/debate/ - Discussion and Debate

"Happiness" is, at its root, fulfillment of the (5) walks of life. These walks of life are, in simplest terms, metrics in which one can quantify one's quality of life. These walks are:

>physical
One's physical health. This includes fitness, maladies and disease, and the like.
>emotional
This includes mood, attitude, self-image, and the like.
>spiritual
This includes belief (in oneself), purpose, goals, and the like.
>mental
This includes curiosity, knowledge, and societal contribution, among other vectors.
>financial
This includes income and expenses. I know, big surprise. Included in this as well is charity (gifts and giving), savings, and futures. "'Money doesn't make you happy.' Well, you know what, you're right. But neither does a car payment."

Given these definitions, one can provide a systemic quantification of fulfillment based on these vectors. Generally, I would use a rating based on a scale of 10. For example:
>physical
7
I am quite healthy, rarely get sick, and am reasonably fit with a good diet. Although I have been overweight my whole life and this has caused some strife, I am consistently improving.
>emotional
5
I am in the midst of a "comedown" moodswing typical of those with borderline personality disorder, so my emotional health is distressed, however, my moodswings are improving as I work on bettering myself.
>spiritual
8
I know what I'm doing with my life. I have my goals and dreams right in front of me and am excited to reach them.I know it will happen. I am not "down in the dumps" about my prospects in this life.
>mental
6
I really need to pick up more business, success, and leadership books. Most of my input lately has been the mental equivalent of junk food, and that's not good.
>financial
7
I make more than a living wage am am expecting to make seven digits before I hit 30 years old. My savings account is empty, however, because I'm currently funneling all my income towards building a business. With that in mind, my retirement and futures look promising.

In this case, someone who rates themselves a 50 will have reached nirvana, but a score between 30 and 40 indicate definite happiness.

>>105

I wouldn't say it's only about fulfillment, sometimes people are happy just because they don't give a fuck about some things.

>walks of life
>financial

Currency is disgusting.

>>148
We're not here discussing the merits of financial systems, we're here discussing happiness. Unfortunately, money is a tool that is required to get through life. It is the universal measuring stick. No one will take of my kids when I'm gone because gosh darnit, I just had the best personality.
Regardless of location in the world, the person with more currency will be happier than the person with less. Being broke sucks. All other things being the same, in America, the person with the more sound finances will be happier than the person without. In Poland, it's more potatoes.
If you found out in the next hour you needed a life-saving emergency surgery that was only available across an ocean from wherever you are, what would you do?

Fulfilling your desires and becoming a whole man. For this we need to get rid of the alienations caused by modern capitalist society and men having power over men.

>>153
Although we seem to agree on the definition of happiness, given how slow this board is, I'm taking the liberty of sending us on a tangent.
I don't feel at all "alienated" by the "modern capitalist society". Rather the opposite, actually, I feel I'm getting treated exactly as I should, rewarded based on output and usefulness to society as a whole, and respected in kind. I fail to see anything but alienation, however, if this were to transition away from this "kind for kind" economy. After all, what's the purpose of cohesion or group dynamic when some invisible 3rd party makes sure everyone gets the same everything without any input?

>>161
My personal philosophy on the matter is espoused in detail in the book Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul by John Eldredge.
Now, the book itself is rather masculocentric, worrying itself with the problems standing between a man and his fulfillment rather than womans', however, I would definitely recommend it to any man here.
Despite Christian overtones present throughout the book, it nails some pretty good points. I'm far from religious, but I still enjoyed it quite a bit.

In short, however, the primary problem leading to the lack of fulfillment in a man's life is boredom.
No child grows up telling all his friends he wants to be a accountant; No one in the schoolyard is playing "call center technician".
It's a telling fact that, before the world tells us where we should steer our lives, before "real life" kicks in, we're all pirates or power ranger or globetrotting trendsetters or, generally, something that would allow us to get ourselves in trouble.
But then, we're taught by schoolteachers and parents and friends and TV and a million other places that the only real option you have is a crappy little deskjob, and if you graduate from a cubicle to a corner office, you made it.
Congratulations
The world is your oyster.
Except, it really isn't, because it's still a really crappy deskjob, just now you have a couple windows to really rub it in how much there is to do away from where you are.

tl;dr modern man is bored as fuck, which is what's holding us back from true fulfillment.

>>163
I feel a strong desire to do a "we're not so different after all" villain monologue at this point. I'll spare you the pain and just do it in my head. Wild at Heart hits the experience vs. spectacle point as well. Though, as is often this intersection of politics and religion, John takes a centerist Libertarian approach.
The way that translated into my life was that, if I could create an asset that made money work for me, I could begin to experience life in it's fullest. As I had said back up at the top, "money doesn't make you happy, but neither does a car payment." Once the financial thing's out of the way, once I could stop spending all my hours in what amounts to polite slavery working for another man and building his dream, I can begin building mine. And I don't mean cars, houses, et cetera. Those things are nice, but the things that really define my dream are things like charity. Giving to those that need it and deserve it.

I will have to go out and pick up a copy of The Revolution of Everyday Life. Many thanks for the point.

>>164
The difference is, while you want to achieve this at the expense of others, I don't think that would be a desirable approach.

>>166
Who says I'm acting at anyone else's expense?

>>168
> if I could create an asset that made money work for me
It implies that someone else is doing the work that enables you to realise yourself.

>>169
That's an assumption, and you know what they say about those.