Focalism, Presentism and Happy-ism
The AtomicIdeas from Stumbling on Happiness
The ideal answer is - yes, but in reality, we often struggle to create happiness.
In the pursuit of living this life, we often encounter obstacles and misconceptions that cloud our path. We struggle to predict happiness, because of our biases.
Our brain accepts what the eyes see and our eye looks for whatever our brain wants
The book, "Stumbling on Happiness" provides a refreshing perspective, unraveling the complexities of human contentment, challenging our assumptions and biases.
Sharing AtomicIdeas from the book. These are my notes with a mix of lessons and quotes (slightly longer than usual).
Predicting Happiness Is Challenging
Humans have difficulty accurately predicting their future happiness due to biases, adaptation, and other cognitive factors.
People want to be happy, and all the other things they want are typically meant to be a means to that end.
Despite our innate desire to anticipate and plan for future happiness, humans often struggle to accurately predict how certain events or circumstances will impact their well-being.
This inability stems from various cognitive biases and psychological processes that influence our perception of happiness. These biases include focalism, which leads us to focus on specific aspects of future events while ignoring the broader context, and the impact bias, where we tend to overestimate the emotional intensity and duration of our reactions to future experiences.
The Hedonic Treadmill
We adapt to changes in circumstances, often returning to a baseline level of happiness, which impacts our ability to predict lasting satisfaction.
The hedonic treadmill is like a running machine for happiness. When good things happen, like getting a new toy, we feel happy at first, but then we get used to it and the happiness fades.
The same happens with bad things; we feel sad, but then we adapt and start feeling better. It's like our happiness always goes back to a stable level, no matter what happens. So, it teaches us to find lasting joy in simple things rather than constantly chasing new highs.
The concept of the hedonic treadmill suggests that humans possess a remarkable capacity for adaptation, whereby they quickly adjust to changes in their circumstances, both positive and negative.
We may mistakenly assume that achieving certain milestones or acquiring particular possessions will result in sustained satisfaction, when in reality, our happiness tends to revert to its pre-event level.
Focalism: The Perils of Narrow Focus
We tend to focus on specific aspects of future events while ignoring the broader context, leading to inaccurate predictions about our happiness.
Focalism refers to the cognitive bias of fixating on certain elements or details of future events while neglecting the broader array of factors that may influence our happiness.
Your mistake was not in imagining things you could not know—that is, after all, what imagination is for. Rather, your mistake was in unthinkingly treating what you imagined as though it were an accurate representation of the facts.”
― Daniel Gilbert, Stumbling on Happiness
When we make predictions, we often place excessive emphasis on a particular aspect, such as a promotion at work or a dream vacation, while overlooking the potential impact of other factors, such as our relationships, health, or overall life satisfaction.
By failing to consider the full picture, we make inaccurate predictions about our future happiness, as our well-being is influenced by a complex interplay of various factors.
The Art of Synthetic Happiness
Humans have the remarkable ability to create happiness even in challenging circumstances by adapting, finding silver linings, and altering their perspectives.
Synthetic happiness refers to the capacity to create or construct happiness internally, even in adverse or undesirable situations.
Humans possess a remarkable psychological resilience and the ability to adapt to challenging circumstances. When faced with setbacks or unfavorable outcomes, we can find ways to reframe our experiences, shift our perspectives, and derive happiness from unexpected sources.
By altering our perception and focusing on the positive aspects of our lives, we can cultivate a sense of contentment and satisfaction even in the face of adversity.
Presentism: The Power of the Present
Our present emotions heavily influence our memories and perceptions of past experiences, which in turn affect our predictions of future happiness.
Presentism refers to the bias of allowing our current emotional state to heavily influence our memories of past experiences and our predictions about future happiness.
Our emotional state at any given moment can color our recollections of past events, leading to selective memory and distortions in our perceptions of our past happiness or unhappiness.
Additionally, when we project ourselves into the future, we often rely on our present emotions to gauge how future events will make us feel, leading to biased predictions that may not accurately reflect our long-term well-being.
Hope you stumble on happyness!
-ashish.