Wednesday, May 19, 2010

We are Shortsighted

We are a product of our choices. Even when we thought we didn’t have a choice we did.

If we have choices all along why do we feel so discontented? Because we are timing our decisions wrong. Rather than focusing on what will make us happier today we are making choices for the self that we think we will be in future. But when the future comes we are anything but happy about our decisions. How often are you amused by naivety of your younger self? We change and so does the world around us. Our experiences shift our thinking and our thoughts no longer align with our previous ones. We need to realize this disparity and be cognizant that the obvious choices today would still rub us the wrong way tomorrow.

[All this is discussed in detail in Daniel Gilbert’s book ‘Stumbling on Happiness’.]

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