# secret of life **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 14, 2004, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-of-life/234188 "2004-03-14T03:31:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-of-life/234188/21 "2004-03-15T02:57:30Z")
Finding yourself a good digital watch and passing around lots of pieces of green paper to try and attain happiness, even those those pieces of green paper aren’t the ones who are unhappy ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-of-life/234188/22 "2004-03-15T03:07:34Z")
Don’t work too hard and hence ignore your family. MrPict and I both changed our lifestyles when we had kids. We choose less work and more family. Our income dropped by more than half and we never regretted it. Now the kiddies are grown and we could both work all the time but choose to work 8 months and play 4 months per year. All of our friends think we are crazy, but life is for living. 🆒 It’s not about money or things, it’s about experiences IMHO ---
**Author:** ![The\_Batman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/22d042/32.png) [@The\_Batman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Batman)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-of-life/234188/23 "2004-03-15T03:14:28Z")
The meaning of Life is to have a purpose, to strive, to persevere. For Me, at least. And now, I will add this big toothed smiley to end my very corny post: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Magickly\_Delicious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magickly\_Delicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magickly_Delicious)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-of-life/234188/24 "2004-03-15T03:47:49Z")
To stop looking for happiness, and then to get so distracted doing interesting things and meeting interesting people and doing meaningful work that happiness comes to you. ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-of-life/234188/25 "2004-03-15T04:35:12Z")
> [@jujuju](#): > > **Lobsang,** > > it is from douglas adams book - i think from “the hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy” > > oh, and don’t forget your towel. and remember, don’t panic. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-of-life/234188/26 "2004-03-15T05:37:16Z")
There’s probably a lot to be said to answer this question. But I know that one of the best moments, one of the most peaceful and happy is simply in the moment of making someone else happy. Seeing someone smile at a small thoughtful gesture, going out of your way to say something nice to someone, or, as I recently discovered, seeing the pure joy in a cat’s face as you scratch them under their chin! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-of-life/234188/27 "2004-03-15T06:25:11Z")
**Windwalker** ’s answer is, indeed, profound. And correct. **Bianarydrone** is correct as is **Shirley Ujest**. But, so is **BigDaiv** and **jujuju** and \*every other poster here. The secret is, To Live Life! Your life. No substitutes. Examine it . Dive into it. Remember, the sad parts and the angry parts and the head-over-heels-what-happened-to-gravity parts are all there to absorb, and revel in. Don’t be happy. You can’t be happy all the time. No one can. Besides, how utterly boring. How would you know you were in love, if your heart hadn’t been broken once or twice? Take your life apart, put the pieces out on the living room rug and see how many ways you can put it together. Swing the child-inside around and around. Make that whiny brat puke. The go out for ice cream. That’s the secret. Its actually more of a puzzle than a secret. Once you’ve figured out you can put it together any way you damn well please, you’ve solved it. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![grisham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@grisham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grisham)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-of-life/234188/28 "2004-03-15T21:38:21Z")
The one problem with battery acid and toast is that I dont care for the tingling sensation that you get when you consume acid. Makes for some bad indigestion. I would also like to say that it is not only the small things but living. Life is what happens while you are too busy making other plans. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-of-life/234188/29 "2004-03-15T23:10:20Z")
Only You Can Make You Happy. Seriously. That was my big epiphany. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-of-life/234188.md?page=1)