I’m not super intelligent by any means, but I do just barely fall into the top 1%, and I think that among others who do, I’m BY FAR among the happiest. A lot of this is because of all my ugh fields.
If something is unpleasant to think about, I will very briefly think about thinking about it. (If I thought about X unpleasant issue, what are the odds I would actually do something about it?) If the odds are small enough, I go back to not thinking about it. I have a lot of ugh fields.
The fulfillment thing is a really good point too. I’ve had jobs, but never a “career” because I choose to travel and have fun instead. Until very recently, it was another ugh field for me. I may have thought about it once or twice for a minute or two, decided I probably wouldn’t actually go do something ambitious even upon further thought, and stopped thinking about it for very long periods of time. Well, last time I thought about thinking about the ugh field, I decided the odds were sufficiently high that I would actually go do something ambitious, so now I’m in the process of confronting the ugh field itself. I don’t think it will make me happier or even proportionately more satisfied, but I think it could fulfill my other terminal value of making the world happier.
I’m not super intelligent by any means, but I do just barely fall into the top 1%, and I think that among others who do, I’m BY FAR among the happiest. A lot of this is because of all my ugh fields.
If something is unpleasant to think about, I will very briefly think about thinking about it. (If I thought about X unpleasant issue, what are the odds I would actually do something about it?) If the odds are small enough, I go back to not thinking about it. I have a lot of ugh fields.
The fulfillment thing is a really good point too. I’ve had jobs, but never a “career” because I choose to travel and have fun instead. Until very recently, it was another ugh field for me. I may have thought about it once or twice for a minute or two, decided I probably wouldn’t actually go do something ambitious even upon further thought, and stopped thinking about it for very long periods of time. Well, last time I thought about thinking about the ugh field, I decided the odds were sufficiently high that I would actually go do something ambitious, so now I’m in the process of confronting the ugh field itself. I don’t think it will make me happier or even proportionately more satisfied, but I think it could fulfill my other terminal value of making the world happier.