Life Satisfaction Level

[Cavedweller]

I really like that poem; but I just lost the love of my life, so how does that work now. As of my point of view, for now, life sucks.

So very sorry to hear about your loss. Been there, done that. It does suck. Words don't help. Best wishes.

 

[clanhanson]

I really like that poem; but I just lost the love of my life, so how does that work now. As of my point of view, for now, life sucks.

I'm sorry for your loss, friend.

 

[Jay Walk]

The way to peace is through
the Prince of Peace.

 

[Lilhigbee]

I've always liked this piece and find much comfort and useful direction in it;

Desiderata:

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

by Max Ehrmann ©1927

For those who appreciate the funnier side of things, my other favorite version;

Detritus;
By Les Barker

Go placidly amid the noise and haste
And remember what peace there may be in silence
Do not walk in front of me,
for I may not follow. Do not walk behind me,
For I may not lead. Go over there somewhere.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly.
Be open-minded, but don't lean forward or your brain may fall out.
Know that there will be good days and there will be bad days -
And this is one of them.
Always dismantle and clean the dog before going to bed
but avoid using spot remover or you may never see him again.
You are a child of the universe.
It is a small world – unless you have to paint it.
Do not wish for everything unless you have a really big cupboard.
And do not worry about the pace of life;
Concern yourself only with the sudden ending.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons.
Sleep well; if you cannot sleep well, practise more often.
Borrow from pessimists – they don't expect it back.
Remember, if you give a man a fish, he will eat for a day.
Teach him to fish and he'll sit in a boat and drink himself stupid.
It is always darkest before the dawn;
This is the time to steal your neighbour's newspaper.
Be gentle with yourself.
Bear in mind – depression is anger without
enthusiasm and good health merely the slowest way to die.
Never argue with a fool – for he his doing the same.
Know that if at first you don't succeed, sky diving is not a good idea
And that timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance
Always remember that all is not lost,
Although I haven't seen it for some time.
Be yourself. If you cannot be wiser, try being older.
Never stand between the dog and the lamppost and never hit a man with
glasses – always use something larger and heavier and remember
that some people are only alive because it's illegal to kill them.
A closed mouth gathers no feet. Nature abhors a vacuum cleaner.
Be cheerful, strive to be happy and remember that your
sole purpose in life is to serve as a warning to others.
Go far, and start as soon as possible.

 

[Certaindeaf]

 

[arakboss]

I'm not a licensed therapist, so I hesitate to even coment on this thread. But you seem to like challenges. Have you thought about a life satisfaction challenge? The Chinese say it takes 100 days to develop a habit. How about a 100 day life satisfaction challenge? Make a list of all the things in your life that you are grateful for (or should be grateful for). Each day for 100 days review that list, add to it as appropriate, and give thanks for each item on the list. Maybe after 100 days you will appreciate all the good things in your life. Maybe not. IDK. Just a suggestion.

This is a great idea. I think if I look closely at what I have in life, I will realize my life is pretty darn good and maybe my expectations are too high. Thanks.

 

[L84Cabo]

Happiness and satisfaction are two things that cannot be pursued as an end goal. They are what happens as a result of a lot of other things...strong supportive family, loving partner, meaningful/fulfilling work, lots of guns and ammo, awesome dog, etc. I wish had more constructive advice for you on how to achieve it but I don't. In no small part because we're all so different and what makes me happy and fulfilled may make you miserable.

I can say that to the extent you can take the focus off of yourself and put it toward other things and people is generally a good thing. A constant focus on self generally doesn't lead to anywhere good. And I am not saying you're doing this. Just that we tend to feel more fulfilled when we think of ourselves less and others more.

You also can't control what life throws at you. But you can control what you do about it and what your expectations are. If you were born into this world with a glass half full but you were expecting a full glass, you probably aren't going to be very happy. But if you were expecting an empty glass or a quarter full glass and you got a half full glass, you're probably going to be pretty happy. Strive for the stars but set your expectations low. You'll be a whole lot less disappointed. And to the extent that you can learn to truly appreciate the smaller things in life, your happiness will likely go up.

I read a survey once that said most people don't really want to be happy. What they want is to not be miserable. Don't know if it's true but it seems consistent with setting your expectations on the low side.

 

[L84Cabo]

WOLVERINES!

 

[arakboss]

Both my parents are still alive.

I helped raised two healthy boys, one of which has a very successful job. The other son works hard too.

I own an amazing piece of property bordering the Fremont Winema National Forest, which allows me to step through my back gate and have access to 1000s of acres of public lands to play and work on.

I have more firearms, that I haven't shot once, than most people have in their entire collection.

I have beer taste on a beer budget and I am perfectly happy with that.

I am making more money now than I have during my entire working life.

My expenses relative to my income are the lowest they have ever been.

I have a mostly reliable car that gets great fuel economy with no car payment and low insurance cost.

I am relatively healthy for my age. No serious health issues that I am aware of.

Both of my employers highly value my contributions to their company's.

Growing up poor, my mom taught me how to really stretch a dollar and I have kept up that skill throughout my entire adult life.

I have more friends and family than I can maintain relationships with.

I live with a stepdog that loves me more than all the dogs I grew up with as a kid.

I have a safe and comfortable place to sleep every day.

I live in a State that has relatively easy access to beaches, mountains and everything in between.

I live a in a community that has a relatively low crime rate and a responsive police force.

The positives in my life far outweigh the negatives. I have little reason to not be satisfied with my life. Taking stock of what I have was the ticket to unlock my satisfaction. Thanks Wombat.

 

[teflon6string]

Satisfaction in life (I find) is not a perpetual or all-encompassing state of bliss. Rather it reveals itself in bite-size increments, over which (fortunately) we might have a reasonable chance of exercising some individual degree of control.

 

[Provincial]

Satisfaction in life (I find) is not a perpetual or all-encompassing state of bliss. Rather it reveals itself in bite-size increments, over which (fortunately) we might have a reasonable chance of exercising some individual degree of control.

I find this to be very true, but I also early on in life decided that no matter what, I would find humor whenever I could, find solace in knowing that I would never submit to adversity, and take enjoyment in the simple things in life. I shrug off what is bad, and enjoy the good, while knowing that either may be fleeting or permanent. Life looks quite good from a perspective like this.

 

[Ruger Rich]

Wow!, This thread could go so deep and forever. I'm looking at 83 for my next BD. That's a lot of life and a lot of past. And past can equate to experience. I don't especially want to go into the pains I've suffered, mental and physical, but know I've had a few. And for the record I'm fighting it out with a biggy right now. I was a manager of seven western states for 27 years for a nation wide company. That company sent me annually to manager type training. And one good thing I took from there was: Each time I gave a performance review, wrote some one up or canned some one I should begin the session with the individuals positives (not always easy). So what I do now is every time I go in for chemo or yet another biopsy I find a quite place and I take a trip some where back in time. To a really good time, a time with lasting memories, a time that made me so happy to be alive. And I say to myself, phuk it, it's just another day. Some are good and a few suck. And I know that soon I can look back and say, "I kicked azz again". Pretty cool, eh?

 

[TTSX]

The secret to happiness is buying a .50 cal rifle. Since you like shopping so much and don't mind debt, get after it

 

[Certaindeaf]

Satisfaction in life (I find) is not a perpetual or all-encompassing state of bliss. Rather it reveals itself in bite-size increments, over which (fortunately) we might have a reasonable chance of exercising some individual degree of control.

The countries with the highest happiness index historically have also had the highest suicide rates.. which seems counterintuitive.

 

[wired]

The countries with the highest happiness index historically have also had the highest suicide rates.. which seems counterintuitive.

Its countries like Japan where lying about how you feel is a national obsession. It catches up to you.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Its countries like Japan where lying about how you feel is a national obsession. It catches up to you.

Scandinavian countries come to mind and everything catches up to you.

 

[TTSX]

Scandinavian countries come to mind and everything catches up to you.

If I had to eat lye cured shark and freeze dried fish every day, I'd probably kill myself too

 

[Kruel J]

Both my parents are still alive.

I helped raised two healthy boys, one of which has a very successful job. The other son works hard too.

I own an amazing piece of property bordering the Fremont Winema National Forest, which allows me to step through my back gate and have access to 1000s of acres of public lands to play and work on.

I have more firearms, that I haven't shot once, than most people have in their entire collection.

I have beer taste on a beer budget and I am perfectly happy with that.

I am making more money now than I have during my entire working life.

My expenses relative to my income are the lowest they have ever been.

I have a mostly reliable car that gets great fuel economy with no car payment and low insurance cost.

I am relatively healthy for my age. No serious health issues that I am aware of.

Both of my employers highly value my contributions to their company's.

Growing up poor, my mom taught me how to really stretch a dollar and I have kept up that skill throughout my entire adult life.

I have more friends and family than I can maintain relationships with.

I live with a stepdog that loves me more than all the dogs I grew up with as a kid.

I have a safe and comfortable place to sleep every day.

I live in a State that has relatively easy access to beaches, mountains and everything in between.

I live a in a community that has a relatively low crime rate and a responsive police force.

The positives in my life far outweigh the negatives. I have little reason to not be satisfied with my life. Taking stock of what I have was the ticket to unlock my satisfaction. Thanks Wombat.

Man, sounds like you have PLENTY to be happy about and appreciate.

Quityerbichin'

 

[albin25]

C'mon, chin up, Life happens ! ....

.... grilling some bacon wrapped tater tots will make things better
( You can trust me, it's science )