Now that's hell.

 

[Preach]

I'm worried that your cock gave me the flu.

 

[Shadows]

^aids

 

[Sebastian]

Well, I've felt the same long before I even started smoking weed, so, your joke fails

It was no joke in the first place.

Plus, you started smoking weed by the age of 5, so dont tell me you had the same attitude when you werent even able to think. Pothead.

 

[masta247]

Well, I guess that I have already made a decision for my life. I sort of planned it. A year or so ago I was wondering this too, had to decide what to study, how to plan my future etc.
I made a decision that collided with a lot of my earlier plans but thinking logically it should be best for me in the long run. I think that a lot of people have to choose something they will do even if it's not something you're good at.
Some people are blessed with a passion, others have to choose something most rational.
I think that most people can spend X time learning something and while this process might not always be pleasurable for them, after learning that they will probably start enjoying it because people usually like doing things that they're good at.
I think that if you're stuck and forced to make a decision but don't have a specific passion you should pick something that sort of interests you and gives good perspectives for your future.
I'm 20, I had to make a choice and I made it, I picked something that guarantees a "bright future money-wise" and interests me a bit. I do something I was not good at the start but put a lot of effort to improve myself. I'm not as good as other people who have a passion for this and see much more in it - sure I would like to feel like them, they do it because they love it, I do it because I had to choose something.
Still I think that I didn't have a better way.
Money means that I will be able to keep my family safe and healthy, my job will probably make me move abroad which means new possibilities and learning new cultures - it's something that I really like.
I know that there's a lot of random stuff to come, probably many things will happen differently than I planned but fuck that. That's life. Most of my childhood hopes and dreams got verified by reality. I still have some dreams left that I want to chase. Even if they require doing things I might not like right now, I think it's worth to make an effort.

 

[S O F I]

Which leads me to ponder, what is something that i can do with my life, yet still really enjoy? If i don't find it, can i still be happy?

This is the Protestant Ethic type of thinking that is common in the West but uncommon in other parts of the world.

The West instills the idea in you (in the US, it's through the American Dream propaganda) that achieving a goal or attaining a job you love and get paid a lot for is happiness. But that is nonsense.

In a lot of other countries, careers and jobs are sources of income...and that is that. People derive their happiness from the families they create, the people they surround themselves with, and most importantly, from themselves by becoming good people in their own right.

But, don't get me wrong, I'm in the same boat as you and I agree with everything you're saying. I particularly don't like this life without constraints, with endless possibility because it makes you miserable as you never know which choice you're making is right. Happiness is much easier when you're constrained by many variables.

 

[Duke]

It was no joke in the first place.

Plus, you started smoking weed by the age of 5, so dont tell me you had the same attitude when you werent even able to think. Pothead.

Who told you this?