Failed Predictions: The Reason We Are Not Happy
The reason we are not happy is that we tend to overestimate the impact that events will have in the future. It does not matter whether this impact is negative or positive. What matters is that this overestimation makes us imagine a situation, for example winning the lottery, and that we have an emotional reaction in the present. We then assume that if this becomes reality, it will be about how we feel. This is the root of all of our failed predictions.
We don’t realize that our emotional state is changing. We imagine that we have won the lottery. But at this moment, someone close to you passes away and we are sad. What we assumed would be something that would fill us with happiness becomes a circumstance that we cannot savor and enjoy. Trusting our current emotional state to assume that what will happen in the future causes us to have more failed predictions than successful ones.
Our failed predictions are based on the past
Just as to guess what might make us happy we rely on our current emotional state, we also use another resource: the past. We collect memories of certain experiences to predict a future that, perhaps, will not meet our expectations. Indeed, failed predictions are failed because they are filled with expectations.
We think, for example, that we have not had much luck with the colleagues that we have had in the various jobs that we have done. We never managed to build a good relationship with them, they tried to manipulate us, they were always looking to put themselves forward and leave us out… Because of this, we can try to predict what will happen in a future job. in two different ways.
If we have low self-esteem and our self-confidence has been reduced by these types of experiences, we might assume the same will happen to us in our next job. We will then go there already being afraid, lacking in self-confidence and fearing that what we “believe” will happen. On the other hand, we will dream and we will want to meet kind people with whom we can maintain a very positive relationship, perhaps not only in the context of work but also personal.
Any of these assumptions can lead us to failed predictions. Indeed, the EVE events are unpredictable. Perhaps we will have the chance to see just, that everything unfolds as we had imagined. We generally hope that everything is going in a positive way. But what if it is otherwise? When what we thought could make us happy finally generates sadness.
Emotions fade away
Our failed predictions are not just a result of our emotional state or our past experiences. There is also one thing we need to pay attention to. We usually only look at the details that we consider important. For example, with co-workers, we only focus on this working relationship. But what about the work itself? What will this bring us to progress in our work?
We leave some aspects out because our emotions right now are causing us to focus on something that is affecting us and that we want to change. The fact of not being rich, of not having good colleagues at work, of not being able to have children … All this has the consequence of making us believe that winning the lottery, having incredible colleagues or having a child will make us happy. What if, in the end, this is not so?
We can sometimes make hasty decisions based on these predictions which may ultimately not come true. We eventually find that something we thought was going to make us happy isn’t meeting our expectations. And it is already too late to go back.
We must be aware that the emotions are fading. Winning the lottery may make us happy, but this emotion will not last. We will always have bad times, experiences that will make us feel sad, and even overestimating this fact can cause us to act recklessly and suddenly find ourselves in debt.
We all made failed predictions. We must understand that these are conditioned by our current preferences and underestimating the way we will feel, which will not be permanent, will help us to live more in the moment and to accept what could happen without too many expectations.
Our thoughts We must be active agents of our present, and creators of new thoughts that give rise to more innovative actions. We want to …
