As 2024 approaches, people look back to assess their lives and consider what can be done to achieve a more fulfilling existence in 2025. In doing so, you may be left with a puzzle: Why is it that you have some wonderful things in your life – perhaps a fulfilling career, a loving family, a comfortable home – but these things seem to have only a negative impact on your daily happiness? Has limited impact. ,
At the same time, not-so-good things can happen around us – relationship rifts, online rudeness, inefficiencies at work – and it seems we often become accustomed to these distractions, so less likely are we to try to change them. It is less. ,
In other words, we stop paying attention to what was always there. Here's how you can change it.
recognize the habit
Habit is a fundamental characteristic of our brain – the tendency to respond less and less to things that are stable or repeated.
Imagine walking into a coffee shop. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee is strong at first, but after about 20 minutes, you can no longer smell it. Your olfactory neurons stop responding – they get used to it. And just as you become accustomed to the smell of coffee, you can also become accustomed to more complex aspects of your life.
The challenge then is to regain sensitivity, both to the great things in life, so that we can feel joy, and to the terrible things that we have stopped paying attention to, that we could potentially do if we tried. Can change. So, how do we districtsHabit?
break the good
The answer lies in this wonderful quote from economist Tibor Scitovsky: “Happiness arises from the incomplete and intermittent satisfaction of desires.”
Consider a song you like—would you listen to it continuously from beginning to end, or with short pauses? Ninety-nine percent of people say “no” to a break. However, Research This suggests that people enjoy a song more when they listen to it intermittently. Why? If you listen to a song continuously, the initial enjoyment diminishes with time. However, the breaks create disappointment, so whenever the song comes back, the happiness level increases again.
To combat habits and maximize happiness, we need to consume the good things in life in moderation. Whether it's a Netflix show, chocolate cake, or a new romance – savor instead of binge.
swallow the bad whole
On the other hand, if you have unpleasant tasks to complete – household chores, administrative tasks – complete them all at once. Research Shows that people feel less distress if they have to listen to unpleasant noises (such as the sound of a hoover) continuously than if they have to take breaks. If you experience the noise consistently, the “pain” that occurs initially will subside over time. However, breaking up generates frustration, so every time the noise comes back, the level of suffering increases again.
experiments in life
What about those aspects of your life that you suspect may be causing stress and anxiety, but you can't really tell how much they're affecting you because they're always there, so You don't try to change them? They hover in the background like the constant noise of an AC – you don't realize how much of a negative impact the noise has until someone turns it off and you suddenly feel a lot better.
Consider Social Media: Is It Having a Negative Effect on You? in one StudyThe researchers paid half the participants $100 each to leave social media platforms for a month, while the other half continued to live life normally. At the end of the experiment, the “quit” group was happier and less stressed. Most importantly, they were surprised. He didn't realize how much of a negative impact the platform had on him.
Use it in life in 2025. Remove some elements from your routine one by one for a while and add some other new elements. Measure and assess the impact it has on your life, so you can maintain the characteristics that inspire happiness and purpose, and eliminate those that don't.