Standards, Expectations & Happiness
The art of striving for more AND being happy with less
“The First Rule of Happiness is Low Expectations”
This is a direct quote from author Morgan Housel from his book Same As Ever that I’ve been reading this week, and it really resonated with me.
Our happiness is a result of how reality compares to how we think it should. And that’s something really important to know.
Housel explained this by discussing how we people have this rose-tinted retrospective view that time periods like the 1950s were far happier than today. Housel dismantled this argument by outlining how 70 years ago Life in America was objectively worse.
Mortality was much higher and people died younger.
Median family income was 50,000 dollars less back then when adjusted for inflation.
Homeowner ship was 12% lower.
Median hourly wages were 50% lower.
Housel’s argument is that the reason we view Life back then as happier is because of people’s lower expectations. A large difference compared to today is that in the 1950s what you had was closer to what everyone else around you had.
No Instagram and very little media at all meant that the lives you were exposed to were just like yours. A neighbour. A school friend. An uncle. And therefore your expectations for how your Life should look were right around where you already were, which is enough to make a lot of us happy.
People didn’t have an awareness of nomadic social media influencers, YouTubers, flashy cars and extreme wealth at a young age. The gap between what they wanted and what they had was smaller, and therefore it was much easier to be content.
This provides us with an interesting lesson:
If You Want To Be Happier, Reduce The Gap Between What You Want And What You Have.
Now I could conclude this newsletter here and let you get on with your Christmas and New Year, but there’s an important point still left to raise.
What about the downsides to low expectations? What about my ambition? My Goals? My source of motivation?
Having high standards for yourself is a powerful weapon in this world. A weapon that I don’t think we should immediately sheath.
So How Then, Do We Have Low Expectations But Still Want More From Ourselves?
Well I think I’ve managed to circle this square.
It’s Important to have low expectations for your outcomes and material position in this world
It’s important to have high expectations for your effort.
Being happy with the simple Life, but trying to put 100% into what you do.
Growing physically, mentally and spiritually with no desire for the world to praise you.
Expecting less from the world and more from yourself.
Manage your expectations and have a great festive period and new year
P.S. Going on a road trip through the Lake District and up to Scotland for New Year. Excited to commence 2024 with a bang.