The Human Mind’S Ability To Fill In Missing Details And Transform Our Perception Of Reality
We are often under the impression that what we’re seeing and remembering is an accurate representation of reality.
Little do we realize that our minds can, in fact, fill in missing details without us even knowing it.
Take for example our eyesight; when we look at a picture or someone’s face, there is actually a blind spot where our eye cannot see images.
But amazingly enough, our brain automatically fills in the gap by scanning the area around the blind spot and inventing what it thinks should be there!
This same astounding phenomenon occurs with our memories as well.
When we recall past events, we can’t possibly store every detail perfectly due to the sheer amount of information overload that would ensue.
What our mind does instead is stores only key memories and emotions – but along with these details it also fabricates peripheral imagery accordingly which are assumed to be true information when they really aren’t.
The bottom line? We may assume and presume that what we see and remember is a true reflection of reality – however, this isn’t entirely so since much of it is usually constructed by our subconscious minds without knowledge or consent!
We Put Too Much Faith In Our Predictions Of The Future Despite Their Limited Scope
The truth is, when we make predictions about the future, often times our imagining gets the better of us.
Our minds can create a very vivid and seemingly accurate vision of what will come, but there’s always the possibility that things could turn out differently.
When you plan to go to a pizzeria, for example, you daydream about every detail such as the waiter’s twirled moustache and sizzling mozzarella cheese on your pizza.
All this is based on one simple piece of information; you intend to have pizza tonight.
But despite filling in all these details in your prediction, something like the restaurant running out of pizzas with mozzarella or even the whole place burning down before you get there are still valid possibilities.
We tend to put a lot of faith in our predictions despite this fact.
We trust our brains’ construction of the future as accurate when really it’s merely our imagination forming just one scenario within an infinite number of potential outcomes.
The Danger Of Letting Our Present Emotional State Blind Us To The Future
The idea that our emotions can influence how we view the future is an important point to consider when making decisions.
A good example of this is when we make grocery shopping decisions: if you’re full and hungry at the same time, you will tend to underestimate the amount of food needed for a week.
This is because when we are not hungry in the present moment, it’s hard for us to imagine being hungry in the future.
Our tendency as humans to be more focused on the present than the future has been something that has evolved over time as a way of ensuring our survival; while our ancestors had to focus on what was happening around them then and there (i.e.
avoiding danger), they couldn’t spend too much time imagining scenarios that hadn’t happened yet.
This concept also carries over into other areas: if we’re feeling angry and imagine some future event – like an important presentation at work – then it’s easy to assume that everything will go wrong and cause unnecessary worry or even cancel it altogether when in reality it would have gone well.
Our current emotional state can heavily influence how we think about potential outcomes of events, which often leads to mistakes or misjudgments being made.
We Should Value Products Based On Satisfaction, Not Price Hikes
After reading Stumbling on Happiness, it’s become obvious that we should focus more on the satisfaction we get from our purchases rather than how much its price has changed.
Instead of looking at products just in terms of whether its current price is higher or lower than it was before, we should make comparisons with other items that could be bought for the same money.
For example, let’s say there’s a cup of coffee that costs $2; initially we might have the feeling that it’s overpriced but then when we look at what else we could purchase with those $2 – like one single sock or 10 minutes of parking – and then acknowledge how much more satisfaction the cup of coffee will bring us, it suddenly becomes an incredible deal!
In summary, evaluating products based on their past prices doesn’t always result in us making informed decisions; instead, whenever possible, focus on how much satisfaction each item can provide for your money.
Our Memories Don’T Give Us An Accurate Picture: We Remember Unusual Events More Clearly Yet Believe They Are More Common Than They Actually Are
We can’t rely on our memories when it comes to making decisions, because of the way we remember things.
We tend to remember unusual moments with more clarity, such as finding $100 buried under a rock on a camping trip.
These bizarre moments grab more of our attention than the mundane details that make up most of the experience, so they stick with us in our memory much longer.
This same process leads us to believe that these unique events are far more common than they actually are, as we take them for granted and fail to understand why we remember them so clearly.
As a result, a few exceptional experiences can distort our recollection of an entire event.
In this way, our memories lead us astray and prevent us from making decisions based off accurate recollections – often causing us to repeat past mistakes or overlook useful details of an experience.
It’s critical to understand this phenomenon in order to make informed decisions moving forward.
The False Belief That Money Makes Us Happier Spreads For The Benefit Of Society
The false belief that more money equals greater happiness is a common misconception, and one that is perpetuated for the betterment of society.
It is true that having more money does increase happiness when it moves people from extreme poverty to the middle class: those who earn $50,000 a year are far happier than those who earn $10,000.
But beyond this point, having additional wealth does not significantly bring about any additional happiness.
Nevertheless, the notion that money brings contentment persists because it serves an essential purpose within our societal system.
If everyone were completely satisfied with their current economic status, nobody would choose to buy or work for anything else; in turn, the entire economy would suffer drastically as a result.
In order for society to remain stable and prosperous therefore requires individuals to strive for more money–and what better incentive than convincing them that doing so will make them happy? And so the concept of money leading to lasting satisfaction spreads despite its inaccuracy–simply because it furthers a critical aspect of modern-day life.
Don’T Be Afraid To Seek Advice: Everyone Can Benefit From The Experiences Of Others
Many of us tend to believe that we are so unique that we don’t need advice from anyone else.
We assume that our situations and experiences are so different from others that any advice or help wouldn’t be relevant.
However, that’s just not true.
Even if two individuals have entirely different stories, the feelings and reactions to certain decisions can actually be pretty similar.
Studies prove this – you can make accurate predictions about your emotions based on reports of individuals who have been through something similar to what you’re going through.
So instead of hoarding all your thoughts on various decisions by yourself, it’s best to approach someone who has gone through a similar experience as yours.
You might find out that they faced the same struggles as you, and had solutions to those issues which may work for you too!
We make the mistake of thinking our situations are one-of-a-kind – when really, we could gain a lot by getting advice from those who have gone through similar experiences to ours.
Seize The Day And Don’T Fear Mistakes – We Regret Inaction More Than Bad Decisions
The key to leading a life with no regrets is to take action instead of standing by and doing nothing.
Stumbling on Happiness, a book written by Daniel Gilbert, explains that our minds are wired to make even bad decisions look better in hindsight.
However, when we don’t take any action at all, there’s not much our mind can do to explain away our decision and it leaves us with nothing but regret.
Studies have shown that people believe they will regret foolish actions more than foolish inaction, which can make us hesitate when faced with uncertainty.
But the truth is that we usually regret things we didn’t do, not the things we did.
This means if you’re feeling hesitant about something, the best thing to do is just go for it!
You can always learn something from making mistakes but taking no action will simply leave you feeling disappointed.
Therefore, remember that it’s always better to take action and try something out – because even if you fail or make a mistake, you can still learn from it and come out ahead in the end.
On the other hand, if you don’t even take a chance and act on your opportunities, you’ll never be able to seize them – and ultimately regret doing nothing at all.
Our Minds Protect Us From Traumatic Experiences, Making Even Minor Misfortune Feel Seemingly Endless
We all sometimes experience unpleasant situations in life, ranging from a chipped nail to something as devastatingly traumatic as your house burning down.
Surprisingly, the trivial misfortunes can often leave us feeling worse than when something major happens.
The reason for this is due an inherent psychological defense mechanism.
This helps us to not be mentally crushed by the more traumatic moments.
Thus, someone whose house has been destroyed may experience relief quicker than expected.
On the flip side, these defenses do nothing to defend against the slightly unpleasant experiences like a chipped nail, leading to our reactions and grief being seemingly disproportionate to the situation at hand.
In addition, we fail to recognize how our minds have unconsciously protected us against something major happening – such as readily forgiving your spouse for an indiscretion but still holding on to resentment over their small habits for months on end!
It’s important to remember that our minds are unconsciously working against us in scenarios like this one; though a chipped nail may feel worse than a house fire in comparison, your brain is actively doing its best to defend you in order to protect you from more severe pain and trauma.
Why Lack Of Choice Can Make Us Happier
It’s commonly believed that the more choices we have, the happier we will be.
But as Dr.
Gilovich points out in his book “Stumbling on Happiness,” this isn’t always true.
His research shows that when faced with a situation where we can’t change things, we often feel more content than if we had plenty of freedom and choice.
This was illustrated perfectly by asking people to consider their birthday present: A fancy watch.
Most people would prefer to have the option to exchange it if they didn’t like it — but if they couldn’t change things, they would focus more intently on its good qualities and probably be satisfied with it in the end.
Basically, having too much freedom and choice can sometimes make us feel overwhelmed, leading us to not make a decision at all or search for something better even when what we already have is plenty.
So although it is important to value freedom and choice, there are times when being restricted actually leads us to true happiness.
The Unexplained Offers Intense Emotions, But An Explanation Can Rob Us Of That Feeling
When an event or occurrence is unexplained, it can evoke strong feelings in us – be it joy, curiosity or anticipation.
But once a reason or explanation behind the event is found, these positive feelings are often replaced with more mundane ones.
This happens because the explanation eliminates the mystery and power of the experience that made it so special to us in the first place.
It reduces our ability to speculate, wonder and ponder why something happened, thereby taking away our emotional connection to it.
On one hand, this can be helpful if the event was negative in nature; for example, discussing a traumatic event such as a car crash and providing an explanation for it can help its victims cope with their situation better.
However, if the event had been making us happy, like receiving gifts from a mystery admirer without knowing who they are from – then learning of the person’s identity robs us of this happiness and its associated emotions.
In short – while an explanation can help provide closure to unpleasant events in life – it also has the potential to diminish our joy of those mysterious occurrences that bring us moments of true delight!
We Surround Ourselves With Those Who Support Our Views, Unknowingly Biasing The Information We Receive
We often don’t realize how easily our friends can influence our views.
We tend to gravitate towards individuals who think like us and those who approve of the person we are.
Gratifying as it is to have the perceived approval of others, their opinion may not be as unbiased as we think.
Underlying these conversations with friends is an unconscious motive that leads us to favor information that supports our own views.
We may also ask our friends questions in a way that encourages them to give us answers that conform to our beliefs.
And even when they do offer up a different opinion or advice, they might not risk being too critical in fear of hurting our feelings or losing our friendship.
The result is that all this filtering through people who affirm our worldview prevents us from obtaining objective feedback from those around us and negatively impacts the accuracy of the information we gather about ourselves.
It pays then to be mindful that your friends might not be as impartial at times, and that you could be more open-minded in terms of gathering perspectives from sources outside your inner circle.
Wrap Up
In Stumbling on Happiness, you’ll find an insightful and thought-provoking summary of the challenges we face when trying to make decisions about our future.
The key point is that it’s difficult for us to properly anticipate how our decisions will affect us.
The book offers several actionable ideas for dealing with this difficulty, including being bold and asking people about their experiences.
Ultimately, these ideas will help you learn from other people’s mistakes and make better choices in the future.
These are invaluable skills that everyone should have, so don’t miss out on reading this book!
