“If you want to be happy, healthy, wealthy, and wise, then skip the vitamin pills and the plastic surgeries and try public humiliation, unjust incarceration, or quadriplegia instead” (Gilbert 166).
I think this statement is true. I know someone who is paralyzed from the neck down and has to be in a wheelchair with special machines to control his breathing. He can’t really laugh or smile or physically show his happiness, but when we visited him we could tell that he was happy to see us. He was happy to know that someone cares. In his seemingly unhappy situation, he still has faith in God and hope for a better future. He didn’t just give up his life by committing suicide or anything like that.
“A healthy psychological immune system strikes a balance that allows us to feel good enough to cope with our situation but bad enough to so something about it” (Gilbert 178).
I somewhat agree with this statement because it depends on the person. One person could be really good at handling a situation, while someone else might be a nervous wreck all the time. This balance doesn’t apply to everyone, but it is definitely something desirable to have. This also depends on how much each person cares about the opinions of others. If I could care less about their opinions then what they say won’t affect me. On the other hand, if I only care about the opinions of others, then I will become paranoid. Once again, it depends on each person.
Are people who suffer really happy? Or do they just make the most out of the situation because they have no choice?
How do you think our mind should cope with our environment? Should we care more/less or should there be a balance?
I’ll be responding to Timothy’s post
Dan Gilbert has already demonstrated in prior sections of the book that it doesn’t make much sense to impose our sense of “happiness” upon others. Onto the topic at hand though, when it comes to the first question, it is hard to say whether it is one or the other, if not both. Suffering is never “happy”, unless your mind is so out there that pain = pleasure. Maybe we should instead look at what we define as suffering. For instance, look at Stephen Hawking; the man is a genius and has a full family, regardless of his illness.
With that in mind, we can even dissect the 2nd question. Is there really ever such a thing as no choice? In the same manner, don’t we all strive to make the best of our current situation? EVERYBODY suffers something, and suffering makes us sad, but at the same time, whatever allows us to be “happy” can be termed as a way to make the best out of our situation.
As for the 2nd question, you yourself have already answered it; it is dependent on the person in question. Ideally, a person follows the standard Mr. Gilbert calls on, but this isn’t always a case. For those that drown in the negative feelings about their situation, they will ALWAYS attempt to correct themselves, without ever feeling good about changing the situation, while those that float in their own positive feelings won’t do so much as lift a finger if everything is crashing around them.
HAO DIEP