Achieve Better Outcomes by Looking at the Whole (Achievement Nudge)
Last Updated on November 18, 2024 by Bill Truby
The problem with answering the question, “How happy are you with life right now?” is that your feelings about the question can’t be trusted.
When researchers asked two questions of some college students in Germany in the following manner, they got no correlation between the answers.
How happy are you these days?
How many dates did you have last month?
But when the questions were reversed with another group of students, where the dating question was asked first, there was a huge correlation between the two questions. Students who had more dates rated life much happier than those who didn’t.
Another research study had participants come to the facility to fill out a questionnaire on happiness and well-being. Each person was asked to go make a photocopy of the questionnaire before filling it out. Half of the participants found a dime on the photocopier planted there by the researchers.
This minor stroke of good fortune caused a clear and decisive difference in the responses to the questionnaire. The participants who found the dime rated life’s happiness and well-being higher than those who didn’t.
There are many other studies that confirm the same thing. Our view on how well things are going, how happy our life is, how highly we rate our well-being…all are initially evaluated based on our recent experience. How we feel about recent experiences directly influences how we feel about life.
If you want to truly know how you feel about life, don’t go by how you feel. Instead, consciously look at a bigger sample. Consider your entire life (or at least the last large chunk of it – last month, or last year), and let that infect your feelings. THEN answer the question.
This “recent experience influence” dynamic is true of anything we evaluate: a friend, our car, our job, our boss, our life, our spouse, our….you name it. How you evaluate whatever you are looking at, and how you feel about it is going to be almost completely determined by the recent interactions with it. 99% of your experience with it will be nuked into oblivion by your subconscious response that favors only remembering what has recently happened.
The Nudge is this: Get conscious about the whole “it” (whatever “it” is that you are thinking about). Then answer any question in your mind about, “How’s IT going?”
This article is part of our ongoing Achievement Nudge series—short, witty, and often inspirational articles to spark your personal and professional growth. Explore more nudges on our blog, or sign up for our weekly Nudge and News email. Each edition includes an Achievement Nudge plus leadership, professional development, and personal growth videos and articles to keep you inspired and on track.
Bill Truby
Founder and President of Truby Achievements
