Happiness

Read an old but wonderful essay today on happiness which made me think about a few things.

1. My ability to concentrate on a single task of thinking (such as reading a 4 page essay) has been blown to bits!
2. I have many introspective friends who think about deep stuffs 🙂
3. Happiness is an ephemeral state. It’s difficult to generalize what happiness is both at the individual level and at the total lifespan level.
4. Happiness is not a science. Studying and even understanding other people’s happiness does not mean you’ll know how to find it yourself.
5. If your life had more happy moments than not, but in your last moment, you were full of regrets, did you lead a happy life?
6. Everyone has a movie worthy story.
7. A quote to ponder on: “Positive emotions make us more vulnerable than negative ones. One reason is that they’re future-oriented. Fear and sadness have immediate payoffs—protecting us from attack or attracting resources at times of distress. Gratitude and joy, over time, will yield better health and deeper connections—but in the short term actually put us at risk. That’s because, while negative emotions tend to be insulating, positive emotions expose us to the common elements of rejection and heartbreak.”
8. I need to read more.