Author: Buffet o' Blog

Laughing is good for you. So this blog is a buffet of randomness and humor. Most of the content here is original and thus exclusive to this site. I encourage everyone to participate in the comments section -- it makes it more fun for everyone.

how to increase your long-term happiness

I recently talked about short-term solutions to be more happy and enjoy life more, and those are helpful, but there are also long-term solutions that have a more lasting effect. I realize this is a more serious topic than I normally cover on this blog — I have another blog for seriousness — but it goes with a recent post, and I do like to write here about making your life more awesome, so it somewhat fits.

People smiling while eating pizza together
Stock photo. I don’t know these people. But I do know that eating pizza with friends is a great time. How long has it been since you’ve done that?

I’ve been studying happiness for an upcoming blog series, and one thing I’ve discovered is that having purpose is a key component of being consistently happy. That, and relationships, and your mindset.

Relationships may seem obvious, because having family and friends who love you and care about you just makes life better. The right mindset is a deep topic — too deep for this post — but just consider that your expectations matter a lot, along with the stories you tell yourself to explain and summarize everything. (And along those lines, DON’T COMPLAIN! Someone who always complains can even take the fun out of a snack of cookies and milk. Don’t be that person.) So without going too deep into all that, let’s talk for a minute about finding your purpose.

We all have a purpose in this life, which God has given us. Every one of us is unique, so we all bring something special to the table. We are all potentially awesome, in a unique way. (Of course, not everyone has discovered their awesomeness — some live the opposite, and some try to be generic so they blend in — but we all have that potential, which we have to find and develop.)

What is our purpose? To sum it up, it’s to love God and love people. How we do that depends on our uniqueness and what makes you you. You are able to connect with the people around you in a way that is different from anyone else. We each have a role to play. The Bible explains it with the illustration of one body with many parts that are all important and all work together.

Helping people is a lot more than just the big, obvious things. You can encourage someone while having lunch with them and having funny and/or epic conversations. Going for a walk together, talking and listening, is important and can make a difference. Even just a text can encourage someone (although in-person is better when possible). One of the main things needed these days is to just be present (i.e., don’t look at your phone) — simply pay attention to the people around you. Think about the topics that interest you and find people who also share that interest, and spend time with people. You can even help people while playing video games together. (I realize that’s controversial to some, and context matters, of course, but it does happen. I participate in this myself, so I know.)

So don’t think you have to be in an official church ministry capacity to help the people around you. Everyone needs hope and encouragement and someone to listen to them. And we can all do that. And there are unlimited ways we can accomplish this.

A great benefit of finding your purpose in helping others is that it increases your own happiness. So it’s a win-win situation.

Could time travel remove itself?

Do all time travelers drive a DeLorean? Seems unlikely, although it was cool.

I doubt that time travel could ever really happen. But some scientists like to ponder it, and I agree it can be interesting to think about. There are many paradoxes that it creates. A new hypothesis is that if time travel ever gets invented, that it would create its own destruction by introducing instability into certain realities which would eventually lead to the most stable possible timeline — that is, one without time travel at all.

It’s true that time travel would definitely create instabilities. People would go through history and wreck it, whether for their personal gain or just for fun or to be malicious or even without trying to. Facts and historical events would get altered, which would change the future. But with multiple people changing the past, they could create a future that cannot exist due to being incompatible with itself. The universe automatically makes things be in balance. We’ve defined this as the laws of thermodynamics. Objects will return to their most stable state, to keep equilibrium. So by that reasoning, it’s possible that even if time travel were to exist, it might lead to a future where it cannot exist. That leads to a paradox which might make your brain hurt if you try to understand it. 🙂 If it removed itself, would we forget about it and keep reinventing it? Wouldn’t that cause some distortions in the time-space continuum? What if someone somehow created a future that required time travel to exist? Would our universe just go poof?

BTW, the article linked above is called “Where Are All the Tourists From 3025?”, which seems like a good title for a book…

Bonus: Time travel becoming confusing reminds me of several episodes of Milo Murphy’s Law, which is an awesome show if you don’t know. Don’t think it’s just a kid’s show because it’s animated. It’s clean and family-friendly, but hilarious and full of parody references and inside jokes. And the lead character is voiced by Weird Al Yankovic, who does a great job with it. Part of an ongoing side story in the show involves two time travelers, who see a lot of clocks in the timestream. One of them says the clocks was probably someone’s idea of a joke. I don’t want to spoil it, because it’s fun to see how it all plays out, but if you just want to know without watching, click here and look for “Floating Clocks” (which is a common trope for showing that time travel is happening, and here they explain it… kind of). Or, if you want to see just that clip: Clocks in the timestream. (It’s a weird clip to start with though, because most episodes are more realistic and don’t involve alien pistachios.) There’s another time travel paradox in this episode involving a letter someone put in the past for their future self. (Think about that one.) There’s also a peach paradox in the show, and there’s a video clip of it on that page.

Anyway, that’s a lot of rambling about time travel, but you also got a show recommendation. I think it’s laugh-out-loud funny, and my kids like it, too. (It was created by the same guys who created Phineas and Ferb, which is another great show I recommend.)

The world didn’t end? INCONCEIVABLE!

So apparently the world was supposed to end yesterday. I had no idea. No one told me. How rude! If people actually believed that, wouldn’t they spend all their time and money making sure everyone knows? I mean, it’s kind of a big deal, and people need to be ready, and if they were right on the timing, there would be no need for money afterward.

I’m talking about “RaptureTok”. Supposedly there are “apocalyptic influencers” who insisted the end times would occur yesterday. I wonder if anyone is going to sue them for emotional distress. I’m not suggesting anyone do this, because we’re all liable for what we believe, but the immediate start of the biblical end times and eternal judgment could be a stressful time for some. It doesn’t have to be stressful — if you have accepted the gift of forgiveness and salvation that Jesus offers, which He paid for by dying in your place, then there’s nothing to worry about. You can be certain of your eternal fate, if you are living according to God’s terms (covenant). (Pro tip: It’s worth thinking about this, seeking the truth, because it will happen someday, and you want to be ready.)

This isn’t the first time the world has failed to end on schedule. These predictions happen every few years, and they’re always wrong. Of course, the Bible warns about this in Matthew 24: “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

you are the author of your life, so what’s next?

I’ve recently been thinking about writing short stories, and I also recently wrote about eating cookies to make your day better, and I combined those thoughts for the perspective of how you are the author of your own life.

Imagine your life as a story — which it is, except no one is writing it all down. Humans have used stories to remember history for as long as there has been history. You summarize your day into stories based on expectations and your worldview, some of it subconsciously, but it happens.

Now consider your day, maybe it’s a less-than-pleasant day. You wouldn’t think of it in short story form, but for the sake of this exercise, let’s try it:

Burford was late to work due to bad drivers and a traffic jam, and his boss gave him a glare as he walked in, so he wondered if that will affect his reputation and future raises. His boss doesn’t seem to recognize his value to the company. He did his daily work the best he could, but got sleepy in the afternoon because he didn’t get enough sleep last night. His lunch was boring. Leaving work, he was frustrated because there’s so much to do and there’s simply not enough time for it all. He sighed as he got into his old car that he would like to replace but can’t afford to. He was glad that work was through, but not excited about the rest of the evening.

It hasn’t been a great day for poor Burford. But what happens next? Does he let the rest of the day be “blah” or frustrating? Or does he change the script? What happens next hasn’t been written yet. There might be some required activities to do later, but what can he do to make his day better?

So many of us get into a routine with our daily habits and just let life happen to us. But you are the author of your life. What can you do to make your day better? Eat cookies. Drink sweet tea. Get outside to walk or play a sport. Listen to your favorite songs. Read something funny. (You could subscribe to this blog if you haven’t already). 🙂 Sit down to do absolutely nothing for a few minutes to clear your mind and relax. Text a friend who is funny and/or encouraging. Listen to a podcast about self-improvement. Pray. Whatever it is, there are options you can do to make your day better. And wherever you are right now, you get to write the rest of today’s chapter. What will happen?

Being outdoors in nature helps. Studies have shown that even just a couple of breaks in nature per week affects your mood the whole week. Take some time to be alone with your thoughts and be present where you are, with no distractions. Ignore your phone for 30 minutes.