Would you say your happiest days are behind you?

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Point to living past 30?

I'm 33 and can't say I've enjoyed a second of living beyond age 30. Fun no longer exists. Career paths narrow if not dissolve completely. Seems like you just tread water between here and death, fixing whatever breaks on the house next and putting the kids through college along the way. Car...
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This was me 3 years ago. I'm a bit happier now. Not sure what the fuck was happening back then, but even though I've lost both my parents since then, I'm in a better headspace now than when I made this thread. That said, I hope my happiest days aren't behind me because they were infrequent and fleeting.
 
Nah. I’m much happier these days than I ever was in the past.
I was always trying to achieve some goal in the past, like get through college, get a certain job, get a record deal, get a girlfriend, etc. Now, my only goal is to make it a bit longer to retirement, but also get a little better at Muay Thai (purely recreational).
 
Brampton_Boy said:
Yes, I think so. The last time I remember being care free and genuinely happy was in my early twenties. I was in school, and had no financial or family commitments. My entire life was devoted to two endeavors, lifting weights and studying.

I have accomplished a tremendous amount since then - both personally and professionally, but the weight of "life" weighs heavily on my shoulders. I am about to turn 40 and it seems like like the last 20 years passed by in the blink of an eye. Many of the things I thought would make me happy i.e. getting a PhD, becoming financially successful, publishing my research etc. felt more like checking items off a to do list. Instead, these successes now feel like a burden, as the question I always ask is "What now?"

The people and things I love and care about most dearly are getting older, or have already passed. I cried yesterday watching a nanny-cam video of my 80 year old mother trying to get into bed - she looked so..... fragile. I don't know why it shook me so badly, but I guess it's just a reminder that the time we have on earth is finite.

Perhaps I am conflating happiness with being care free.
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Yes you are.......
 
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Happy every day I'm healthy. Happy to be alive really. In the grand scheme it's incredible luck that any of us are alive and reasonably healthy. All this beauty in the world we get to experience, just being alive and capable is a great thing. I rarely spend any time thinking about the past. I lived it, its gone. Except for the mental and physical scars, your past only lives in your memory and you can make of it whatever you want. I know where I've been and what I've done but it's spent life, inert. I like new shit, new passions, new projects, new adventures. Mastering skills. Always in the present, thinking about what I have to do today and looking forward to whats next. Always trying to build something new. I'm juggling two diseases and I have to stay on my business with both of them. I'm just trying to stay healthy every day, and appreciate everything. The changing seasons, being in nature. All the little shit. The people I love and my pets and all the shit I love doing. What a gift, in the end I've been blessed regardless of how this ends up. My life was very close to being a complete tragedy but I pulled through and lived this shit full tilt. Brushing up against my mortality at a young age made me take life very seriously, especially the concept of how easily it can be snatched away from you. Now if I get 60 healthy years I'll feel like the luckiest man on earth.
 
I'm hopeful the best is still yet to come.

I'm in my 30s, getting married next year then hopefully kids, careers going well and I'm still in to my hobbies of BJJ, gardening and painting Warhammer.

I'm in great shape and all my relatives are pretty healthy right now, got two baby nieces a year old so it's been great watching them progress.

The sun is shining and I'm off to a food festival this afternoon then a gig in the evening.
 
Great question, it depends I believe. Happiness feels different in different times, your brain assimilates or perceives happiness differently through time.
 
You aren't going to feel the same as a child because things aren't new to you anymore. I don't feel that kind of sense of wonder or whatever anymore but I get to see my kids experience it and that's pretty cool.
 
LHWBelt said:
You aren't going to feel the same as a child because things aren't new to you anymore. I don't feel that kind of sense of wonder or whatever anymore but I get to see my kids experience it and that's pretty cool.
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Every moment is completely new, if you actually pay close attention. What happens is, we create a conceptual map of the world, and then reduce each experience down to that conceptual map, rather than experiencing what's actually happening in any give moment. See the tendencies to name and conceptualize the world, and learn to let it go - the process and tool for doing this is meditation.
 
Sad to see so many folks associate achieving goals with happiness. Living fully in the present, regardless of your current circumstances, is the pathway to lasting peace and happiness.

 
i think it's impossible to always be happy. anyone who is always happy is not normal. like most people i would say, i am happy all the time, but in small spurts. i can be ecstatic for a good ten minutes or so if something great happens. then afterwards i'm just my normal i guess monotone demeanor lol.

what i'd say, is that my most carefree days are behind me, that is for sure. i think that is the closest word i would associate with happy. with that, i'd say that my childhood years up until graduating high school were my, "happiest" years, because the core family was still at home and we were much closer in general. the older you get, the more family spreads out and away.
 
Definitely not, that being said, I don't generally live for peak happiness. I feel like I have a higher purpose that transcends happiness, and paradoxically, that makes me content with happiness.
 
whocares said:
Happy every day I'm healthy. Happy to be alive really. In the grand scheme it's incredible luck that any of us are alive and reasonably healthy. All this beauty in the world we get to experience, just being alive and capable is a great thing. I rarely spend any time thinking about the past. I lived it, its gone. Except for the mental and physical scars, your past only lives in your memory and you can make of it whatever you want. I know where I've been and what I've done but it's spent life, inert. I like new shit, new passions, new projects, new adventures. Mastering skills. Always in the present, thinking about what I have to do today and looking forward to whats next. Always trying to build something new. I'm juggling two diseases and I have to stay on my business with both of them. I'm just trying to stay healthy every day, and appreciate everything. The changing seasons, being in nature. All the little shit. The people I love and my pets and all the shit I love doing. What a gift, in the end I've been blessed regardless of how this ends up. My life was very close to being a complete tragedy but I pulled through and lived this shit full tilt. Brushing up against my mortality at a young age made me take life very seriously, especially the concept of how easily it can be snatched away from you. Now if I get 60 healthy years I'll feel like the luckiest man on earth.
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you know, not long ago i made a thread about it being my birthday in a few days. i wasn't planning on doing anything that day, but after reading this post, i'm gonna get up early and get a nice brunch somewhere! everyone else is working, so i'll treat myself to a good morning meal.
 
It was a different ballgame as a kid and teenager. And while I have nostalgia for the 90s I don't know that id want to go back. I was a mess up until 2003 or so.

I'm financially better off than ever, in my prime physically and I'm doing all things I could never do before.... All at the age of 44.
 
EndlessCritic said:
Oh -- not to mention the joy of showing kids things you enjoyed as a kid, and them loving it.

Just beat Chrono Trigger with my 6 year old. Currently playing FF7 with him. He loves every minute of it.
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What party did you use for CT bro.
that's one of the best games ever.

Also what party for FF7
 
Not sure but I do get depressed when I think at 52 I have less years in front of me than behind.
 
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