People are happiest when they're trying to achieve goals that are difficult but not out of reach.
Daniel GilbertWe humans can look deep into future and predict what will happen, but then turn around and do nothing about it.
Daniel GilbertYour mistake was not in imagining things you could not knowโthat is, after all, what imagination is for. Rather, your mistake was in unthinkingly treating what you imagined as though it were an accurate representation of the facts.
Daniel GilbertI have everything that I could possibly want in life, from a gorgeous granddaughter and a wonderful wife, brilliant students, the best job anyone could hope for, and about half of my hair. Not the half I would have kept, but no one consulted me.
Daniel GilbertNo one likes to be criticized, of course, but if the things we successfully strive for do not make our future selves happy, or if the things we unsuccessfully avoid do, then it seems reasonable (if somewhat ungracious) for them to cast a disparaging glance backward and wonder what the hell we were thinking.
Daniel Gilbert