<
https://www.sciencealert.com/the-secret-to-happiness-may-not-be-low-expectations-after-all>
'Finland was recently named the happiest country in the world for the sixth
year running. A range of theories has been put forward to explain why the
Nordic nation continues to rank at the top of the table for happiness, from
greater income equality to time spent in nature.
But one Finnish sociology professor credited the country's position to "a
cultural orientation that sets realistic limits to one's expectations for a
good life". That is, he seems to believe Finnish people are happy because they
don't set their expectations too high.
So should we all lower our expectations to be happier? I would argue psychology
research suggests the opposite.
High expectations are important because they allow us to dream and create goals
to work towards. Through a process called mental contrasting, we create
judgements about our expectations of the future and decide which dreams are
realistic to pursue and which ones we should let go.
For example, you may imagine yourself living a life with many friends around
you. If you're sitting alone at home dreaming about this and feeling sad about
the reality of being lonely, mental contrasting helps you identify your dream,
anticipate potential obstacles, plan to take action to overcome them and pursue
a goal that will help you make friends, such as joining a club.
So high expectations, when realistic, can serve as a motivating force to make a
change.
High expectations also keep us optimistic, so that we keep going in the face of
adversity. When a bad thing happens to someone, and they develop an expectation
that everything will work out well – despite the adversity and even if it seems
unrealistic at the time – this can lead them to take positive steps forward.
For example, your expectation of finding a lifelong partner may diminish when
your relationship breaks up. However, if you continue to have high expectations
that you'll meet the right person, you're more likely to join a dating site and
seek opportunities to meet new people.'
Via Rixty Dixet.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
