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Today in society, many things are hard to come by. Work, love, and - by the looks of the Republican nominees, I would say- intelligence, just to name a few. However if you ask me if there's one thing that isn't hard to come by, I would respond with happiness. Whether a person's just hanging around at the bar with his friends, or just admiring the beauty of nature, happiness is still flourishing in this world. And no, I'm not talking about the artificially flavored sweetner called consumerism (that stuff's all injected with dyes and trippy chemicals). I'm talking about pure, organic, 100% all-natural happiness that you can't get with a box and a reciept.

When you're happy you feel the natural high of dopamine in your brain. It's a feeling that's been scientifically proven to bring in positive affects in your life, be it medical, psycological, physical, etc. Just the simple act of affirming the positive by saying good things, or thinking good things can change your mindset, if someone is coming from a background full of constant bombardment of negativity, into an optimistic and hopeful one.

I'm not saying to just blatantly reject every bad situation that happens, but rather expect for the situation to have an overall positive outcome. Once you start to get into the habit of constantly expecting the good, sooner or later good things will come. Even if you don't want something physical in return, affirming the positive in your life could just be a good pick-me-up.

There's always something to be happy about in your life. You don't even have to know what it is! Just the little acts of kindness you receive could be enough. Hone into it. Expect the good out of the situation. Because once you start speaking, thinking, and expecting the good out of life, surely it will happen. And finally, to conclude this post, I think I'll just leave this here:

i hate myself and i want to die

I find the "be happy and you'll be successful" mantra bullshit. Like happiness causes success and not the other way around.

And, in my opinion, I think that one of the cruelest things you can do to someone who is depressed is to tell them to "be positive". Being positive is one thing which they can't do in their current state.

Kaxbe, on 30 March 2012 - 03:15 AM, said:

This is an over-simplification. I think people expect that they can be happy without being positive, which is hypothetically possible, but it also an extremely unstable existence.

This post has been edited by Meowth: 30 March 2012 - 03:19 AM

Eh, I kinda meant "being positive" on the basis of "cheering up". Like "Cheer up! Look at all the good things you've got!"

We seem to knock things before we even try them eh? If we truly and honestly try it can happen I guess, just don't pretend to do it.

Kaxbe, on 30 March 2012 - 03:15 AM, said:

I see where you're coming from, since depression is treated as a sickness and telling a person to just 'cheer up' seems a waste. I guess what I was trying to specify was that positive affirmation can help someone recover from depression even quicker.

Furthermore, with everything comes practice. People may think it's nothing more than just words and thoughts, but they both have very real and powerful effects on the human body. They've got nothing to lose by trying it, other than a few words and ideas.

all i can think of is that this guy murders women and throws them in barrels

TAKE IT! TAKE IT!

(but seriously) I can see what he means, because self confidence really can breed success. But the problem is that you can't really teach a person self-confidence. It's that kind of thing that needs a lot of work to be developed.

But it's not nonsense. My teacher told me of a woman that was able to just WALK OUT out of a shopping center with a trolley full of food because she LOOKED like it belonged to her. Whereas a lot of robbers that are caught are putting it under their shirt and looking anxious and nervous, the woman was able to look confident. I mean it's still terrible, but it has been said that a lot of successful corporates have the symptoms of a psychopath

I was never taught to be self confident.....I had no daddy!! That's my excuse.

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The danger of this is what I would call "blind optimism". Being happy is a good thing, but always thinking positive things is actually really, really dangerous because it makes it very easy to overlook the negative downsides of potential and past actions. This is actually one of the biggest flaws many leaders possess, the inability to realize that their actions have had negative consequences, and instead blame whatever bad things happen on outside influences rather than themselves.

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Actually, due to the euphoric treadmill, chances are however happy you are is how happy you'll always be, with some small margin of deviation, once you're an adult, barring major traumatic events or certain other things.

Also, self-confidence brings success, and success brings self-confidence; the idea that it isn't a positive feedback loop is wrong, because it is.

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Ah, but you see, they can. The idea that depression is some sort of brain disease is bogus, because people -do- become happier. Sorry, its an excuse for shit behavior. Some people really are fucked up, but most people are quite capable of being happy, if only they'd let themselves. Very few people are actually incapable of being happy.

This post has been edited by Titanium Dragon: 30 March 2012 - 06:19 AM

I think the idea that people should be 'happy' is an impossible to reach abstraction, and is a delusion. One which can have bad consequences. I don't know, this video articulates it way better than I ever could.



I try to keep a neutral disposition, and it's served me well so far. But it frustrates me when people give me shit for not being happy or all sunshine and smiles.

@Taeshi: I understand where you're coming from. You just can't say 'Hey, man, cheer up and be happy' if he's been through something really terrible. You're right, you can't teach a mindset to someone. Even if a person has known happiness just once, they'll always remembet that feeling. You can't train someone to get into a state of mind, much like you can't just teach someone to be happy. They have to feel it, emphasis on feel. Rather, you're training yourself to be in constant expectation of that feeling, attracting positive outcomes. However, if that person got off by being a homicidal maniac....

@Titanium: I agree with you on both of the terms. 'Leader' who don't acknowledge that their outcome has caused bad effects and rather being responsible for their actions, they pin the blame on someone else, shouldn't even be in a leadership position. Great leaders, however, will take the full blunt of the consequence they've caused, and use it as an opportunity for a learning experience.

@CaptainBacon: I actually agree with many points in this video, especially since you used RSA Animate (Love those guys!). I also have a few things to say to it as well.

If a person is in a position of authority, they should always surround themselves with people who will intellectually stimulate them from all sides. You can be optimistic, yet still see that you'll encounter setbacks, problems, and the like. If you're detached from reality and simply refuse to hear any troubling setbacks, straight to the point where you fire someone, you should REALLY consider if you took the right job. That's just dumb. It's different if someone's making an enviornment that's toxic to the workers; then, you'd be in the right to fire them. However, punishing someone just for the distribution of facts and info, is something that's intolerable.

Furthermore, when the video discusses The Secret, I actually have the book in my house. However, I haven't read it. When the narrator says what the author of the book said about the tsunami, I would say that she's a bit delusional. Life just happens. There is suffering. There is anguish. There is death, disease, war, and poverty. You shouldn't just jetison there entire existence. Rather, you face it and take it head on, growing in experience and wisdom. There is a time for mourning, and sometimes being down on some days. It's natural, we're only human. It's just that you can't keep dwelling on the negative when it's time has passed. With all things, you progress and keep moving foward.

I really liked the part where she says to focus on the actions rather than the feeling. That's when positive thought meets positive action, something that, when done rationally, can work wonders. You can still focus on the positive potential even when you're confronted with negative setbacks. Even if you're outcome isn't what you expected it to be, can you feel and say that 'At this present moment I'm unhappy with the things I've done leading up to this,'?

I used to believe that anyone could magically become steadily happy, but I've learned that some people are simply just born with sad and broken brains, and that there is a euphoric treadmill like Titanium Dragon described. I've recently learned that I'm chronically hypomanic, and I've been like that through at least a major chunk of my life up to now. For those who don't know, hypomania can be described as the opposite of depression -- basically a very good mood where the sun is shining so brightly and you just want to put sunflowers in peoples' hats. But, that's just so freakin' unfair though!

@Seppucrow: It's so weird what's considered as a mental disorder nowadays.

Seppucrow, on 09 April 2012 - 03:38 AM, said:

Very few people are permanently depressed, though; you can tell from historical incidence rates. This is how we know that obesity and depression are mostly environmental (and in the case of depression, diagnostic) - historical incidence rates.

I think it's kind of silly to say "cheer up" to someone who is genuinely depressed because wouldn't they have cheered up already if they could? I think with both encouragement of friends for you to be yourself and do some hobbies that you feel makes you happy in addition to your own self-motivation is the key.