>>Doesn't prove it, but then... it can be read as "if your life is meaningless, try religion".
>
>Again, this come down to attitude. Someone is unhappy, they find comfort in religion, they are now happy. They would say that religion made them happy, but it's not that, rather they made themselves happy. Religion was just the catalyst. It could be almost anything that causes someone into an attitude-changing behavior. Their attitude changes, not their curcumstances. Interesting. I wonder how one changes an attitude?

For me it began when I realized two things:

1) space is infinite, or as good as infinite. Whatever I worry about is minuscule compared to it. Or to my lifetime as well.

2) neural cells don't regenerate, or at least not on time. Losing them over minor stuff is a waste.

This gave me the sort of cynical attitude towards the problems I may have had... and a sort of a distance. Seen as a part of the whole, they tend to look much smaller than they looked before, and then are easier to fight. The distance also helps seeing them in a different light - and that's already halfway to solution.

Applied to my work, I've decided that I don't have a panic mode. Panicking over a disastrous bug won't help. A panicked programmer will not solve a problem, he may only create a larger one. Therefore, whatever happens, don't panic, stay cool and think. You'll see the solution and probably save the day. Or at least find a way to minimize the damage. Panic later, if you must :).

Not much of a philosophy, I know. Works for me.