Unhapiness is a Mistake

Rich Buck tipped me off to Mike Manson’s Life Advice Blog. On the subject of happiness:

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Unhappiness is a mistake – 

If you’ve read a number of articles or books about happiness, you’ve probably come across, at some point, the following equation:

Happiness = Expectations - Reality

It’s pretty common. In fact, I even shared it in this newsletter once, many moons ago. I always figured it was a cute thing that came from some happiness researcher or self-help author.

But, it turns out that it actually comes from Schopenhauer! Here’s the man himself:

“All happiness depends on the proportion of what we claim and what we receive. It is immaterial how great or small the two quantities of this proportion are, and the proportion can be established just as well by diminishing the first quantity as by increasing the second.”

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Comments

[Robert E. Malchman]

What is best in life? "To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women." -Conan the Barbarian

Or, as I like to put it, there's no freude like karmic schadenfreude.