We are continually told we must not fear failure, we must be willing to take risks.
Easier said than done, right? But research reported in New Scientist magazine came to one key conclusion:
“Don’t fear the consequences.”
It turns out that we are very bad at judging the emotional impact of our decisions.
For instance, most people overestimate how happy it would make them to win the lottery and how unhappy it would make them to lose their jobs.
We also tend to be risk-averse, fearing the consequences of a poor decision. Harvard professor Daniel Gilbert points out, “We’re very good at finding new ways to see the world that make it a better place to live in.”
The implication is that rather than guessing about the impact of a decision, we should find someone who has made a similar decision and see how it worked out for them.
It's unlikely that we’re taking as big a risk as it may seem, that the effect (good or bad) will probably not be as strong as it may seem, and even if it is, we will be better at adapting then we think we will.
