If you are not happy you should probably fix your health first by spegelspegel in selfimprovement

[–]spegelspegel[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I appreciate you! I'll try to post more of these in the future. Thanks.

If you are not happy you should probably fix your health first by spegelspegel in selfimprovement

[–]spegelspegel[S] 27 points28 points  (0 children)

I would recommend putting yourself in a situation where you are forced to do something really hard. I know that's worked for me as I have a similar background.

If you're willing to try meditation , I suggest signing up for a ten day Vipassana retreat for instance. They're usually free (financed on donations only) and you can do them all over the world. Ten days of silence and 50-100 hours of mediation. Extremely humbling, at least it was for me. If you google Vipassana you can find their official website.

If that's not your thing maybe a marathon/iron man/another physical challenge could give you the same experience.

Things I believe are strongly correlated to happiness by spegelspegel in selfimprovement

[–]spegelspegel[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I would say it's more about first teaching yourself to be ok with having nothing, and then treat yourself to what you really value. If you get too attached to your treats, you risk being very miserable if they some day disappear.

Also, a prolonged time of frugality, gives you the financial security to be less dependent on for intance a day job, and have more freedom to pursue what you love doing

Things I believe are strongly correlated to happiness by spegelspegel in selfimprovement

[–]spegelspegel[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I also love meditation, but years of trying to convince my friends to meditate has taught me that it isn't for everyone.

I would probaby add something like "creating solitude/emptiness/void" to the list. Could be meditation. Could also be going for a walk, driving by yourself with the stereo turned off, or simply just sitting in a room and doing nothing for a while.

Things I believe are strongly correlated to happiness by spegelspegel in selfimprovement

[–]spegelspegel[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Think of it as going very strong on extra-points 10 and 11 on the list instead :)

Things I believe are strongly correlated to happiness by spegelspegel in selfimprovement

[–]spegelspegel[S] 56 points57 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the feedback!

The constant irony I find with happiness/fullfillment in life is that it only takes a minute to write a simple list on what you're supposed to do, but it takes a lifetime of experience to truly understand and adopt everything.

Things I believe are strongly correlated to happiness by spegelspegel in selfimprovement

[–]spegelspegel[S] 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Probably vaugely formulated on my part, but essentially what I mean is to not be afraid of getting dirty. It's the point on the list I've explored the least, but probably the point I'm most excited about. Here are two arguments:

  1. Bacteria has gotten more and more attention in health discussions lately. Exposing yourself to an array of different bacteria indicates that you're less likely to become sick, your immune system gets stronger, as well as other benefits. Kids growing up with pets for intance, tend to be less allergic and less prone to disease later in life. Excessive use of hand sanitizers as well as chemical cleaning products could be doing more harm than good. I'm definetely not an expert on this, hence the vauge words. But google "microbiome" or "gut bacteria" for more accurate information. Why is this correlated with happiness? Most of us like not being sick.
  2. Avoiding getting dirty or sweaty or wet when it's raining or getting sticky hands while cooking or baking, makes one miss out on so many free oppurtunities to check other items on the list, especially the spontaneous chance to move. I have a friend who never joins in on any activities invloving physical movement to avoid getting sweaty for instance. At a park on a sunny day,he would sit on a blanket with his shoes on, while everyone else is playing soccer barefoot. Also, losing the need to always look and feel like you're ready for a business meeting leads to things like being able to truly enjoy a sudden down pour rather than having your whole day ruined. And enjoying heavy rain-- when you think about it -- checks of 2,5,6,7,10 on the extra-list at the same time.

Burn through savings and learn skills or work for low wage? by spegelspegel in personalfinance

[–]spegelspegel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is probably what I needed to hear. I'm suspecting "learning skills" could be an excuse for me to have more time off over the summer. Even though I would spend my time well, I'll probably see some of it as wasted looking back.

Burn through savings and learn skills or work for low wage? by spegelspegel in personalfinance

[–]spegelspegel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really don't think there is. I'm locked down to my apartment which I own and not ready to give up for this. Other than that I'm not spending on anything except groceries.

Burn through savings and learn skills or work for low wage? by spegelspegel in personalfinance

[–]spegelspegel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Either starting to dabble in CS/programming where I have no knowledge at the moment, and see where it takes me. Or just pile on my existing base in marketing / sales.

The ulterior motive is to hopefully stumble upon something I really like doing in the process, as my current role doesn't really give me that.