I came across this intriguing article and had to share it with you. At first the notion of "talking to strangers" seems obvious when reading it, but upon further reflection...how often do you really do it?
> Read the full articleA Harvard professor says he knows the secret to happiness and is ready to share it with the world.
Unfortunately, nobody believes him.
The secret, according to psychology professor Daniel Gilbert, is to ask a total stranger.
"In some common situations, surprisingly, the best way to know what will make you happy is to find somebody who is already in the situation you're contemplating and see how happy they are," Gilbert told CTV.ca in a recent interview.
"Obviously, you and other people are different but the differences between people seem to be relatively small."
....he said people should trust their own imagination less and trust other people's experiences more.
"Don't fall for the mistaken idea that you are so different from other people that their experience has little to teach you," Gilbert said.
"You and other people have a lot in common."
So, if you want to become a lawyer, stop daydreaming. Instead, go find a lawyer.
"All you have to do is find one person who is a lawyer and you're already going to have more information about what it's like to be one than you could ever generate on your own," Gilbert said.
"That's not just true for being a lawyer, it's also true for moving to Cleveland, eating apple pie, marrying Andrea, and every other thing that you can possibly name."
But what if nobody else has been married to Andrea?
"Well then you're out of luck aren't you?"
You might also like these related Sublime Goodness posts:
- More Secrets to Happiness
- The Secret to Happiness: Seven Ways to Savor Life
- Happiness Habit: Routines to Make Your Life Richer & More Productive
- Five Surprising Happiness Habits that Could Change Your Life
How truly sublime. It is so easy isn't it? How wonderful. Thanks for this post. It made my day. Now let me find a stranger on twitter to say hello to.
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderful story. I agree with Gilbert, none of us are too special to learn from someone else who have been there and done that. Gilbert is a wise man.
ReplyDeleteThank you,
Giovanna Garcia
Imperfect Action is better than No Action
Learning about other people's experiences is really helpful. There's only so far you can go in your own mind without outside input. Very good advice - thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone for the comments - I'm glad to share it with you and happy you found it useful!
ReplyDelete