Life starts out all right, and gets better, but eventually your life gets to be about as good as it is going to get. Then it gets worse, and/or you die. So when should you admit to yourself that life now is about as good as it is going to get – best make the most of it?
Some ambitious people I know seem to disapprove of ever guessing that this is about as good as your life will get. They dream of a Nobel prize, and warn of sad people who seem to have given up on life. But it also seems sad to live your life focused a better future, and neglect just enjoying the best part of your life when it comes.
I’ll say that my life now is most likely about as good as it is going to get. Not as fabulous as I might have hoped perhaps, but definitely worth living.
Responding to Eliezer's comment, I would argue that belief creates hope, even if that belief is self-deluding.
See my post here for more:http://hereticatthegates.bl...
Oh dear, people are talking about "happiness." What a swamp.
At a minimum one should maintain the distinction between"happiness" and "satisfaction." Thus, careful studies suggestthat one's current economic status has little to nothing to dowith one's moment-to-moment happiness, but a great deal to dowith one's satisfaction, especially one's relative economic andsocial status.