In Dan Gilbert’s presentation on happiness (September 2006), he mentioned that there’s a distinct difference in how we perceive things. When we wanted something and we get it, the emotion that we experience is regarded as real happiness. When we wish for something and we fail to get it, we become unhappy and sad. However, there’s a group of people among us who feel happy despite the fact that they do not get what they want. On the contrary, they actually feel happier because of it as they feel that there is often happiness in the absence of things. This is known as synthetic happiness.

Indeed, it seems that we can choose to be happy. The existence of synthetic happiness has proven this. However, to achieve happiness through a choice, we need to be optimistic. This is something that all of us can choose to do, including the pessimists. Much attention has been given to real happiness rather than synthetic happiness as acquiring material things has always been crucial to the sustainment of societies and economies. If we choose synthetic happiness (which – when combined with real happiness - makes the spectrum of happiness complete), consumption will fall (since we now treasure losing something over purchasing or acquiring something) and this does not benefit the workings of the global economy.

So, the next time you have lost something, be happy. Because life works in mysterious ways and there’s always a reason behind everything. More often than not, you might be better without it.