<p>I’ve recently been taking a cold hard look at my life. I find myself uninterested with school. it’s not that I don’t enjoy learning it’s just that I don’t see the “happiness” that comes from a good job.</p>
<p>security doesn’t equate happiness to me and I don’t enjoy anything that involves large sums of money. i enjoy dance, philosophy, psychology (somewhat), buddhism. And frankly I don’t know where I fit in, I hate the idea of thinking happiness will come from a good job. I’ve never seen it happen EVER. I don’t want to spend my life jumping from one state of happiness to the next chasing desire to desire to desire. And that’s what I see others engage in everyday when I see someone get a job and “make it.” Nothing changes besides a sense of financial security. I have no drive to achieve a life in society because I have no appreciation for the system it exists in. I want to become a monk but I don’t know if that’s for me, because it is such a huge step to dedicate your life to. I’d be leaving behind EVERYTHING I’ve been raised with, and dedicating my life towards achieving real happiness. Not just a running around blindly searching for the next sense of satisfaction. I also have things counting against me after recovering from problems when I was younger. So I always feel a sense of not being accepted by others due to the pain I’ve been through. I don’t fit in is what I’m saying, I don’t appreciate or relate to the end of the road if you know what I mean</p>
<p>this is what I see
a road, it’s long, it involves a dedication and hard work to something you enjoy at the time. And the idea that you will hold this love and dedication once you achieve it. You work hard and achieve the degree, work hard and get the job, and then you get that feeling of “ahhh, yes, I finally have what I wanted,” but then after that feeling passes and the mundane existence that we all live creeps in we depreciate what we have achieved and fall back into searching for the next goal. Spending the majority of our years as chasing a few months of satisfaction, if that. </p>
<p>but I see the reality of happiness to be nothing involving external thought or views. I don’t see happiness inside an achievement, I see it as being able to live comfortably inside the moment. To recognize every moment so you truly live in the peace of every moment. Because each moment is all you are guaranteed, so when I live outside the moment. And work only towards external goals to please something internal I achieve nothing. Live isn’t about achieving a goal to me, it’s about spending your life in as much of a state of happiness as possible. Achievement is temporary, the moment is eternal as long as you live.</p>
<p>I hope that made sense. Anybody else having doubts like these?
I feel like a belong in a monastery. But both my parents graduated from great schools and have high paying jobs so I feel like I’d be squandering what I’ve been given. This is very confusing to me. Maybe I’m just trying to find away around working hard? Or maybe i’m panicking because of the hell I’m facing at this moment in life (i’m not in a good place physically). Although I’ve never felt the drive that others have.</p>
<p>Basically, it’s about reaching farther than yourself to do for others, to be part of a larger worthy picture, and in the end that brings inner happiness. I do think that “rich” is not worthy to strive for, however, there is a certain amount of money that every person needs to be happy. Happy in the sense that they can focus on the things that matter to them and not so much on the “do I have enough money to pay the rent/mortgage, food, utilities”??? </p>
You haven’t experienced much then because there are plenty of people who enjoy and derive some happiness from their jobs.</p>
<p>For most, aside from whatever happiness they derive form their jobs if any, the job is a means to an end - a means to earn an income to cover the basic necessities of life which are food and shelter, along with the ability to pursue other interests outside of the job - like their family (which needs to eat and be housed), being able to travel, being able to pursue whatever their interests are.</p>
<p>You have to just look at it practically and realize you’ll either need to support yourself or find a place where someone else will support you because at the end of the day you need to eat, live somewhere, and do other things like maybe buy a laptop, have internet access, go onto websites like this one, etc. As long as you’re going to need to support yourself you might as well do it by doing something you might enjoy. You’re also not stuck doing the same thing the rest of your life - as your goals, interests, and opportunities change over time you can work to change your career accordingly.</p>
<p>How true. OP, don’t worry. When you are on your own and working, you won’t have time to worry so much about how happy you are and why you are doing things. You’ll find the struggle to pay your bills quite absorbing enough.</p>
<p>You are absolutely right that “I don’t see happiness inside an achievement, I see it as being able to live comfortably inside the moment. To recognize every moment so you truly live in the peace of every moment.”</p>
<p>However, you don’t need to be a monk to do this. You can find happiness in everyday life. It’s all in how you look at it. </p>
<p>It’s OK to not want to make big bucks, etc. Find your passion and your place in this world. Get help to heal from your wounds. Life is what you put into it and give back to others, it’s not about what you ‘get’.</p>
<p>What you are feeling is normal, and actually a good thing. It is so important to take stock of your life, throughout your life, and figure out who you are and how you can be the person you were created to be.</p>
<p>Are you my daughter? Since you’re thinking of becoming a monk, I guess you’re a guy, but seriously, my daughter feels very much the way you do. Her ambition, similar to wanting to join a monastery, is to work in a soup kitchen. I think that’s fine at this point in her life. Also, happiness may not be the point. Try to pursue a worthwhile goal, whatever that means to you, and happiness, or at least satisfaction, will follow.</p>
<p>You are right that security doesn’t necessarily result in happiness, but I can promise you that insecurity will almost always result in unhappiness.</p>
<p>lackoflife - Excuse me, but you’re way too young and inexperienced to be agonizing over the meaning of life. Jump into something, work hard at it, and get back to us in fifteen years.</p>