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comment by mivasairski
mivasairski  ·  2781 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: How to be Perfectly Unhappy

I once heard about a wise woman who said that happiness is a choice.

Being happy is not the same as being a happy person.

Being happy is in the moment. Being a happy person is a personality trait.

It's important to be just who we are.





OftenBen  ·  2515 days ago  ·  link  ·  

On re-reading, thank you for this bit of wisdom.

user-inactivated  ·  2781 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    Being a happy person is a personality trait.

Is there really such a trait?

_refugee_  ·  2776 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Some people call it "optimism," for instance.

user-inactivated  ·  2776 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Optimism, a positive outlook that it is, does not entail happiness in itself. People can still be sad or feel down if they're optimistic about the outcomes. Emotions still have strength over people, whether they aim to see good or bad.

_refugee_  ·  2776 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Is being a happy person the same thing as being a person who is always happy? Is it a state, or an attribute?

Being constantly happy is a state. Being a happy person, to me, is an attribute. I don't think you have to always be happy to be generally a happy person. I do think you have to have a positive outlook - also known as optimism.

Emotions are passing stages. If I am sad today, that doesn't make me a sad person.

user-inactivated  ·  2776 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    I do think you have to have a positive outlook - also known as optimism.

I don't feel like I'm equipped to fully agree or disagree with that statement. Still, optimism seems to be major component of happiness.

Do you think you need more than optimism to be happy, though?

_refugee_  ·  2776 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Yes, I do think that you need more than simple optimism to be happy. I also feel that someone with a negative outlook can refuse to experience/block potential moments of happiness because of their perspective (like an Eeyore).

user-inactivated  ·  2776 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    Yes, I do think that you need more than simple optimism to be happy.

This means that optimism is not the "happy person trait", even though it certainly allows for happiness.

Sorry. I can be prickly like that sometimes.

_refugee_  ·  2776 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Did I say that it's the single trait required to be a happy person, or did I say "I do think you have to have a positive outlook to be a happy person"?

At no point did I say being optimistic was the recipe for being a happy person, or that there was a single trait which guaranteed happiness.

I said I thought you needed optimism to be a happy person, but that is like saying you need flour to make bread. Flour isn't the only ingredient in bread, but you're going to be hard pressed to make bread without it.

You can be prickly all you want, but try being prickly without twisting my comments.

user-inactivated  ·  2775 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    Did I say that it's the single trait required to be a happy person, or did I say "I do think you have to have a positive outlook to be a happy person"?

You said that some people call the personality trait of being a happy person "optimism". Would you still say that?

OftenBen  ·  2776 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Eeyore checking in. This is very real.