Avery Harper
Avery Harper
Why It's so Hard to Predict What Will Make Us Happy
Why It's so Hard to Predict What Will Make Us Happy
Why It's so Hard to Predict What Will Make Us Happy
Wednesday 12th May 2021
Avery Harper's 'Strategic AF' delves into why we struggle to predict happiness, exploring cognitive biases and memory quirks. Tune in for practical tips.
24 minutes
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About this podcast
Author:
Avery Harper
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Categories:
Sobriety Toolkit
Mindfulness & Emotional Wellbeing
Smart Financial Planning
Policy & Advocacy
Relationships & Community
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Episodes:
7 (View all)
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Get the buttons here!Why We Struggle to Know What Makes Us Truly Happy
The tldr of this whole thing is that we are bad at predicting what will make us happy, and the best way for us to make our predictions a bit more accurate is to just ask somebody who's doing whatever it is we're considering doing, and just ask them if they're happy because, believe it or not, their experience isn't going to differ that much from ours.
Ever wondered why what you think will make you happy often doesn't? Avery Harper dives into this puzzling topic in her podcast, 'Strategic AF'. She kicks things off with some fascinating studies, like one about false memories from a car crash and another involving kids lost in a mall. These studies show how our brains can play tricks on us, making us remember things that never happened or forget important details.
Avery also highlights how we tend to remember some things and not others, which skews our happiness predictions. For instance, she discusses a study on UVA students that reveals how bad we are at predicting our future happiness. Then there's the contrast between 'in the moment' happiness and reflective happiness—think about whether kids make people happy, based on a study of Texas mothers.
Avery also touches on how we misremember past events, using examples like the ice water and colonoscopy studies to illustrate her points. Interestingly, she notes that we're often better at predicting other people's happiness than our own. Avery wraps up with some practical tips on picking a career that will make you happy and explains why we think we're special (but we're not).
This episode is a must-listen for anyone curious about the psychology behind happiness and how to better predict what will bring joy into their lives.