How do we avoid the stupidest mistake? Prof Raj recommends a three-step process.
We should create a happy thing list, ie things that will make us happy. For Prof Raj, that is to hang out with friends and be productive as professor. Then we must start doing things on the list.
These two steps will ensure that happiness becomes less abstract and more concrete. We will also no longer harbour any misconceptions about happiness. And when we start doing these things, we are less likely to fall prey to medium maximisation.
But we need a third step. We must ask ourselves periodically whether we are prioritising happiness. Raj once reminded himself at a store, how important happiness was for him, when he was buying glasses. That is how he was able to avoid a wrong decision that would have reduced his happiness.
