What's your 10 Year "Happy" Plan?

Making difficult, life-altering decisions would be a breeze if we had a magic crystal ball to tell us which choices would most ensure our happiness.

But alas, no such thing exists, and we're left up to our own devices to plot our futures and hope for the best.

This onerous act of predicting our happiness is called "Affective Forecasting" -- as coined by Harvard University Psychology professor Dan Gilbert.

In his research, Gilbert explores our thought processes and determines just how good our brains are at forecasting what will make us happy in the future.

Whether our decisions are small ("What shirt will I feel most comfortable in tomorrow?") or large ("Should I spend the rest of my life with John or Pierre?") our brain tries to decide very rapidly how to maximize happiness.

However, certain obstacles get in our way during this decision making process. Gilbert calls one of these obstacles "Impact Bias" -- which is a tendency to believe events will have a stronger impact than they usually do.

For example... Do you remember your first heartbreak? It was debilitating and terrifying and made you believe you'd never find love again. But after time passed and you learned to live with out your significant other, you grew stronger and realized he or she wasn't as significant as you had thought.

According to Gilbert, humans are susceptible to this Impact Bias because we are overly-rational beings.

"People are very good at finding the good in the bad – very good at making the best of the situations that they are irrevocably stuck with. But they don't know they have this talent," says Gilbert.

So with all this in mind, is it possible to Affectively Forecast our future? Should you constantly be evaluating -- and re-evaluating -- what you think will make you happy five years from now? Not exactly. If you are constantly focusing all of your energy on the future, how can you ever truly appreciate your present? You need to avoid planning out every aspect of your future, because what happens if something doesn't go as planned?

Your goal: Try as best as you can to maintain a healthy balance of flexibility versus assuredness when it comes to guessing what will make you content.

Holley Simmons reporting!

HAPPINESS TIPS -- plucked fresh from my BE HAPPY DAMMIT sirius radio show!

They say money can't buy happiness.

They is right -- but only half right.

You can maybe snag some happiness if you buy "experiences" rather than things.

It's like this...

German scholar Stefan Klein -- author of “The Science of Happiness” -- says his research shows...

“Things per se cannot bring you happiness at all. It is only the 'experience' of possessing something which can trigger the emotion of happiness."

Meaning?

When a new possession does trigger happiness, it is actually only triggering the "new experience" of having a new thing, like a new, bigger car, for example. It's the experiecing of the newness of the car you're feeling -- not the object itself. Once the new car is NOT new to you anymore, the experience of owning this object fades, and so too will your happiness.

The solution?

Invest more of your moola and time in experiences like vacations -- dinners with loved ones -- films - museum visits -- strolls along the beach -- sport activities -- any/all events and happenings which will bring you longterm happy memories!

Harvard University social psychologist Daniel Gilbert --NYTimes best selling author of “Stumbling on Happiness” -- agrees.

Gilbert pithily explains the happiness perks of happy experiences like this...

"Goods tarnish over time. Experiences, on the other hand, can get better as you remember them -- especially if you're one of the many people who tend to embellish when remembering your past -- which many people are!"

My guests who offered positive happy experiences:

Francine Segan, award winning cookbook author of many cookbooks including THE OPERA LOVER'S COOKBOOK -- and recent nominee for James Beard award

Ceslie Armstrong, founder of the fabulous entertaining and informative CESLIE TV

Adam Walden, President of GEN ART -- a terrific organization which brings you the hottest in fashion, film, art, photography -- you name it

Social Diva, an amazing social networking organization

Lisa Goldberg of Sapa,a sexy/sleek/indulgent restaurant --- with a conscience -- holding an upcoming celebrity-waitered fundrasier dinner for Lou Gehrig disease

Want more happiness tips -- told to you LIVE?

Listen to my free, free, free BE HAPPY DAMMIT radio sample podcasts, snipped fresh from the airwaves of my daily drivetime SIRIUS show, on Lime Channel 114 by clicking this linkerooni here!