It’s Never As Good As You Think It Will Be:
“One of the enemies of happiness is adaptation,” says Dr. Thomas Gilovich, a psychology professor at Cornell University who has studied the relationship between money and happiness for over two decades.
“We buy things to make us happy, and we succeed. But only for a while. New things are exciting to us at first, but then we adapt to them,” Gilovich further states.
Actually, savoring the anticipation or idea of a desired outcome is generally more satisfying than the outcome itself. Once we get what we want — whether that’s wealth, health, or excellent relationships — we adapt and the excitement fades. Often, the experiences we’re seeking end up being underwhelming and even disappointing.
This phenomena can be observed in kids. They feel like they need a certain toy or the universe will explode. Their whole world revolves around getting this one thing. Yet, once we buy the toy for them, it’s not long before the joy fades and they want something else.
Until you appreciate what you currently have, more won’t make your life better.
It’s Never As Bad As You Think It Will Be:
Just as we deceive ourselves into believing something will make us happier than it will, we also deceive ourselves into believing something will be harder than it will.
The longer you procrastinate or avoid doing something, the more painful (in your head) it becomes. However, once you take action, the discomfort is far less severe than you imagined. Even to extremely difficult things, humans adapt.
The problem with dread and fear is that it holds people back from taking on big challenges. What you will find - no matter how big or small the challenge is that you will adapt to it.
When you consciously adapt to enormous stress, you evolve.
There Is No Way To Happiness:
“There is no way to happiness - happiness is the way.”- Thich Nhat Hanh
Most people believe they must:
- First have something (e.g., money, time, or love)
- Before they can do what they want to do (e.g., travel the world, write a book, start a business, or have a romantic relationship)
- Which will ultimately allow them to be something (e.g., happy, peaceful, content, motivated, or in love).
Paradoxically, this have-to-be paradigm must actually be reversed to experience happiness, success, or anything else you desire.
- First you be whatever it is you want to be (e.g., happy, compassionate, peaceful, wise, or loving)
- Then you start doing things from this space of being.
- Almost immediately, what you are doing will bring about the things you want to have.
We attract into our lives what we are. This concept is confirmed by loads of psychological research. In his popular TED talk, Harvard psychologist Shawn Achor explains that most have happiness backwards. They believe they must first achieve or acquire something to be happy. The science shows that happiness facilitates success.
For example, Scott Adams, the creator of the famous comic series Dilbert, attributes his success to the use of positive affirmations. 15 times each day, he wrote the sentence on a piece of paper, “I Scott Adams, will become a syndicated cartoonist.”
The process of writing this 15 times a day buried this idea deep into his subconscious - putting Adams’ conscious mind on a treasure hunt for what he sought. The more he wrote, the more he could see opportunities before invisible to him. And shortly thereafter, he was a highly famous syndicated cartoonist. It couldn’t not happen.
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