Life is hard.
The sooner we learn and embrace that fact, the better off we are.
It's going to be complicated most of the time and happiness comes in intervals.
So embrace happiness hard and fast.
Because joy can be sucked out of your life in the blink of an eye.
Not trying to be sour, just truthful.
Redditor Nolan asked about the times people were left with nothing but a frown:
"What stole your joy? Why do you not have the same zest for life that you once did?"
I feel like my joy was taken with age. But I'm a downer.
Evil Wins
I Did A Thing GIFGiphy"Knowing Bad people win. Not like in movies I enjoy watching. Heroes are silenced or killed early on and the scummiest die peacefully getting away with everything."
Distasteful-medicine
F the Big C
"Incurable, inoperable brain cancer at 36."
"Edit: diagnosed at 34, not 36."
aag3_throwaway
"Hey Hey, mine was at 30, still here 7 years later... no idea how long its been for you BUT although it was always on my mind pretty constantly for the first 4 years, now I have long periods of time (hours, a day) without really thinking about it (and not because of my brain friend chipping away at my memory)!"
Marmots_win
Long Lasting
"Chronic illness and chronic pain!"
frayedbrain
"8 years ago I ate some bad shrimp and got a 3 day long case of food poisoning... and then never got better."
"I've had an 8 year battle with ME/CFS and lost the majority of my 20s to it."
"The pain of knowing that no matter what I do, no matter what happens now, I can never get these years back, takes something from me that I can't explain in words, and knowing that it's going to take more of them is even worse."
flashley630
Passion into Work
"I turned my hobby into my profession. Now I don't have a hobby anymore and I enjoy doing what I do less now that I need to do it in order to get money."
Senappi
"I studied Physics and Astronomy because I had a passion for it as a child. The coursework was extremely difficult, which was okay. The gatekeeping attitude from professors and peers is what killed it for me."
"I was constantly reminded that I was not smart enough to be worth anything in the field. I completed my degree absolutely burnt out and devoid of my initial love. Years later I came back to astronomy as the hobbyist I initially was and accepted that I was much happier not trying to be a professional."
MajesticStars
Zapped
James Earl Jones Reaction GIFGiphy"Upon my husband's death, I learned he lived a double life and had given our savings and my children's college funds to his paramour. Fortunes come and go, but stealing 25 years of my life to live his lies, zapped my joy."
Additional_Ad5659
Death really is the worst. I hate death.
Pain
Headache I Cant GIF by Solomon RayGiphy"IIHC. Idiopathic Intercranial Hypertension."
"Constant headaches, head pressure, Tinnitus, and vision issues."
"Idiopathic, means they don't know sh*t about anything. Just 'try these meds for 3 months and come back.'"
y5e06
It broke me...
"Loss... I lost my dad to cancer. This set off a lot of issues with my mom, depression, alcoholism, medicine abuse, and I was in a different city far away doing my master thesis. I was 23 and I don't have any siblings. It broke me. I used to go around with a smile on my face by default, but that disappeared."
"I've found lots of joy afterwards, but it sure was an experience I still suffer from."
MissNatdah
Being Able
"Being blind. Realizing no matter how good I become at something, able bodied people will and are better. Realizing that I can be an amazing something and never get anything more than you are good for a blind person."
Effective_Meet_1299
"F**k, that hit me hard. I am only half blind, and have mild cerebral palsy, but I've always been utter s**t at any physical activities. I started doing karate, and despite working hard for the past couple of years."
"There's still not a single mildly experienced able-bodied person I can defeat. I've lost all joy in it because I know I'll never be good enough. I'm too tired to even try anymore. And I know it'll be like that with any physical activity I try, which is absolutely crushing as I am a very competitive person by nature."
Karl_the_stingray
Tragedy
"Spouse and 3 kids died in an accident. People said it would take time to feel joy again, but it’s been over a decade now without much change."
"I enjoy little things from day to day now, but there’s no larger point anymore. Life is mostly just a chore."
lovely_ginger
"Halloween made 5 years since my wife and son died. She was 8 months pregnant. He was our first. He died 35 hours later in the NICU. You are absolutely correct. I don't have nor can I find 'big picture' happiness. Just the random day to day uptick that is welcome, but I know it is temporary."
A1A5KA
Hopeless
Frustrated Kill Me GIFGiphy"The realization that no matter what I do, no matter how many hours I work, I'll still never be able to get ahead. Working just to have little to nothing to show for it doesn't feel great."
FearlessVeritas
Well this is a lot. Why is joy hard? But we're rooting for you and your happiness, dear reader.
Do you have any "joy zaps" to add? Let us know in the comments.
Redditor Just_Pizzy wanted everyone to share about the places to avoid when traveling, so they asked:
"What city is extremely overrated in your opinion?"
In my travels I've been very satisfied.
But tell me where to avoid.
Ouch
will smith miami GIF by RomyGiphy"Miami. A city of narcissists and attention wh*res."
_kevx_91
"I swear Miami Beach is the poser capital of the world!"
Cetophile
Value
"Scottsdale, AZ would be a close 2nd."
TWOCHOPPAS
"I’m visiting here right now, and am seriously wondering why I’m here. If I want high end, there are a million ritzy suburbs that do it better. Scottsdale is a ton of neighborhoods that all want to claim the Scottsdale name to increase the real estate values."
"But only 5% of it is actually high end Scottsdale. The whole Phoenix metro area seems like one long expanse of concrete and chain stores. The only reason I can see that Pheonix has so many urban hikes is that the rest of the city is completely unwalkable. What am I missing?"
Seachica
What is This?
"Nothing personal, but Dubai. And I'm not a city designer, but I don't think you call it a 'downtown' when there's a 12-lane highway cutting through a bunch of skyscraper walls and that's it."
GreatNameLOL69
"This city is so stupid. Instead of creating the palm island, they could have dug into the land, it still would have looked amazing, except much easier to build."
"They started from scratch with unlimited money, they could have made an awesome city with Arabic style and culture, something different. Instead they took the worse cities (from the US) as an example, and built something stupid."
Arvi89
But it has Luck...
"Dublin is a complete tourist trap. I am Irish and I see people coming to Ireland expecting the full Irish experience in Dublin, when really all the good stuff is outside the capital spread out all across the country. They head up to Temple Bar for the Irish pub experience and pay 3-4 times more for drinks than anywhere else in the country."
"The city itself is a product of British occupation, same style of city you will find up and down England with Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian architecture along with generic modern design. Look, there are historic places and nice places to eat but nothing out of the ordinary."
"If you want to see the real Ireland go to the countryside, the unique landscapes of the ring of Kerry, the Clare Burren and cliffs of Moher, the Connemara and donegal mountainous areas along with tonnes off historical locations all across the country. If you want an Irish city experience go to Galway instead."
Historical_Line7109
Not the Happy Place
mickey mouse vintage GIFGiphy"I don't know if anyone but children and retirees actually like this city, but lawd I hate Orlando."
notafanofwasps
"My best friend moved from Seattle to Orlando for financial reasons. His parents live in Orlando and had to move in with them. A year later they said f**k this and moved back. Drove cross country both times."
SubduedChaos
Orlando isn't that bad. I've had fun.
Bad Queen
Muriels Wedding GIF by Sundance NowGiphy"Gold Coast, Queensland. It tries to be Australia's Miami, but really, it's a tacky over-developed sh**hole."
otherpeoplesknees
"It is really bad, I loved every place I went to in Australia but the Gold coast was terrible. Reminded me of the cities in Spain where PPL only go to to get drunk at the beach (Ballermann in Palma, Benidrom, Lloret….)"
trbo91
“trendy”
"Not a fan of the 'trendy' cities like Charlotte or Nashville. A lot of younger people my age are moving there and they act like going to a mediocre brewery and spending $30 on a craft beer and tiny cut of brisket is some type of unique southern cultural experience."
"Not to mention the cities are now barely affordable for the people actually from there and every other block is full of those cookie-cutter gentrified apartments that just look bland as hell. Both cities have some cool parts to them but to me they just aren’t as special as people make them seem."
yinzerthrowaway412
Sounds with Problems
"The worst city I’ve ever been to is Oklahoma City, which is rated appropriately. No complaints on the current rating."
Shut--Up--Bird
"I have traveled to Oklahoma City a good number of times over the past six years, usually for a couple of weeks at any given time."
"Some areas of the city are okay, and I was pleasantly shocked upon the sight of a functioning streetcar service downtown. That being said, parts of OKC and its suburbs are so miserable that I almost convinced myself that Grand Theft Auto had become real life."
wheresaldopa
Off Tune
"Nashville. It’s a bunch of honky tonks and bachelorettes. It’s just a big party town now. I might be salty because I live here and remember old Nashville that was quiet and civilized, where locals could enjoy going downtown and we still had Opryland instead of a giant mall."
iwishiwereonabeach
Bad Falls
hanna barbera animation GIF by Boomerang OfficialGiphy"Niagara Falls. Even if it’s poorly rated, that rating is still too high."
vanityfear
"It’s pretty cool to see once though. The area is just meh."
SparklyRoniPony
Go to Wendy's
"Vegas."
Calm-Associate-214
"I used to go there every summer for tech conferences. I always use the analogy that Vegas is a lot like KFC. It’s gross, greasy, and messy, and you wonder what possessed you to go there in the first place. 6 months later, for some inexplicable reason, you get the urge to go again. You remember what it was like the last time, but somehow you’re still drawn to it."
Ikarian
So many places in the world... NOT to go!
What destinations should we strike from our bucket list? Let us know in the comments below.