Are we at our happiest as children?
in Psychology ·
John Mendoza13 said:I was sitting there watching some talk show on CNN earlier today, and this guy starts preaching about how the absolute peak of human happiness is found in living purely in the moment. He goes on to claim that children are basically the only ones who actually pull it off, arguing that they’re the happiest beings on the planet because they don't have a single worry in the world under the sun...
Do you guys actually buy that? Personally, I find myself nodding along with his logic; there’s something to be said for the idea that kids are the most content because they aren't weighed down by the baggage of the past or paralyzed by whatever uncertainty the future might throw at them...
I suppose everything boils down to the lens through which you choose to view the world. My own take is that as an adult, you actually have the capacity to reach much higher, far more profound levels of happiness, and arguably, you can find a much more intense sense of joy in the smallest trifles than a child ever could. It reminds me somewhat of the choice presented in The Matrix—taking the blue pill allows you to stay nestled within a comfortable, imaginary bubble where you remain blissfully ignorant and carefree, whereas the red pill forces you to confront the raw reality of things, giving you the hard-won opportunity to fight for a version of happiness that is actually real. Ultimately, the answer depends entirely on which path you decide to walk 🙂
P.S. I might have gotten my pill colors mixed up, so please just ignore 😁