If you do something that instantly makes you happy like take drugs you then suffer from addiction, if you delay gratification you spend more time miserably working hard than reaping the fruit of your labour, if you do neither and just do nothing you'll be extremely bored etc. It's almost like the human brain is designed to keep us unhappy even people with the best circumstances like the ultra rich just get used to it and end up feeling like shit too.
escape_from_hell
Specialist
- Feb 22, 2024
- 379
Yes. It's a cruel state of being that some would argue enhances survival.
You're never allowed to rest. Just look at the grindset religion. Bad things happen to the lazy, you must never rest but keep grinding hard, if you slack off you deserve to suffer, all that jazz.
But as you point out, whatever you're working hard for is just a fleeting tease.
Rat race, carrot on stick, whatever analogy you want to use...there are many motivational gurus that are all about going hard at every moment. They too will die. Yeah yeah, AI/tech jesus immortality transhumanism just around the corner with infinite heaven for all--if you wanna risk that.
You're never allowed to rest. Just look at the grindset religion. Bad things happen to the lazy, you must never rest but keep grinding hard, if you slack off you deserve to suffer, all that jazz.
But as you point out, whatever you're working hard for is just a fleeting tease.
Rat race, carrot on stick, whatever analogy you want to use...there are many motivational gurus that are all about going hard at every moment. They too will die. Yeah yeah, AI/tech jesus immortality transhumanism just around the corner with infinite heaven for all--if you wanna risk that.
No not at all. I think the brain is designed to ensure we have happiness and joy. That we can thrive and survive.
It's depression that makes us hate existence, believe the lie that all life sucks and is suffering.
Depression is an evil illness.
It's depression that makes us hate existence, believe the lie that all life sucks and is suffering.
Depression is an evil illness.
Ash
What dreams may come?
- Oct 4, 2021
- 1,758
No because otherwise the entire population would be unhappy, and statistically we're in the minority.
sserafim
brighter than the sun, that’s just me
- Sep 13, 2023
- 9,013
Life is just an endless grind until you die. You're not even allowed a moment of rest. Life always demands something from you. You can never have peace
divinemistress36
Illuminated
- Jan 1, 2024
- 3,266
Trauma makes your brain think it's need to always protect itself so it gets stuck in fight or flight mode and is focused on that over joy
perhaps but I'm not heavily traumatized I've just never liked life and always viewed it as a chore maybe that's just how I am
I think you have a point. Part of it is the culture we are in though. Consumerism and capitalism insists that we need more all the time. We're encoraged to be disatisfied and feel like we're missing something. That's how they get us to work for money to buy shit we probably don't need. I think some philosophies/ religions really criticize the mental chatter we are encouraged to live with. Do you ever watch videos by Sadhguru? I like his take on life a lot of the time:
It's complex and can't be answered in a black and white fashion, but we know we are hardwired to be more sensitive to negative events , it's referred to as Negativity Bias. It's the reason you are more likely to retain a memory of embarrassing yourself in school than a time you made the class laugh. There's some hypothesis on the evolutionary causes, but it's generally agreed that it helps us recognize patterns of potential negative stimuli and make safer decisions. The brain definitely didn't develop to "keep us unhappy", as serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins all serve to either reward pleasurable experiences or reduce pain and negative emotions.
LaVieEnRose
Angelic
- Jul 23, 2022
- 4,243
