Have you noticed how unreliable your memory is when it comes to remembering how happy you were or how happy you might be in the future. Do you think that something will make you happy but find afterward that it wasn’t as rewarding as you predicted? Another car, a larger TV, a new relationship.
Firstly, we adapt quickly to most things so the effect doesn’t last as long as expected because we forget about the adaptation. ‘This will make me happy for a long time’. It won’t. ‘If I just lose five kilos”. Usually the anticipation is more about excitement. The actual effect of achieving can be less rewarding and not last as long as we thought and we keep forgetting this. Did you really think that a new anything would bring lasting happiness?
The most reliable way of know what will bring you happiness is to speak to someone that has done what you intend to do or owns something that you intend to buy. Most people discount this because ‘we are all different’. We aren’t really. Our ego wants us to be unique and very different from everyone else. We aren’t.
Speak to someone who has done what you intend some months after they have done it and you will get a more accurate idea of what brings happiness. Most people think that they are above average at most things. Above average at driving, above average intelligence, above average looks. This can’t be right can it?
