All posts by Hans Henrik Lichtenberg

Does Everything Happen for a Reason?

Sometimes You may ask Yourself – Does everything happen for a reason?

In life, there are always times when we feel sad and aimless. We are fired from work, we get sick, we lose our house or our family, and we ask ourselves:

Why me?

Just a look at the news is enough to find out about natural disasters, tragedies and illness in all parts of the world.

What sense can I make from all this?

For some people, the answer may be in religion.

To think that everything is part of God’s plan, or karma or a divine destiny written by some supernatural entity. This may comfort some, but it is not always enough.

Is everything in the world simply chaos?

Yes.

However, it is a sort of “ordered chaos”. Everything in the universe is connected. At first glance, everything may seem like a complete chance. But by observing carefully we can find that there are patterns. Causes and effects.

Then things start to make sense and we can then write laws and principles full of beauty that not only explain why things are the way they are but also lead us to predict what they will be like later. If you stay attentive you can see how everything falls into place.

Breast cancer case

Some time ago, a radio host in Mexico started a campaign to prevent breast cancer. She called on women to go with their doctor for a checkup. While she was in these activities, somebody suggested her to take a checkup herself, and she did.

The result: cancer.

While she was with a nurse talking about the matter, about how strange was finding out that she had cancer while she was leading a campaign for early detection, the nurse answered: “Then your campaign worked on you”.

She was in shock. She did not know it at first but had it not been for this campaign that she started thinking about other women, she might have learned about her own illness too late.

Maybe even mentioning breast cancer in this post has a meaning…

One may think that she was lucky, that what happened to her is not always the case. Sometimes tragedy takes over us and there is no opportunity to step aside.

Never stop fighting

However, one should never stop fighting. We are not alone, there is always someone watching. You never know who is going to take you as a reference, for good or bad.

Never stop improving Yourself!

The way in which you face adversity can be an example for other people going through it. It is important to learn from all experiences, good or bad, and get the best out of it.

You have to focus on the “what is it for”, not the “why”.

This change of focus from the past to the future is positive.

It gives us back a sense of control.

Remember that the human being is an evolving entity. Like the rock that with each blow of the hammer shows the sculpture that it has hidden inside, the difficult moments teach us who we really are.

“No captain became expert in a calm sea, “As Arthur Golden said.

We may not understand the meaning of a particular individual history, but the collective consciousness may have its own path.

Remember that we are just one more fiber in the fabric of our species. It’s all about perspective. The things we are going through can be part of a growth process.

It is possible that one is skeptical and thinks that everything is just chance. However, an example can show the difference that a person’s attitude can make.

Skeptics and believers in supernatural

An experiment was done where the researchers divided the participants into two groups, one of the skeptics and one of the believers in the supernatural.

Everyone was given to read the same magazine, which contained an advertisement that said that if they showed it to the researchers, they would receive an economic reward.

The result?

In the group of believers, there were many more people who saw the announcement and gave it to the researcher compared to the group of skeptics.

If you want to find meaning around you, you need to have an open mind.

We are the directors of our destiny. You can choose to let the tide take you, or choose to use the wind in your favor. There will always be pain and sorrow in the world, but also dance and singing. Everything is part of the human plot of which you are part of. Your role may not be very clear for now, but you must have faith and concentrate on the “what is it for” of things. From there, the “how” will be clearer to you when the time comes.

How calligraphy helped Steve Jobs?

Steve Jobs, one of the greatest entrepreneurs of our time was given in adoption by his biological mother. His new parents promised to send him to college, but he dropped out shortly after being admitted given the heavy economic load it represented for his parents.

That caused him many problems, but it also allowed him to study the things that really interested him, including a class of calligraphy.

At that time he did not know it, but that would be useful later in the creation of the Macintosh, the first computer with a beautiful typography.

A few years later his company would become the multimillionaire. Then they would fire him. But then that experience would take him down new paths of success.

Focus on problems or the future?

Regular people tend to concentrate on problems.

Successful people are focused on the future.

Where can this take me, and how can I get there?

Sometimes the path is difficult and dark and it is impossible to see what is ahead, but everything pass. The important thing is to continue breathing.

Do we live in a world of chaos? – Yes.

Is there a plan in all this? – That’s true too.

Keep on looking for light. Thank things for their service, the clothes that cover you, the chair that supports you, the air that keeps you alive.

Choose to have a positive approach, the narrative you want to choose. Remember: Everything happens for a good reason!

Are Highly Intelligent People Less Happy? – “Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know”

Ernest Hemingway has rightly said, “Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know”. Intelligent people might have accomplished great things in their work, having a loving life partner or a loving family, but at times, intelligent people to agonize from sadness, loneliness or conflicted thoughts.

Overthinking has a negative impact on happiness

According to the research, it has been found that people with higher IQ levels are considered to be overthinkers. They tend to analyze each and every aspect of life and beyond. As a result of this, it transports them to undesirable, unwanted situations that even don’t exist at all.

Happiness and intelligence do not harmonize with each other. Happiness is all about living each and every moment without thinking for a second. The less you understand and overthink, the happier and carefree you will be. However, in the case of intelligence, it is a complete polarity. Examining each and every situation leaves a person in a miserable and devastating situation.

Overachieving and Happiness

Smart and intelligent people truly know what they want in their life and hence, they do not settle for anything less. It doesn’t matter how far they have reached in their life, it is difficult for them to settle with present things.

They want something bigger in their life that can make them happy in every way possible. Intelligent people have got excellent theoretical minds, hence it makes them uneasy to fit into a mediocre world.

They got an idealistic perception of the world. Hence, when their expectations meet reality check, it lands them into disappointment. Intelligent people are highly susceptible to what people think about themselves. Reading people’s hidden motives is enough to make them anxious and restless. They are too much confined to themselves.

People with high IQ usually do not allow any people in their life unless they know their “Real” character. They are deep-thinking individuals who analyze each and every behavior of the person in a rigorous manner.

Past Experiences, Guilt and Negative Emotions

Many times, it has been observed that intelligent people are often prone to past experiences that foster feelings of discontentment, negative emotions and guilt in their life, due to which these experiences do not open future joy and happiness in front of them. These emotions hinder or block their gateway towards happiness that they have always set an eye for. Moreover, such people are always prone to over-thinking as they analyze every circumstance twice.

The entire concept of too much thinking is not only overwhelming but exhausting as well. Your thoughts can over-power your entire existence as well as can put you down with their weights. Often, we have been hearing this many times that the world is over-occupied by wrong people and men. But the entire point is why do you have to consider it twice? Whatever other people do, it isn’t your responsibility as well as you have no power or control over it right? Then why the intelligent folks have to over-think every part of it?

Another point is that the person with a high IQ always wants to do every task with precision and carefulness, and in such times, when the cards don’t come out in their favor, they get disappointed. It has to be understood that at times when things don’t go according to you, it is okay, and you don’t have to feel disheartened for that. But this type of practical knowledge is not present in the intelligent men.

Final Words on Happiness

We can conclude that intelligent men will have all the success and luck in their life, but still, they yearn to ask for more can lead them into altogether overwhelming situations. Basically, they want more out of simple things and when they fail to meet their expectations it leads to a situation where they are more of annoyed as well as frustrated by themselves. Not only this, happiness is a state of mind and intelligence is the scope of the mind.

When you are happy, you are more focused on the present state of events. But, when you are just intelligent, you fail to accept your present as you want more out of it. Furthermore, an intelligent state of mind refuses to settle but a happy mind is like a fluid, it will adjust itself in no matter what may be the situation.

What is the Difference Between Justice and Revenge?

When somebody does something bad, especially if it’s of a criminal nature, would you ask for justice or revenge?

To some people, there is no difference between justice and revenge. In fact, many people feel that justice is nothing other than a different way of saying revenge.

In reality, though, the two are different, as you will learn below.

Nevertheless, you are not wrong in believing that they mean the same thing.

What are the differences between the two?

First, revenge never offers closure. You will always be left wondering if you could have avenged the wrong done to you in a more intense or aggressive manner.

Revenge never offers closure.

Did you hurt the wrongdoer enough?

With justice, comes closure. You can rest safe in the knowledge that everybody, especially the system, agrees with you that the person/people did you wrong and deserved punishment. That leads us to the next issue.

Revenge will always remain one-sided. It’s all about how you feel and what you want. You are the center of the focus. No other opinion matters except yours. In revenge, you are the prosecutor, jury, judge, and executioner.

The wrongdoer has no opportunity to offer reasons for the wrong done to you. In justice, the concerned people get a chance to state their case or lack thereof. Justice looks at several sides.

Revenge is not only one-sided but also propelled by self-interest.

Justice, on the other hand, is always impartial.

Emotion is at the heart of revenge. How you feel is the most important factor here. In justice, emotion has a place but doesn’t drive the agenda. Instead, justice relies on rationality and logic. A neutral party – the judge – takes charge of proceedings that seek to determine whether you need justice.

The judge looks at the facts and evidence. The judge weighs them to determine the best course of action to take.

Nevertheless, is revenge that bad? Does it have a place in modern society anywhere?

Humans are hard-wired to seek revenge.

Everybody wants something equally bad to happen to somebody who was responsible for causing hurt and pain to another person or group of people. There may be merits to seeking vengeance.

However, what sort of society will we have built if everyone were to pursue this path? Humanity can only survive if we create room for and embrace the pursuit of justice.

In revenge, the victims seek to retaliate in kind.

Confucius encouraged us to dig two graves before embarking on the journey of revenge.

Gandhi told us the whole world would soon be blind if we all believed in “an eye for an eye.”

What is the Goal of Humanity?

Humanity has several meanings. First, it means human beings as a collective. Two, it refers to benevolence or the quality of being a human being. Some of its synonyms include humankind, the human race, man, people, mankind, mortals, brotherliness, compassion, kindness, understanding, and sympathy among others. Understanding its meaning is one thing.

Question is, do you know what the goal of humanity is?

Why do we pursue humanity?

We are already humans so we can do nothing about that. What we should strive to do is to bring out our best qualities. For example, how do you react when you see a fellow human in pain? What do you do when you see somebody’s house burning? Are you happy at another person’s suffering?

As we pursue humanity, our goal should be to sympathize and empathize with those in worse conditions.

To some people, the goal of humanity is hand-to-mouth existence.

To others, the goal is to amass as much wealth and power as possible.

Other humans are just happy to be alive.

Is that what humanity is all about though? There has to be more than that.

Principle of universality

Humanity’s goal is to realize what’s known as the principle of universality. It requires connecting with this goal. It requires waking up to the realization that happiness is not external but internal. It is to stop worrying since we all realize that humans – just as is the case with other living things – will eventually vanish.

The goal is to stop being anxious about the future.

Humanity requires that we stop fighting all these many wars between nations or tribes.

Security and efficiency

The other goal is enhancing security for everybody. All humans should enjoy personal security.

Everybody should enjoy property security too. We all have to benefit from job security too. Improved security cannot happen without efficiency.

We have to seek to improve efficiency in all spheres of our lives. We have to stop wastages, especially once we realize that people around the world have no access to the stuff we waste or misuse on a daily basis.

Equity

Another equally important goal of humanity is equity, which refers to justice and fairness for everybody. Every person needs equal access to the same opportunities. Equity for everybody means that we all have a chance of being successful and enjoying a good quality of life.

No person should ever have to work long hours only to gain less than everybody else. Those who work should gain an equal proportion to the effort they put in.

How to Live Good Life Without Money?

Money is good. We need it to buy and pay for stuff. We need it to take our loved ones to the highest level of education.

We need it to enjoy the best medical care. We need it to live in the biggest and most furnished houses. We need it to buy high-end cars that allow us to travel in comfort and luxury.

However, can we live a good life without money?

Can we be truly happy without money?

Will we be constantly sad if we lack money?

The fact is you can live a good life without money.

How is that possible?

Smile!

Learn to smile a lot. Most people only smile when they are happy. To them, a smile is the result of happiness. However, this doesn’t have to be the case all the time. Smile even when you don’t feel happy. Soon enough, happiness will envelop you. A smile is contagious. Friends loved ones, and everybody around you cannot help themselves but smile when they see you doing it. Focus on positive thoughts as a way of inducing a smile.

Think positively, smile, and see your moods improving substantially.

Let your smiles be genuine.

Be proactive in helping others

Be helpful. Lend a hand to any person who needs it. Be proactive in this instead of waiting for people to ask you for help. Volunteers are some of the most sought after people in the world. Take part in random acts of kindness.

Help others without any prompting. This way, your psyche will improve thus allowing you to be happy with yourself. Volunteer to help others and you will enjoy amazing rewards. Volunteerism guarantees higher life satisfaction too.

Ask for help and embrace social interaction

Ask for help from your friends. This could be useful if you do it in moderation though. Otherwise, your friends and loved ones may consider keeping off from you if you constantly ask for help. Nevertheless, never be too proud or afraid to ask for help. Your friends can play a huge role in making you a happy and contented individual. With their support, you can enjoy good health for years.

Invest in solid social interaction.

High social interaction leads to healthy behaviors.

Low social interaction is just as harmful as smoking fifteen cigarettes daily.

Listen to upbeat music actively

Listening to music is also capable of making you enjoy your life. You don’t need money to listen to good music. You need money to go to the biggest musical concerts or operas. Just walk outside and you will soon hear somebody play music.

Take time to enjoy the instrumentals, the lyrics and everything else about the music playing. Listen to upbeat music. Listen to music actively rather than passively.