So your emotional state really has a lot to do with what you're thinking about and what you're paying attention to.

It's nonsense to say money doesn't buy happiness, but people exaggerate the extent to which more money can buy more happiness.

You should not take your intuitions at face value.

An investment said to have an 80% chance of success sounds far more attractive than one with a 20% chance of failure. The mind can't easily recognize that they are the same.

The psychologist, Paul Rozin, an expert on disgust, observed that a single cockroach will completely wreck the appeal of a bowl of cherries, but a cherry will do nothing at all for a bowl of cockroaches.

Optimistic people play a disproportionate role in shaping our lives. Their decisions make a difference; they are inventors, entrepreneurs, political and military leaders - not average people. They got to where they are by seeking challenges and taking risks.

Some memories come with a very compelling sense of truth about them. And that happens to be the case even with memories that are not true.