The truth is that a study on this wasn’t really necessary, since sadness is a state of mind, and everyone knows that a negative mindset gets you nowhere, while a positive mindset takes you wherever you want to go. Still, the study is curious, to say the least.
Researchers at Harvard University and Columbia University carried out this “experiment,” published in the journal Psychological Science. They brought together a group of people and, using videos and questionnaires, tried to measure how happy the participants were.
The starting point is that happy people tend to make more thoughtful, sounder decisions that aren’t based on “instant gratification,” on the need to be pleased on the spot. Less happy people, on the other hand, “the sad ones,” tend to make decisions out of desperation, without analyzing the situation, seeking immediate pleasure at the expense of their future well-being.
So what does all this have to do with finances or financial freedom? This is the part of the study I love, because these people took part in it in exchange for money.
Once all the tests needed to measure the participants’ happiness and sadness were over, it was time for the company to pay them.
The company gave everyone two payment options:
The first was to receive $35 in cash that same day, and the second was to receive an $85 promissory note that could only be cashed in three months. What happened?
Ninety percent of the participants chose to take the $35 in cash, while the other 10% decided to wait those three months.
As it happened, the 90% who chose the cash were the ones who had shown higher levels of sadness in the tests, while the other 10% were the happiest.
Conclusion: the “sad” participants, those who go through life seeing only the negative, whose words are a constant complaint about everything around them and who rarely appreciate what they have, tend to be more impatient when making a decision. It’s a decision made without analyzing the situation, and they are capable of turning down a bigger reward in the future to get a benefit today.
The happy participants, whose mindset radiates optimism, find a balance when making decisions, basing them on an analysis of the situation and thinking about the long-term benefits, even if that means turning down a reward today.
That’s why we always say that patience is a great virtue, both in business and in stock market investing. And having a positive mindset won’t just help you in business and investing. It will help you in every area of life.
And you… are you one of the sad ones or one of the happy ones?
Further reading
- How to master the “if only I had…” thinking: great enemies of success
- The fable of the fisherman and the businessman: two opposite mindsets
See also: There is no success for successful people
Featured image: Albrecht Dürer, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
