I suppose I'd imagine losing it all in various ways to varying degrees even as I made the most of these things for however long I could manage to hold on to them. So from my current state of existence, I imagine that that would be the only "more" left to imagine. The Buddha was right about dukkha ... Epicurus too.Imagine for a moment that you had everything you wanted in life as it currently stands; be it material (property, a car, plane, gold, the latest technology), people (the love of your life, children, best friends, fame etc), or anything else on your agenda (career, hobby etc). — Benj96
Would you push the bar further up? Attain more. Buy more. Achieve more. Do more be more.
Or would you turn around and say nope, I’m happy with this now. And live the remainder of your life in that context with no more or no less than what you already possess.
Or, third option: would you decide that you preferred your old life. — Benj96
The data shows that happiness increases with income up until about $75,000.
There would be no need to try and obtain more, but there is no point in giving up the non-material things that could influence happiness, such as friends, sex, love, and achievements. — Down The Rabbit Hole
In the end - total, lasting satisfaction is not something that human experience. For evolutionary reasons it is not a state of mind we can acquire in nature. It can be achieved with some kind of mind hacking perhaps. — original2
I’m still looking at how I wish my career and mid life to go. I definitely don’t think pursuing money is a good path. — Benj96
Is it as hard for the average person to have friends, sex, love, and achievement as $50,000 extra? Achievement seems like it might be the most difficult commodity to obtain. It seems like the opportunities to freely achieve are fairly restricted. — Bitter Crank
Would you push the bar further up? Attain more. Buy more. Achieve more. Do more be more. — Benj96
Does more money bring more friends, sex, more stable relationships? It may, but the people I know who have lots of friends, sex, and good relationships are on the low end of the economic distribution. Good looks, health, a strong sex drive, and a pleasant personality help more than money. — Bitter Crank
If one has great wealth, not just "some wealth", one can arrange to have people surround one with what looks like friendship, sex appeal, and good relationships. In that sense, money can get one those things. But none of this is "the real thing". One's 'friends' and 'bed mates' are playing a role. — Bitter Crank
As some philosophers have always said in more ways than one, if everything looks good, then nothing is good.Or, third option: would you decide that you preferred your old life. That you enjoyed the challenges and dynamic that it had and that now everything comes too easily. You are bored with your new capacity And want to revert back to what you used to have? — Benj96
I think all of these other things being equal, money brings more friends, sex, relationships, and achievement - presumably helping to explain the rise in happiness as one's income rises up until 75k. — Down The Rabbit Hole
It's late in life for me, and I find I have, or have had, most of what I ever wanted. Some of it is gone, owing to normal processes of aging, death, disease, and so on.
There are two things I wish I had when I was 18--roughly--that I have now. One is peace of mind. I'm pretty contented. It would have been good to be so calm and collected when I was at the beginning of college, instead of bouncing off the walls.
The second thing I wish I had had when I was 18 was the technology I use now -- computer, tablet, internet. These three things (and the companies that back them up, like Barnes & Noble or Amazon) would have made study so much more effective.
Yes, it would have been nice if gay liberation had arrived in the outback where I lived in 1964. All that erotic energy wasted under the cold wet blanket of condemnation and guilt.
Loads of money? Nope. I never had a lot, but I always had enough money. So far, anyway. All that one needs is a little more than one needs--a margin. — Bitter Crank
Beyond having enough money to operate a secure but frugal lifestyle (up to $75,0000 what do you think the mechanism is of money's contribution to one's number of friends, happiness, frequency of satisfying orgasms, happiness, et al?
The theory that money makes people happier has to account for the happiness of people who have not a pot to piss in. How do the poor manage to be happy--enough poor people are happy enough to make the question worth asking.
And what happens after $75,000? Does too much wealth begin to sour? I ask because I've never come close to $75,000, so I know not what it would do for me. — Bitter Crank
everything you want — Benj96
Beyond having enough money to operate a secure but frugal lifestyle (up to $75,0000 what do you think the mechanism is of money's contribution to one's number of friends, happiness, frequency of satisfying orgasms, happiness, et al?
The theory that money makes people happier has to account for the happiness of people who have not a pot to piss in. How do the poor manage to be happy--enough poor people are happy enough to make the question worth asking.
And what happens after $75,000? Does too much wealth begin to sour? I ask because I've never come close to $75,000, so I know not what it would do for me. — Bitter Crank
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