Thank you for writing this, Luca! I'm glad you've included some practical ways of managing expectations. I recently discussed this topic with my friends and colleagues, and this fills another piece of the happiness puzzle :D
I'd say that the problem with expectations is the allocation of current happiness to future happiness. So we take the current happiness experienced and project into the future, after the expectation is met.
That is the "science" of gratitude journalling. Moving the allocation to the present.
Given that, what if we had goals without future happiness projection. Experientially, if we are not happy now, happiness does not increase significantly or perhaps decreases after we reach an expectation.
The strangest thing is that the allocation of happiness to a future event is happening right now. How are we allocating something we think we don't have. We must know we have it to allocate it.
For example, people visualise an experience of meeting the expectation to feel the happiness that is believed to be felt when the barrier to that happiness falls. But in doing this, that happiness is felt right now! We have it! We always have but have allocated it incorrectly!
So what if we have a goal, but don't mind the outcome, or in other words, see our tendancy to make some thought projection a barrier to the happiness we already experience is here?
This is the meaning of having fun whilst doing something. The meaning of "do what you love and you never have to work a day in your life". This is why people try to make money of their hobbies and it fails. Attaching money making expectations moves the joy of doing the hobby into the future.
Thank you for writing this, Luca! I'm glad you've included some practical ways of managing expectations. I recently discussed this topic with my friends and colleagues, and this fills another piece of the happiness puzzle :D
Happy new year!
Love this!
Thank you for writing this, Luca!
Happy New Year!!
Great post! I love the take on gratitude.
This is a really great reflection about happiness and expectations. Thank you for sharing.
I'd say that the problem with expectations is the allocation of current happiness to future happiness. So we take the current happiness experienced and project into the future, after the expectation is met.
That is the "science" of gratitude journalling. Moving the allocation to the present.
Given that, what if we had goals without future happiness projection. Experientially, if we are not happy now, happiness does not increase significantly or perhaps decreases after we reach an expectation.
The strangest thing is that the allocation of happiness to a future event is happening right now. How are we allocating something we think we don't have. We must know we have it to allocate it.
For example, people visualise an experience of meeting the expectation to feel the happiness that is believed to be felt when the barrier to that happiness falls. But in doing this, that happiness is felt right now! We have it! We always have but have allocated it incorrectly!
So what if we have a goal, but don't mind the outcome, or in other words, see our tendancy to make some thought projection a barrier to the happiness we already experience is here?
This is the meaning of having fun whilst doing something. The meaning of "do what you love and you never have to work a day in your life". This is why people try to make money of their hobbies and it fails. Attaching money making expectations moves the joy of doing the hobby into the future.
We can get of the hedonic treadmill!