toms blog

In the article “The Futile Pursuit of Happiness” by Jon Gertner is about a Harvard professor named Dan Gilbert who studies happiness. In this article Gilbert talk about something called “impact bias”, it is the gap between what we predict and what we experience. This means that when we are excited to get something when we actually get it, it’s actually not as exciting as you initially thought it would be.                                                             Something like this actually happen, or better yet always happen when I think the thing I want at the time is going to make my life so much better.  Around two years ago I got a guitar to learn how to play because I just had a surgery so I couldn’t skate for about a year. It was exciting as first cause I always thought how awesome it would be to like play crazy songs like Metallica, but instead the second I got it was almost like the excitement I had inside me just disappeared like the money I paid for it. Practicing was what I should have been doing everyday when I gotten the guitar, but in reality I just played less and less and just lost interest after learning a couple of scales and chords. Getting a guitar was definitely the most memorable “impact bias” experience I had that I almost regret.                                                                                                                                                 A more recent impact bias event that happened was the highly anticipated video game called Halo: Reach. I waited for the game for about a year and half when I saw the previews and trailers. I even played the beta they opened for a couple of weeks and was more excited than ever about the game. So when it finally released on September 14, the day right after the first day of college, It felt almost identical to getting a guitar, my excitement for the game vanished the second I handed the cashier my money. I just thought of all the other things I could have brought with that money that could have made me happier.                                                                                                                                         Dan Gilbert was right about having high hopes that will almost certainly be less cool in time. Gilbert says the real problem is deciding which decision in the future has the most benefits and truly makes you happy.  I guess this will make me think twice before I pick something so I won’t be as disappointed when the time comes again.

1st blog

in composition class doing my 1st blog. its septemeber 20th. 2010. sunny windy. sweater weather.  the end