I would disagree, in my mind happiness is a rapidly changing emotion, I am less happy when it is raining I am much happier when it is bright and sunny. I am content in all of these circumstances.
Content and satisfied are synonymous in my mind.
I would say that joy and happiness are also substantially different, joy being a deeper emotion, which includes contentment, peacefulness and to some extent happiness.
I make these distinctions because as stated above I see people chasing happiness and they always think that buying X or doing Y will eventually get there, then they get it and realise that those things aren’t happiness, or if they are they are only momentary. If they would be contented with what they have then they would find that automatically brings a peacefulness (because you’re not constantly chasing something) and you have more of a focus on the immediate not the X and Y of the future (which because you don’t have it must be the reason you aren’t happy). Once you are content, peaceful and focused on the immediate you will find happiness (whilst still an ebb and flow) comes more often as a byproduct.
Absolutely, and nothing wrong with that, it’s what makes you a driven person and also clearly something that brings you pleasure. My caution for you would be to make sure that you appreciate the current as well, appreciate that you’ve done well where you are right now, that future success doesn’t depend on you being dissatisfied with the current.
I would also caution your goal setting, make sure what you say you want aligns with your action and make sure your goals don’t have intensly negative consequences.
Maybe I “over sold it” but I’m not sat in a depressed bubble, crying myself to sleep. More - I can nver be happy with what is here. Its never “enough”.
The best way to put it is - the moment I hit a PR n a lift I get maybe 2/3 mins of feeling great. Then I get:
I could have pushed for more
Its still not great there are guys lifting more while leaner
If you’d have eaten better worked harder you could have done more
You progress is slow - you’ve only added X to your lift over that many years
Whats the next round / phase of training like
I mean its not “fun” but its also who I am and I’m content with that. The only exception are my kids. My kids make me happy.
How do you know you’re strong with out demonstrating it by doing strong things?
Although I also 100% get what you are saying. The feeling just after you deadlift 600lb is great. The feeling DURING deadlifting 600lb - not so much.
How does one know they arr heterosexual before intercourse?
How is one wealthy when NOT spending money?
It’s the having of qualities; not the demonstrating of qualities.
This would be 100% in agreement with me. It’s not the doing of strong things: it’s the possession of the strength.
Edit: This may come from my martial arts background. There is something to appreciate about knowing you are “dangerous” even when you aren’t being an a-hole looking for fights. I imagine @kdjohn gets what I mean.
I would argue that heterosexuality is a feeling and wealth is evidenced by bank balance (or other such assets).
Strength is different in that regard, you can feel strong but actually be weak. I’m arguing it but upon looking up the actual definition of strong it’s clear my argument falls apart:
“having the power to move heavy weights or perform other physically demanding tasks.”
I suppose it’s more the question of how do we know we have that power without having it tested.
I get this, I think for me it is being able to appreciate that I am still learning and growing, I won’t get it all right, others will get it better than me faster than me, but I know I’m still going to carry on and I haven’t finished so I can appreciate the learning experience and growth and be happy in that whilst striving for more.
I particularly empathise with the I could have pushed for more, I feel this way even after actual failure.
I suppose that’s why I emphasise not chasing happiness, this hobby doesn’t make you happy, but you’re content and you enjoy it (I think?).
And many times where they make you cross, disappointed or upset, but they are a source of deep joy and overwhelming love. Which is again why I think it’s important to recognise happiness as a transient thing and not chase it (sorry il stop labouring that point now!).
Yeah, this ones hard. I’m a bit paranoid that short term contentment (for me) → lack of ambition → lack of effort → atrophy. I honestly wish there was a “maintenance” rather than atrophy
This resonates so much with me. It’s hard for me to be content with my schoolwork when my friend is 10 levels above me working 3x more and I don’t even want to try going there (would say that “I can’t”, but that’s a lie)
I briefly skimmed the rest of the conversation, but yes; I absolutely know this feeling.
Tooting my own horn time: I’ve had the (unfortunate) experience of needing to demonstrate it a handful of times in my profession. I absolutely know I’m dangerous. Demonstrating just confirmed what I already knew.
I’m not going to lie, if I’ve been striving for a goal for a long time then reach I tend to ease off a bit maybe even regress slightly, but I think that’s actually a healthy part of the process. You then rebuild and exceed. You cannot be at 100% all the time, something has to give, taking scheduled breaks or easing off when satisfied aren’t bad things.
I’ve entirely quit lifting before for a number of years (somewhere around 2012- 2015 at a guess) I made no effort to keep the gains I had made and when I decided to come back to it I literally got buried by an 80kg squat and couldn’t walk down the stairs the next day. Bottom line is I’m stronger and leaner than before that break.
Atrophy isn’t a big deal, you will be able to bounce back bigger and stronger (provided you allow for adequate recovery).
