Achieving Personal Fulfillment Ezine (sm)

"Positive Psychology to the Rescue" (sm)
August 2006

Published by Maurine D. Patten, Ed.D., CMC
Founder & CEO, Patten Coaching & Consulting
www.pattencoaching.com

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In This Issue:

1. Preview

2. How You Can Make Better Decisions Starting Today

3. Getting into Action

4. Looking Ahead

1. Preview

Achieving Personal Fulfillment Ezine explores how to progress rapidly from dreams to action.  It is a free monthly email newsletter written by Maurine D. Patten, life/business coach and clinical psychologist.

Using Positive Psychology, topics are presented from the perspective of Maurine Patten and are provided to help you get the results you want.  It will help you manage change, improve your Emotional Intelligence and make better decisions with less effort.

The Facts are in.  Researchers in Positive Psychology have discovered two common errors in making decisions and how to avoid them. 

How happy are you with the decisions you make?  Do your decisions help you achieve your goals, or do you end up regretting them?  There is a growing body of research suggesting that we are not very good at predicting what will make us happy which can cause us to make poor decisions.

This issue focuses on what we can learn from Positive Psychology about making better decisions.

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2. How You Can Make Better Decisions Starting Today

Harvard psychologist and decision-making expert Daniel Gilbert states in his book, Stumbling on Happiness (2006) that we are all guilty of making persistent errors when we pick goals that we think will make us happier.  We think we are good at choosing goals that will increase joy, meaning, happiness, and fulfillment.  We imagine that future events (positive or negative) will be more intense, have a greater impact, and be more enduring than they actually are.

This error in judgment is called "impact bias" and is very hard to overcome because we do a poor job at estimating:

  1. How likely certain outcomes will occur.
  2. How happy certain outcomes will make us feel over time.

We usually over-estimate how likely it is to happen and how good or bad something will make us feel.

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3. Getting into Action

To make a good decision about something that may give you pleasure, you need to make good judgments about two key factors:

  • How likely certain outcomes are.
  • How happy those outcomes will make you.
Dr. Stephen Kraus, author of The Science of Happiness, offers five proven strategies for making better decisions:

  1. Don't weigh "extreme outcomes" too strongly.  We tend to exaggerate how likely an "extreme situation" (either positive or negative) may be because we see vivid images of them in the media.  The more something is in the news, the more likely it seems to us.  In reality, somewhere in the middle is most likely.
  2. Consider success and the possibility of failure.  We are mentally focused on success; this is a key goal-setting principle.  However, it is sensible to have a back-up plan if things don't work out.  It may also help you work harder to be successful.
  3. Get input from others.  There is a tendency for people to underestimate how long activities will take and how happy something will make you.  Trustworthy people around you are often better able to judge how likely certain outcomes are, how easily you can achieve them, and how happy they might make you. 
  4. Avoid "happily-ever-after" thinking.  Although it is common, it is an illusion.  True happiness comes from making progress toward your valued goals.  Achieving a goal may actually lead to a temporary let-down feeling until you define new a new goal.
  5. Overcome any "fear of success" that you might have.  It over-estimates how likely success is and under-estimates how happy it might make you.  Moderate successes make you happier than being paralyzed by fear. 
For instance, if you were trying to decide whether you should take job "A" or "B", observe people who have those jobs; see how happy they are.  In helping people change careers, I strongly encourage doing information interviews to address this question.  When you do this, you will make a more accurate decision for yourself.

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4. Looking Ahead

It is not enought to just imagine yourself in the future, and then guess how you will feel.  Even a randomly selected person has been proven to provide a better basis for predicting positive feelings than does your own imagination.

Dan Gilbert stresses that the way to avoid the two errors in decision-making is to find someone you trust that has already experienced the future you are thinnking of.  How does that person actually feel?  The more similar the person is to you, the more informative their experience will be.

What decisions are you struggling with?  Let me help you avoid the two major errors in decision-making so that you can move forward with your life. I look forward to hearing from you, mdpcoach@pattencoaching.com.


Maurine Patten
mdpcoach@pattencoaching.com

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With advance permission, we are happy to edit an issue to fit your space requirements. Republication also is encouraged under other circumstances. However, the advance permission of Patten Coaching and Consulting must be obtained in the event that changes in the text are desired.

Mission

Achieving Personal Fulfillment Ezine is dedicated to inspiring and expanding your perspective in order for you to move forward in your personal and professional life.

Achieving Personal Fulfillment Ezine is a publication of Patten Coaching & Consulting; CEO, Maurine D. Patten, Ed.D., CMC,  mdpcoach@pattencoaching.com

We would like Achieving Personal Fulfillment Ezine to be as interactive as possible. If you have feedback, comments, topics you would like addressed, or can suggest additional resources to benefit us all, please email us at any time. Send your e-mail to ezinefeedback@pattencoaching.com.

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Archives

You can read previous issues of Achieving Personal Fulfillment Ezine in our archives on our archives page.

About Maurine D. Patten, Ed.D., CMC

Maurine Patten is a clinical psychologist and certified life coach.  Her professional career includes: independent business owner (25 years), Assistant Professor at Chicago State University, and consultant for education and business. She is a graduate of the MentorCoach program and a member of the International Coach Federation. She is experienced in training and management development for large national and international firms. She has a strong background in working with individuals and couples on clarifying and achieving goals.

Dr. Patten has training in coaching, Emotional Intelligence, retirement assessment and planning, cognitive therapy and health psychology. She has published articles, made presentations, and conducted workshops about::
  • Positive Psychology
  • Emotional Intelligence
  • Creating a Fulfilling Retirement
  • Anxiety and Achievement
  • Stress Management
  • Setting and Achieving Goals
  • Self-Esteem
  • Communication Skills
  • Marital/relationship Enrichment
  • Wellness Issues


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