When is enough?

Richard Feynman said:
Exceptionally, consistently and unshakably :)

It's a long, long, long answer as to what makes me happy. The short answer is "existing".

The slightly longer answer:

I made it a mission to hack my happiness. The key, I realised, was to be able to be happy and content in the present moment because that is the only moment we ever experience in our lives. The past and future are just thoughts that arise in each moment. This is where lots of people fall over. They chase future happiness (if only I do this; experience that; achieve this; buy that; I will be happy) rather than aiming to make happiness a default, internal, state.
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Great post Richard. Are you a fan of Eckhart Tolle by any chance? Good to see this tweaking has worked for you. I'd like to live more in the present moment.

Been sacrificing a lot till now. Trying to bring a bit more balance....as various posts suggest, getting to a perceived destination doesn't make you happy.

I wonder how effective the PRESENT moment would be if that's all I cared about given as you suggest past and future are only thoughts......
 
dajackal said:
Now that I've solved the early retirement puzzle (delayed gratification; high savings rate; investing) I've found myself in a conundrum of deferring happiness and as such wound up pretty miserable.

Any tips on how to live life in the present?
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It seems you've solved the method part of the early retirement puzzle but not the philosophy part. If you truly grasp the concept of delayed gratification, then you should be happy now in the knowledge that what you gain later will be more gratifying overall.

Also, happiness can be derived from many inexpensive activities, which you don't have to delay at all in your pursuit of early retirement. eg. One of my favourite activities is to walk my dogs, which costs practically nothing but time. The pleasure I get out of the exercise it gives us all and the joy it gives them. and in turn me, is immense. It is just one of the many ways I like to live in the present that happens to be low/no cost.
 
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dajackal said:
Now that I've solved the early retirement puzzle (delayed gratification; high savings rate; investing) I've found myself in a conundrum of deferring happiness and as such wound up pretty miserable.

Any tips on how to live life in the present?
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I attained early retirement last year. Took me 14 years to do it.

I live life in the present by helping others to attain the same.

Maybe try shifting the focus from you onto helping someone else.
 
Mr. Fabulous said:
Hi Marisa, I didn't say they have no chance, I said 'statistically speaking'. Less than 1% of Australians retire with an income of 50K+, let alone 100K.
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I find that amazing that less than 1% of Australians retire with an income of 50k.

How many retire with more (eg 100K)? I'd be interested in reading the source for the info Fab. Are you able to post it here?
 
MsAli said:
Great post Richard. Are you a fan of Eckhart Tolle by any chance? Good to see this tweaking has worked for you. I'd like to live more in the present moment.

Been sacrificing a lot till now. Trying to bring a bit more balance....as various posts suggest, getting to a perceived destination doesn't make you happy.

I wonder how effective the PRESENT moment would be if that's all I cared about given as you suggest past and future are only thoughts......
Click to expand...

I would not say I'm a fan, but have read some of his work (in my pursuit of understanding) which had some valuable pearls of wisdom. I have found much deeper insights in other writing, particularly eastern philosophy.

It's an interesting point re: effective using the present moment when you have grappled with, and deeply understood, that the past and future are nothing but arising thoughts. From my limited circle of acquaintances, it's generally led to far more effective use of the moment as it absolutely shifts your perspective.

This short video might be relevant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3JzcCviNDk


dajackal said:
Now that I've solved the early retirement puzzle (delayed gratification; high savings rate; investing) I've found myself in a conundrum of deferring happiness and as such wound up pretty miserable.

Any tips on how to live life in the present?
Click to expand...

A good starting point is listening to guided mindfulness meditation (secular stuff e.g. John Kabat Zinn). It teaches the skills of present moment awareness and helps to disconnect "things" from happiness which is an excellent starting point.

And though I don't speak from experience, I've heard that Ayahuasca ceremonies can be powerfully effective too*. A single experience can be unmatched by a lifetime of other pursuits in many of its effects, including the provision of a new perspective on life, the present moment and myriad other things.

*Food for thought, not a recommendation.
 
willair said:
I see it all the time when I go camping out in the bush,all some people over 45:rolleyes: have is the campervan living on the sitdown money,and maybe 20 cents in the back pocket and very very happy,"Wealthy is Meaingless" and would be very hard to scale out or measure when you look at people that have very little compared to some one with a lot,and on antidepressant medication ,and from what I read there seems to be more suicides from loss of financial or social status then when you turn up after 45 for a bad medical :) diagnoses...
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Yes I agree with you.

I also know people that will never be happy because they continually seem to look at their life in a very negative way, "the glass half empty" mentality.

My point to the post was really not what you want to achieve in life but more about personal fulfilment and recognising how to achieve this today.

MTR:)
 
There have been quite a number of studies on the correlation between income and happiness and if my memory serves me right it's been found that:

- The correlation is low. For example in developed countries the huge income growth in the last 70 years has resulted in little change in overall happiness.

- The richer a country, the lower the correlation. In Switzerland the correlation is even reversed for the highest income group.

- As a person's income increases, their aspirations will go up accordingly together with a decreased ability to feel happy about earning more, therefore putting a dampener on feelings of happiness.

- People that are "predisposed" to feel unhappy generally have higher aspirations that those "predisposed" to feel happy.

- People that focus on external goals (money, status, appearance) are generally less happy than those with intrinsic goals.

- The pervasiveness of external goals in modern society is cancelling out all the gains in income/wealth.

My personal take on this is that there is a "maturing" process going on in every person whereby the focus of happiness moves gradually from external things to the inner being. If the focus is external the person is at the mercy of circumstances and happiness will be felt as fleeting, unstable, relative. As their focus moves inwards, happiness will start to generate a life on its own and increasingly felt as unchanging, absolute.

So when is it enough? Great question to ask. I'd say, find that point on your personal journey where you start to feel your intrinsic goals are moving ahead of your extrinsic ones.

The issue here is not how many $ will be enough but what meaning you as a being are willing to give to the rest of your life.
 
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If you are depressed you are living in the past.
If you are anxious you are living in the future.
If you are at peace you are living in the present.​
― Lao Tzu

That's a good simple quote,the worldwide pharmaceutical companies would not want many to read and understand that one,that quote is going up on the fibro office wall in the morning..thanks..
 
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