How do people find the joy in life?

beer

People that are always happy are either blissfully ignorant or completely faking it. Yes, I’m cynical ;-).

I find joy by hanging out with my friends and feeling good about myself by doing some good deeds for random people (e.g. pull my car over and run out to help a lady push her stalled and out-of-gas vehicle out of a busy intersection).

First you have to be happy in your life. Accepts things you cannot change. I always see people super happy as if they are living their life worry free. Then I ask myself…Are they truly happy? Everyone has some type of stress in their life. I don’t think people are 100% happy in their life. The people we see just hide their worries better than most. Stress takes a toll on people. The best I can tell is to control your stress before it controls you.

Happiness has more to do with your attitude toward the world than the things you have or the people you know. For a good start, find things to be grateful for every single day.

By asking a group of random strangers on the Internet…

Yes, there are some people who do seem to be always happy, but I don’t think that means that they don’t have sadness or other emotions in their life.

I agree that random acts of kindness are a wonderful way to bring joy into your life. And so is enjoying time with those you hold most dear to you.

I also think that you can want that happiness so much that in the end you really aren’t happy and will end up missing out on things that would have made you happy. And that’s no way to live.

All good responses, imo.

I once spoke to a man who was a recovering addict, had nothing going for him, was fighting with his family, barely had enough money to buy gas to go this addicts meeting, wanted so bad to just get stoned after a couple years sober, and yet he rated his day a 10 out of 10, the best day of his life, because he was alive and he wasn’t high.
If you want to see how people find joy in the simple things and during hard times, I recommend going to one of these meetings, or an AA meeting. The people there are phenomenal. There are terrible people too, but you learn from them. Reading the AA book is great too, but I’m told you can’t completely understand it if your not an addict.. so I guess I’m missing some of it but its still good. Some meetings do allow family members or friends as a “positive influence” so I really suggest it if you can, plus it makes whoever you’re going with feel wonderful.

I’m growing tired of people complaining about how “bad the world has become”. It’s been said so much it’s just become a part of youth culture’s subconscious thought on everything from why they aren’t doing well in school to why they cannot find happiness in their individual lives and it appears to run rampant on this site.

Without trying to sound too unsympathetic, too many people feel sorry for themselves and use this irrational excuse as a means to justify why they aren’t doing anything about it. The world is not a terrible place. I get that depression and apathy are hip, but that ship sailed long ago.

Start here. You live in the greatest nation on earth. You’ve got internet access and most likely an iPhone. You’re free to go out and do whatever you want right this very second without the fear of political, religious or police persecution, car bombs, bias, limits or discrimination. Because you live here- the world is exactly what you make of it.

You’re young and you appear to be having some guy problems. It’s not the end of the world even though it appears like it right now. I promise you, you were not going to marry and have children with any of these guys. Relationship problems at your age are good for you. You’re learning about who you are, what you need in a relationship and what you don’t.

Just go out and have fun, and when bad things come along just think “nothing good will come from worrying about this or thinking about it so much” and that will make you feel better, and just try to think about the good things. Also, only take out emotions on the people that they are meant for, not someone trying to help. (o:

Beverly Sills, who had one, ironically, severely hearing-impaired daughter and one who was severely mentally disable, said that she wasn’t happy but she was always cheerful. It is infectious. Everyone has some misery in his, her life, but there are joys everywhere. No one leads a charmed life.

I’m probably going to get a scolding for this, but quite frankly I don’t care.

Beer. By asking a group of random strangers on the internet…

People, this is a young woman asking some questions, and if you dare to click on her profile to find out what kinds of questions she’s asking you’ll see that she’s searching for something. She just doesn’t need these crap answers that you find so amusing. I’m getting frustrated by some of these attitudes, which are sarcastic, callous and don’t help one single bit. This is isn’t a humor at the expense of others site.

I agree in the sense that I just don’t see the point of wasting your time on a socially based board like this one to give answers that constantly under-deliver. Too many people put little to no thought in their answers and they’re never funny because they’re usually predictable.

In wildflower’s defense, (because I see that she is very often helpful), I think there may be a few people who just believe this girl needs to seek help elsewhere via therapist or an understanding parent. She’s not going to find solutions to her problems here.

I actually don’t find it amusing at all, but also very much doubt anything any of us post on here is going to turn things around and as cameraobscura pointed out, these are questions best answered by someone who knows the person asking and their surroundings. I’m well aware my previous answer is not going to be of much use for this Q and I’m not afraid to admit it was more a reaction than a thought out response.

A couple of keys are being compassionate toward yourself and toward others. Also, viewing the world with a sense of abundance instead of scarcity. Taken together that means having an understanding that we are all inherently good enough to deserve a place in this world, that we all have a purpose, and that there is plenty of love (and other basic human necessities) to give and receive. Times when you encounter people or situations that most would see as a reason not to be happy can be made otherwise by keeping a perspective of compassion and a sense of abundance.

Happiness also comes when you listen to your heart and follow what it is guiding you to do. Often, not listening to your heart can lead to unhappiness. There is a saying “follow your bliss,” and this speaks to the same principle.

I only recently realized that a lot of popular songs really speak the truth about these principles. (I never really paid attention to them before.) From the music you listen to, see if there are songs that talk about these things.

@kevbo: Post lyrics!

So here’s my serious answer (which I still doubt will have much impact):
I find joy in life by seeking it out, by appreciating the people, places and events that make me happy. By knowing what brings a smile to my face and actively look for opportunities to experience them. At the same time respect the negatives, experience it and remember it when things are better for a sense of contrast and heightened appreciation of the good things in life.
I aim to concern myself with things I can influence, affect or change and to accept those I can not.
This works for me, it may or may not work for others.

I need to scoot, but why don’t others post lyrics, too?

Fluther!

Oh, and beer!

i guess sex has been keeping people happy for some time now….but now there’s fluter, if you get spade or nuterd now, you’ll get an additional 100 lurve…how do you think i got mine so fast, what they don’t tell you is that the stiches itch…

@Iwanto; do you mean “spayed,” “neutered”, and “Fluther”? And are you talking about a vasectomy?

damn i’m sorry, been talking dutch all day again, well, i was talking about a castration basicly..man, but i gotta go back to work, more dutch, i wish i had 2 different brains i could just slot load….hot swappable brains, what an idea :)

Just remind us that you are bi-lingual…very impressive under those circumstances. I have been trying to learn Dutch for my two friends here from the Netherlands. Even with my small amt of German, I am finding it very difficult. Dank je. (Is that right?)

also, i ch bin auch noch halb deutch, aber ich kan es nicht mer so guht schreiben, shade ne? haha, so in reality im tri-lingual ;) but yeah, “dank je” is right. see, i find joy in being happy with my skills

I highly recommend you read Pulling Your Own Strings By Dr. Wayne Dyer.
http://www.amazon.com/Pulling-Your-Own-Strings-Techniques/dp/006109224X

It will help you answer this and many of your other questions.

K.I.S.S at your stage of life. If you really want to happy find out how everyone lives. Go volunteer in your high school feeding the poor or visiting an elderly home. Do something anything, just don’t sit at home doing your same routine. Once you realize how lucky you are you will be content and happy

For me it is watching my son fulfill his potential on the football field. There are some great anwers above. Life is for living. Work to live.

positive outlook on life.

happiness can come in many forms, real or artificial, liquid, physical, emotional, etc.
bad things that happen are just tests and hurdles that needs to be dealt with.
overcome with with that positive outlook on life. anything is possible.

I don’t know – it must be an internal thing. I’m always happy, although don’t have any more to be happy about than then next person. Probably less than most.

For me it is a conscious decision, every time that I have to make a decision.