relative reactions
Have you ever noticed that Fridays seem to go by more slowly than the other days of the week (especially the time between lunch and the weekend)? I think that's because even though we know that Friday is another workday like any other, we have such a solid expectation of the weekend's freedom that we constantly (and probably unconsciously) compare what we're doing in those hours between lunch and the weekend to what we foresee doing once we're released from work.
Here's another one: let's say you need a new pair of shoes. You love the way pair A looks, but it's not a perfect fit. Pair B, however, fits like a... sock but doesn't look quite as nice. Though this isn't a particularly significant decision, it can be a "tough" decision. Say you went with pair B; once you get home you may find yourself with a classic case of buyer's remorse: wouldn't it be worth an imperfect fit to have shoes that looked just right? Of course, had you gone with pair A, you'd probably think the inverse. Now what if there were only a single pair - pair C, which neither looks just right nor fits perfectly - and this particular pair was the best you could find. You'd buy them and have no issues whatsoever, even though they combine the weaknesses of pairs A and B!
Last example: you have to drive from Ann Arbor to Chicago. You've already driven from Chicago to Ann Arbor, and you know it takes a little under 5 hours. However, as you are driving westward you get stuck in the ubiquitous Chicago traffic, and it ends up taking you 6.5 hours. I'd argue that the trip would feel much more irksome expecting the trip to take 5 hours than if you had an expectation that the trip would take 7. This one's pretty obvious.
So what's the point? No point, really. Are you now disappointed because you were expecting a deep, thoughtful, perhaps metaphysical premise? Ok, the point is that most people are highly sensitive to comparison (especially in the western world, I'd expect). In the first and third examples you would be comparing reality to your expectations and judging it based thereon. In the second example there are two options, both of which are actually good options; however, a person is more likely be less satisfied with his/her choice simply because s/he had a choice! In effect, the fact that there is a choice demands a comparison in order to decide. Then this comparison has the potential to lead to dissatisfaction.
I think that last paragraph sounded like I'm saying it's wrong to react this way, but I'm really not. As far as I can tell, it's just human to react this way. Though come to think of it, it does sort of seem like one could live a more peaceful, lower-anxiety life by "living in the moment." Excuse the cliché. Here's where I pontificate... My conclusion is that we should all make our decisions and then be happy with them. Or maybe I should have concluded something else...
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