I’m re-reading Daniel Kahneman’s masterpiece titled, Thinking, Fast and Slow and late in the book, Daniel turns his attention toward the study of how we think about life. He describes research across the world regarding satisfaction with life. There is some freakin’ magic coming…
Let’s assume you’re planning to get married. If we were to ask you to rate your level of happiness the day of engagement it would be extremely high and in the months (nowadays, years) leading up to the big day it would be on some kinda linear rise, according to his research. It would peak on your wedding day. Queue nervous laughter. The same research shows after 5 years of marriage most couples rate their life satisfaction as lower than 4 years prior to getting hitched. Yikes. Are our marriages really that bad for our happiness?
Nope, they are NOT.
We humans are prone to what modern science describes as falling prey to the focusing illusion, which Daniel describes neatly in a single sentence – “Nothing in life is as important as you think it is when you are thinking about it.”
Slow down. Reflect. What is preoccupying your mind? You do realize it’s not as important as you currently think. Fact.
Live hard. Love ❤️ harder…
BUILT TO LEAD 
Amazing book and great reminder. What a powerful lens to think about things. It’s like anticipation makes us more satisfied. Kind of like sales deals. They are never as exciting once they’re closed as the chase. Maybe that’s the same thing about life. Focus on the joy of the journey and not the result. Like Paul says in the Bible and I’ve heard you say: content in hardships and joy. Easier said than done of course. Thanks for sharing, Chet.
Jon Giganti Speaker. Author. Leader. With Intention jongiganti.com 614.264.7528