Stumbling on Happiness Summary
5 min read ⌚
Don’t let your fears stop you from taking chances.
Read on and get motivated to act.
Who Should Read “Stumbling on Happiness” and Why?
“Stumbling on Happiness” discusses bad decisions and the impact they have on our lives.
However, the book focuses on not doing anything as the worst decision of all, so we recommend this book to all readers who are afraid to take action afraid of the consequences.
About Daniel Gilbert
Daniel Gilbert is an award-winning researcher, author and a Professor of Psychology at Harvard University.
Apart from books, his writing has appeared in a handful of publications like TIME and the New York Times.
“Stumbling on Happiness PDF Summary”
The brain works interestingly. So amazing, that scientists still haven’t found a route to all “configurations”. The features on the other end, vary on a case to case basis.
Did you know that our visions have a blind spot, an angle which the eye does not catch and cannot see images? If you didn’t see that coming; stay tuned to explore the essence of it.
Locating/identifying happiness is not the brainchild of a scientist, who spent his entire life locked in the basement. In other words, it’s the opposite of the plight that we became addicted to.
However, whenever you look at a surrounding or a picture, you do not notice your blind spot – what you see is a whole image.
How does that happen?
Well, your brain has the ability to fill up the details by scanning the area around your blind spot.
And you are not even aware of it.
Why are we telling you this?
Because it is essential for you to understand the power of our brains. Let’s be honest, prior to finding an answer, you are obliged to exert yourself to the maximum. Whatever concepts you’ve espoused and nurtured may now be transported in the spotlight of change.
Similarly, as with pictures and vision, our mind can also fill up the missing details of reality. In other words, what we see is not a reflection of the world, but partly an image created by our mind.
Our brain also plays a big part in the details we add to our memories.
Whenever you think of a past event, it is impossible that you remember everything that has happened to detail, since your life is filled with too many information to store. Sometimes, these elements can’t prevail over common sense and leave you vulnerable to outside effects.
However, your brain picks up key emotions and details of events and uses them to recreate the memory when you “need it.” An endorsed theory, which signifies something far greater than mind projections that occur regularly.
This means that even past events that we are confident that occurred are not entirely facts, but are a mixture of reality and our brain’s fictive imaging.
Also, our brain is wired in a way that it stores more information about the unusual than about the common and mundane.
Now, the problem arises when the brain uses the same kind of power for creating images of our future.
How many times has it happened to you that you only know that you will do one thing for a fact, but you already have a scenario in had of how that thing is going to play out?
The brain may know just one information – for example, that you have a date tonight, and create a whole story around that one piece of information.
What is the problem then?
Well, once you create an image of a future event, you cannot imagine it playing out another way.
In other words, you create an expectation.
And we all know how disappointing it is when your expectations do not get met. But, it’s not the end of the world, so don’t fall into despair just yet.
But disappointment is not the danger here. Belief in predictions about the future is.
Sometimes we mistake our own mental images with facts about the future, which can affect our behavior and decisions.
You need to remember that your current emotions have a large impact on the image you create about the future.
However, we are not saying that you should not take chances.
Most of the time you will regret all the things that you did not try to do than those you did and made a mistake.
The truth is, mistakes can be great teachers, while idleness will bring you nothing.
However, accept that there are and there always will be unpleasant events and situations and life and prepare to face them.
Interestingly enough, our brains are made in such a way that we distress more about small and trivial misfortunes than about significant matters.
How come?
Well, our brains protect us from big and really stressful events.
When it comes to minor shocks, on the other hand, they leave the ball in our court.
But our brains also allow us to induce a positive worldview.
The only thing you need to do to become more positive is to surround yourself with people and information that backs up your perspective.
In other words, you need to control the information that you are letting get to you and limit it just to information that is positive.
Yes, it is time you look at the direction of happiness and ignore everything else!
Key Lessons from “Stumbling on Happiness”
1. Your Brain Creates Whole Images Out of Pieces of Information
2. Compare Products Based on Their Value
3. Take Chances
Your Brain Creates Whole Images Out of Pieces of Information
Our brains are capable of creating a whole image out of a few, or sometimes even out of just one piece of information.
Often, when it does that, it is wrong.
This means that your memories are not completely factual, and that indulging in predicting the future can prove destructive to the choices you make, since what you think of as predicting based on facts, is actually daydreaming.
Compare Products Based on Their Value
Whenever you compare products, do not compare them based on their past princes.
Prices will go up, and if you allow yourself to think like this, you will always get frustrated.
Instead, compare products based on their value. Just think about what else you can get for the price you are paying.
Take Chances
It is essential you take chances, make choices, and simply act.
Do not get worried about making mistakes, since you are more likely to regret chances you did not take.
Accept that bad experiences are part of life, and take action.
Plus, adverse times can be great teachers.
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“Stumbling on Happiness” Quotes
My friends tell me that I have a tendency to point out problems without offering solutions, but they never tell me what I should do about it. Click To Tweet Our brain accepts what the eyes see and our eye looks for whatever our brain wants. Click To Tweet The fact that we often judge the pleasure of an experience by its ending can cause us to make some curious choices. Click To Tweet If you are like most people, then like most people, you don't know you're like most people. Click To Tweet Our inability to recall how we really felt is why our wealth of experiences turns out to be poverty of riches. Click To Tweet
Our Critical Review
“Stumbling on Happiness” explores bad decisions and why we make wrong choices.
Having in mind that the consequences of a wrong step can be quite big. However, at times, this book underestimates these consequences, by giving them the power to change our worldview in a way that we are able to see the good in bad situations.
Emir is the Head of Marketing at 12min. In his spare time, he loves to meditate and play soccer.
