Previous studies have shown that people tend to overestimate their future earnings and life expectancy while underestimating the likelihood of negative events like divorce or health issues. The curiosity here lies in understanding why, despite the advantages of unbiased assessments, people still skew towards optimism.
This article hurts.
In 2018, my coworker got a promotion, bought a Tesla. In 2021, got another promotion and put a down payment on a house. In 2023, got divorced and spiralled. A lot. He hates his Tesla and has been trying to get rid of it. He’s constantly sharing house repair issues. His mental health has gotten bad.
We are trying our best to empathize but his work is suffering, which means at some point, we’ll have to let him go.
Shit sucks. Stash money away for a rainy day, because life does hit hard.
Dawson found that individuals with higher cognitive abilities were less likely to fall into “extreme optimism” about their financial futures. In contrast, they were more likely to have realistic or even pessimistic expectations. For example, those with cognitive abilities two standard deviations below the mean exhibited a higher probability of “extreme optimism” compared to those two standard deviations above the mean.
if you believe everything is good then there’s nothing you need to do,
whereas if you see the world as it is or with a pessimistic perspective then you’re probably more likely to seek out knowledge to better prepare for yourself
Add comment