Humans aren’t designed to be happy – so stop trying

[Syne]

Translation: Lame comedian asking "is this thing on?"

I'm not implying that you are a lame comedian. I'm implying that you have no sense of humor.

And I'm not implying anything. I'm directly comparing you to a bad comedian pointing out that he's not getting the laughs.

If you were articulate, you would be pointing out that I'm not getting the laughs.
However I'm not a comedian so your point is moot. It's just a desperate cry for help on your part, right?

Wow, you are really thick.  

[Seattle]

Translation: Lame comedian asking "is this thing on?"

I'm not implying that you are a lame comedian. I'm implying that you have no sense of humor.

And I'm not implying anything. I'm directly comparing you to a bad comedian pointing out that he's not getting the laughs.

If you were articulate, you would be pointing out that I'm not getting the laughs.
However I'm not a comedian so your point is moot. It's just a desperate cry for help on your part, right?

Wow, you are really thick.  

That is a comeback. That's true. However, it's not a very clever or good one. Haven't you ever heard of "and your moma"?

[Yazata]

What does "being happy" even mean? Having an elevated mood all the time?

My impression, supported by my own personal experience, is that most people live most of their lives in emotional neutral. In an emotional resting-state that isn't particularly ecstatic or depressed. My belief is that this emotional resting state is probably set by our genetics and perhaps by our early childhood experiences.

Perhaps "being happy" means just being satisfied with one's resting emotional state, without requiring that mood to be elevated.

So... when something good happens to us, our subjective emotional state rises for a while, then returns to the resting-level. When something bad happens, our mood declines, but soon rebounds to the resting state.

Which suggests that just physiologically, chasing pleasure in hopes that our mood, our happiness level can be made to permanently rise isn't likely to work. We will just get acclimated to the new pleasure and it will become expected, humdrum, and will stop being particularly pleasurable any longer. It will just be the new normal and we will return to our resting state. We see that all the time with rich people, people with access to all the things we imagine will make us happy, but who aren't any happier than we are.

Either we are happy with that, or else we set out on an endless and ultimately fruitless search for something to fill the imagined void.

[confused2]

I don't 'do' happiness - I go with cup full (or overflowing) - cup half empty - cup half full and so on. Most of the customers I deal with leave with their cup (ever so slightly) fuller than when they arrived. We have a few with the ability to top up any cup whatever state it starts in and a few that will drain any cup they come into contact with.

We have a customer that is (I guess) some sort of an office manager - I would also guess that the suicide rate in her office is unusually high.

[Syne]

And I'm not implying anything. I'm directly comparing you to a bad comedian pointing out that he's not getting the laughs.

If you were articulate, you would be pointing out that I'm not getting the laughs.
However I'm not a comedian so your point is moot. It's just a desperate cry for help on your part, right?

Wow, you are really thick.  

That is a comeback. That's true. However, it's not a very clever or good one. Haven't you ever heard of "and your moma"?

I'm not the one trying to be funny. Maybe you shouldn't try so hard. It's really not working out for you.

[Seattle]

And I'm not implying anything. I'm directly comparing you to a bad comedian pointing out that he's not getting the laughs.

If you were articulate, you would be pointing out that I'm not getting the laughs.
However I'm not a comedian so your point is moot. It's just a desperate cry for help on your part, right?

Wow, you are really thick.  

That is a comeback. That's true. However, it's not a very clever or good one. Haven't you ever heard of "and your moma"?

I'm not the one trying to be funny. Maybe you shouldn't try so hard. It's really not working out for you.

I don't think you are trying to be helpful, friend, or informative. What was your point again, Sunshine?