Poll: What is your basic level of happiness?

[Lsbcal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by happy2bretired I'm content...but not joyous like I remember being at certain times in my life - I miss that sometimes. I voted retired 3.

If it is not too personal, what was an example of a joyous time?

I used to occasionally have (remembered) dreams of flying. I would put my arms out and just start flying forward. One period of time this coincided with was in the early 1990's when our stock investments were showing amazing returns. International funds were showing huge yearly gains. There were several other times that probably coincided with other life events that did not involve money.

Maybe I have those dreams now but don't remember them. I'll have to watch out for them those dreams.

[Moemg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by happy2bretired I'm content...but not joyous like I remember being at certain times in my life - I miss that sometimes. I voted retired 3.

I voted a four but I feel the same way as happy2bretired . I am happy and content but there have been so many more joyous moments in my life than retirement. Retirement is nice but meeting your first grandchild or shopping with your daughter for her wedding dress are truly glorious moments .

[Midpack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo The problem with this poll (Midpack, you knew this was coming) is there is no discernment as to the reason for an individual's level of happiness. I may have posted I was retired and unhappy, but it might be because my DW left me for another woman, my dog died, my soap opera got cancelled and the foundation on my house cracked - all unrelated to retirement or work.

I'm on good behavior today. I am watching over a baby deer (fawn), no bigger than a cat, in my backyard today. Making sure no neighborhood kids, dogs or others disturb the fawn which might leave it motherless. I sure hope the Mommy shows up at dusk...

[Onward]

Retired two years, and I chose "Retired - 4," which is just below "very happy." I'm much more content than I was while w*rking, but I do have some general unease about financial uncertainties of the future.

[Lsbcal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo The problem with this poll (Midpack, you knew this was coming) is there is no discernment as to the reason for an individual's level of happiness. I may have posted I was retired and unhappy, but it might be because my DW left me for another woman, my dog died, my soap opera got cancelled and the foundation on my house cracked - all unrelated to retirement or work.

This is my first ever poll on the internet. Now you have hurt my feelings ... just kidding .

I agree that it is an imperfect measure. Hopefully most people are describing their integrated feelings over several months. And how could I weigh my happiness against yours even if we were both retired and at 5? We did loose our beloved Corgi about 2 years ago ... it still hurts to recall that but it doesn't affect my basic level of happiness. If I had lost my DW then that would definitely be a different story.

Maybe we need a charting tool that queries us every month. Then we could see all the ER happiness time lines -- sort of like those FIRECalc curves. I suppose the outcome would be obvious, eventually most would trend down and to the left as health deteriorated. Let me know when you develop that tool ReWahoo, I'm looking forward to that.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lsbcal Let me know when you develop that tool ReWahoo, I'm looking forward to that.

Standby - I'm all over it.

[happy2bretired]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lsbcal If it is not too personal, what was an example of a joyous time?

Christmas or holidays with family....more family than what I have now. Anticipating the birth of our daughter, buying and moving into our first, second and final house. Just doing things with my late husband....really not anything exciting....just sharing and being.

[unclemick]

18 years in ER.

Sometimes I'm so wing flapping happy I feel guilty cause:

I must be doing something illegal - and getting away with it!



heh heh heh -

[Bestwifeever]

I'm generally a really happy person no matter what (what's that saying, ignorance is bliss), so I voted the first one.

[foxfirev5]

I voted 4: Working Full Time. About 80% of the time I am very happy working -Since FI

[Marathoner]

I voted 4: Working Full Time.

Has anyone else heard of the happiness study where a year after winning the lottery or a year after having a limb amputated, people are back to their baseline of happiness (however that is measured!)? I think it was mentioned in a TED talk I watched late last year.

I feel very lucky to have a high baseline of happiness! Even after having my world overturned with my husband's infidelity and then divorce, I am still happy. I think once I am finally retired, I will be off of the scale

Also, the fawn pictures above are so adorable!!! I hope you're able to get a picture of the mom coming to get him/her and post it!

[Amethyst]

I'm not sure it has much to do with their being retired, Midpack. Lots of people haven't an original thought in their heads, but it never stops them from talking.

Amethyst

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack I've met some older retirees - and too many of them complain about everything (often without the slightest idea what they're talking about, just what they heard on FoxNews, MSNBC, AARP, etc.) way too much for my tastes. I love a good discussion and welcome dissenting POVs, but not shallow talking points based on self serving distortions.

[TromboneAl]

Relevant:

http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...vel-47841.html

[Dreamer]

I tried to vote in 2 different categories and it would not let me. Actually, I did not think that it would, but tried anyway. I retired in 2006 and was very happy. I went back to work part-time in 2010 and I realize that the world and most people on here would consider me no longer retired, but working. In my head, I am still retired. I no longer have the stress and deadlines of the job where I retired. I no longer have the public yelling at me for laws that Congress passed. (The vast majority of people that I dealt with were nice though). I only work 3 days per week, in a very low stress job and I really enjoy seeing the majority of our patients. The office manager is my age and we chit chat for at least an hour or more a day. It is like visiting with friends. All of the work is done when I leave for the day. A clean desk and a clean in box makes me a happy camper. I voted that I am working part-time and I am very happy. I wonder if this has anything to do with my working 5/30 and 6/1 and then taking off the go see my granddaughter 6/2 and not having to be back at work until 6/25? Life is good!

[Lsbcal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by happy2bretired Christmas or holidays with family....more family than what I have now. Anticipating the birth of our daughter, buying and moving into our first, second and final house. Just doing things with my late husband....really not anything exciting....just sharing and being.

Thank you for sharing this here. I guess it is a fact of life that we experience peak periods of happiness, sometimes deep valleys (of despair), and then there are the foothills (somewhere in between).

[bbbamI]

For the most part whether I've been working or retired, rainbows shoot out my wazoo... I'm a happy person and love to laugh.

However health issues bring me down...and I've been dealing with them for some time now. But hey...I still find a reason to smile at least once a day.

[Moscyn]

"Retired .... very happy". Did not have to look further down the choices as this described my happiness level pretty well. If I answered the poll when I was still working, it would have been "Work full time...midway between happy/unhappy"

[Helen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marathoner Also, the fawn pictures above are so adorable!!! I hope you're able to get a picture of the mom coming to get him/her and post it!

+1 - Very cool photos. Thank you for sharing.

[obgyn65]

My answer is "3: Work full time...midway between happy/unhappy". But I am very happy when I do things I enjoy outside my full time profession.

[Walt34]

I'm working full time (for the moment) and am happy. We have a comfortable life, achieved Zero Debt over a decade ago which is important to us, and I have a low-stress job with hours that suit me. When I want a day off I can get it.

DW is concerned about her aging father, but is happy to have the freedom to deal with those issues without the conflicting obligations of a job and right now that is very important to her. And I am happy that I can give her that freedom.

An eye-opener happened last month at work. A payroll glitch meant that we didn't get paid on Friday as usual, but it came through the following Monday. I was astonished at the number of people who panicked over that. One guy had to take out a loan!

So happy those days are long behind me.