Read 2010/3: Predictably Irrational

Dan Ariely

This is a very, very interesting book- it explains to us why we make the decisions we make and it's just amazing to learn about stuff like this. Sabi ko na nga ba I should've taken up Psychology in uni.

♥ "Everything is relative... we want runway lights on either side of us, guiding us to the place where we can touch down our wheels."
"We are always looking at the things around us in relation to others."

You know what we're told in track & field~ Never look back to see how close the runner behind you is. I don't really know why but my own understanding of this technique is so that you wouldn't get distracted by others, it's just you and the finish line. Do not preoccupy yourself with what the others are doing. I am applying the same in everyday life. Do not compare yourself with others because there's always someone smarter, prettier, richer, better, etc than you, somewhere out there. Unless we accept that truth and keep making other people our benchmark, keeping up with the Joneses ang drama natin nito, which could get pretty detrimental to our being.

Though I am not saying to be too complacent. Of course, one should also have goals and dreams. Also, there's nothing wrong making someone a role model, someone you would like to be someday. This role model should be someone you would want to emulate as to his accomplishments and not because you are envious of his sports car collection. I think there's nothing wrong with wanting things, it's just we just have to know when to stop. Sometimes kasi we just keep on going, trying to have the latest gadgets, latest designer hand bags that we exhaust our savings just to satisfy this foolish whim. Personally, I do want these shiny, new gadgets, wardrobe, etc, but I try not to want them. Why? Because I know that once I heed the call of these stuff, there's no turning back.

♥ The Cost of Zero Cost. I already know this- that something offered for FREE isn't actually free and usually leads us to make bad decisions- but I still get trapped in this every once in awhile. I can think of two scenarios: 1) Selecta's Coffee Crumble is my favorite ice cream flavor. We ALWAYS buy that brand and that flavor. But lo and behold, this other ice cream brand has this new coffee-flavored ice cream with FREE! sugar cones. So we buy this other ice cream brand, leaving us disappointed because it's not as yummy!, and 2) falling in line for a long time just to get something for free. Free nga, but the time spent on that line is worth something. I could have done something productive with that much time.

♥ I can fully relate with The High Price of Ownership. According to the Endowment Effect, we value something we own more than other people do. My mother is the perfect embodiment of this principle. Weird because I think I am the total opposite of this. I think that my stuff are not worth much. Ako lang gumawa nito eh. Sino naman bibili nito ng ganyang presyo? Speaks much of my self-esteem. Ha. There's also this other interesting principle called the Ikea Effect- the more work you put into something, the more ownership you begin to feel for it. Methinks this explains why parents think their children are the Most (insert positive adjective here).

♥ We are often advised that we should never close our doors. But not all doors can be kept open all the time and if we keep on making sure all these doors stay open, we fail to focus on the doors that matter. Doors that ought to be shut should be shut because they draw energy and commitment away from doors that should be left open- and because they drive us crazy. And I think this doesn't pertain only to career opportunities. Someone I know ought to shut this proverbial door on this particular relationship because this relationship (which is really doomed from the start) is eating her time to find a real, viable relationship.

My NY Resolution is to read a book every two weeks but at the rate that I am going, I only get to read one book per month. Not that I don't have time, I have lots of that. It's just that the internet (ahem*tumblr*ahem) takes up most of my precious time. Muchos libros para leer...