2 posts tagged “happiness”
I read a good article today called "Professor Happiness--The Interview. The professor wrote a book called "Stumbling on Happiness" that I just added to my list. What he says rings true to me:
"Another thing we know from studies is that people tend to take more pleasure in experiences than in things. So if you have "x" amount of dollars to spend on a vacation or a good meal or movies, it will get you more happiness than a durable good or an object. One reason for this is that experiences tend to be shared with other people and objects usually aren't... People think a car will last and that's why it will bring you happiness. But it doesn't. It gets old and decays. But experiences don't. You'll "always have Paris" — and that's exactly what Bogart meant when he said it to Ingrid Bergman. But will you always have a washing machine? No."
He also indirectly talks about the "law of diminishing returns" (a helpful Econ 101 topic) in regards to money. He says, "The data says that with the poor, a little money can buy a lot of happiness. If you're rich, a lot of money can buy you a little more happiness."
I've recently been checking out a good blog written by Scott Adams, the man behind the Dilbert comic strip. He's very insightful and very funny too and I benefited a lot from the following post he wrote a few days ago about "the Golden Happiness Ratio":
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"I have a theory that you can predict how happy people are – and perhaps how successful – by their ability to tolerate imperfection. The Golden Happiness Ratio is about 4/5ths right, also known as “good enough.”
Once you achieve about 80% rightness, any extra effort is rarely worth the effort. People who can’t stop until they get to 100% are usually stressed to the point where they can barely function. And don’t expect them to do much multitasking.
People who are happy with results much below 80% right are usually serial losers. Those are the people who show up for work when it “feels right.” They generally have money problems, which lead to social problems.
I consider myself the master of the 80% rule. Everything I do is shoddy by most people’s standards. For some reason this does not bother me as much as you might think. I have a high tolerance for imperfection. I consider it a key to my success.
For example, it might surprise you to know I’m a better artist than my comic strip indicates – about 20% better. But to reach that level consistently would double my workload and give me little in return. The art in Dilbert is, roughly speaking, “good enough.” And the lack of complexity arguably adds something in the “x-factor” category.
When I started this blog, I announced that I wasn’t going to put any real effort into my grammar, spelling or factual accuracy. For every person bothered by those imperfections, there’s another who appreciates the rawness of it. I could double my effort to get that extra 20% of quality, but it wouldn’t buy me anything.
Today is another perfect example. This blog entry is about 80% of where I think it could be. I could work for another hour to get it up to 85%, but it’s Sunday morning and my family has awakened. They beckon.
I declare this Sunday blog post 'good enough.'"
