Ochie Oca

Sunday, June 20, 2021

How to Use the Happiness and Expectation Formula

How to Use the Happiness and Hope Formula
How to Use the Happiness and Hope Formula

How to Use the Happiness and Expectation Formula. You will be happy when your perception of an event is greater than or equal to your expectation.

Hello everyone, My name is Ochie. Welcome to my blog: Ochie Oca. This time I will discuss the book Solve for Happy by Mo Gawdat.

Solve for Happy is a book that discusses the formula for happiness. For a little bit, Mo is the Chief Business Officer at Google X, a semi-secret Google facility that aims to create extraordinary innovation breakthroughs.

He then uses logic skills and problem solving skills to answer questions about happiness, how the brain works to process happiness or sadness.

From Mo's quest, as simple as it is found, happiness only occurs when an event or experience equals or exceeds your expectations.

How to Use the Happiness and Hope Formula, Which You Can Try

I've summarized them into three highlights from the book Solve for Happy by Mo Gawdat:

First, what is the formula for happiness?


In 2001, Mo realized that although he had achieved tremendous success, but he had a very unhappy feeling. This situation then forced Mo to rethink and use his mindset as an engineer, namely by checking all the facts and carefully applying logical thinking.

Finally, after spending a lot of time doing research, he found the formula for happiness. Thirteen years later, Mo's algorithm will be tested. After the sudden death of his son, Mo and his family try to use a formula invented by Mo to save them from the abyss of despair.

There is quite interesting information. Mo argues that happiness is actually our innate state. However, we must be able to look within ourselves to be able to feel it. We cannot expect external factors such as money or fame to make us happy.

This information also explains why financially successful people are still unhappy. We can start by understanding what happiness is.

How to Use the Happiness and Hope Formula
How to Use the Happiness and Hope Formula

When they see small children or toddlers, they are generally happy when they are not hungry or in pain. This enlightenment made Mo realize that unhappiness arises when we don't get what we want.

The formula goes like this, happiness equals our perception of an event minus our expectations in life. If our perception of an event is greater than or equal to our expectations in life, then we will be happy.

Suppose you buy a mystery box, your initial hope is to get a power bank in the mystery box, but when you open it, it turns out that you get the main prize of the latest iPhone. Of course, you have to be happy. This is because the incident was bigger than the initial estimate.

This is the basic concept explained by Mo, but of course, humans are not that simple, in understanding hope and reality, there are illusions that prevent us from seeing life more clearly.

Interestingly, Mo is not focused on managing expectations, but how we manage our perception of reality. Interestingly, one event can have two perceptions, namely positive and negative perceptions. This is not a fact, but everyone's personal interpretation. So, our task is to look at events with a positive perception.

For example like this, we are asked to try a new application, but in the application there are still many errors. We can immediately label if the application is bad.

However, how about before we try the new app, we are told that we are the first special person who has the chance to try the new app in beta. Of course, this changes our perception completely.

Second, our brains are used to being negative


Everyone in the world must have an inner dialogue that never stops talking. It's like an endless stream of thoughts that use my or your words when speaking.

For example, I have to start a healthy lifestyle or you fail. It is the first illusion that we must realize that this voice is not speaking to us, but it is us.

In the 1930s, a psychologist from Russia named Lev Vygotsky noted the small muscle movements in the larynx that occur during inner dialogue. For information, the larynx is an organ in the neck that plays an important role in sound production.

Lev also hypothesizes that inner dialogue is actually how we internalize speech. Lev's hypothesis was also confirmed by neuroscientists in the 1990s, they found that the part of the brain that is active during speech is also active during inner dialogue.


So, the inner dialogue in your head is actually how your brain talks as it tries to make sense of the world around you and make the best decisions. But it must be underlined that it is not you.

When there is an inner dialogue about negative thoughts, you have to remember that that's how the brain works in understanding the world around you. You have the option not to listen to it and can even reduce the inner dialogue.

How to Use the Happiness and Hope Formula
How to Use the Happiness and Hope Formula

Do you have a tendency to think of the worst in every situation? Don't worry, you're not alone. This is because the way our brain works is still using the ancient style, even though we are already living in modern times.

In prehistoric times, our ancestors worked hard to find food and tried not to get killed, be it because of wild animals, poisonous food, or treacherous terrain. As a result, our brains always use quick judgment and tend to assume the worst, because it is better to be wrong than to die.

This way of thinking is no longer relevant today. On the other hand, we need to be more alert when we start to think negatively, so that we can provide a positive counter-narrative.

Third, Live more consciously


There is an interesting fact. In a study of more than 15,000 participants, Matt Killingsworth of trackyourhappiness,org compiled more than 650,000 reports of how people feel during certain activities and at different times.

Matt found that, no matter who they were, where they were or what they were doing, a person is happier when he or she is focused on the present moment, while someone who is thinking about something else is much less happy.

You can do simple exercises to stay aware of the present moment, for example by paying attention to the activities you are doing. This exercise will keep you focused on what you are doing.

You can also reduce distractions around you, for example from TV, computers, cell phones, and so on. Take time to stroll in the park or enjoy the quiet of a quiet room. This exercise will come in handy when you return to the busy world.

We will realize that in life, many things are out of our control. Instead of us being busy trying to control everything, how about we take a step back and let all of this find its own balance.

Closing

That's what I wrote about How to Use the Happiness and Expectation Formula, In life, we must learn to balance. If you focus too much on work, then you will lose time to enjoy life. However, if you spend too much time playing, then you will feel like you have no purpose.

So it's better to try to find a balance, not playing too much, not working too much. Happiness arises when you live in the moment, have a more positive perception of life, and live a balanced life.

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