The Optimism Bias-we may be born with them.
"Our vision of our future is often rosier than reality"
Interesting statistics:
*10% of Americans who expect to live to 100
In reality: 0.02% live that long
*0% median assessment by surveyed U.S. marriage-license applicants of Likelihood that will divorces
*93% of people surveyed who believed they were in the top 50th percentile for driving ability
"optimists were more likely than nonoptimistic patient to take vitamins, eat low-fat diets and exercise."
"pessimistic patient under the age of 60 were more likely to die within eight months than nonpessimistic patients of the same initial health, status and age.'
"People felt their memories were as accurate as videotape, while often they were filled with errors."
"As a result, memory also ends up being a reconstuctive process, and occasionally, details are deleted and others inserted."
"we did not anticipate losing our job, being ill or getting a divorce, but when these incidents occur, we search for the upside. These experiences mature us , we think. They may lead to more fulfilling jobs and stable relationships in the future. Interpreting a mis fortune in this way allows us to conclude that our sunny expectations were correct after aa- thinhs working out for the best."
"People perceived adverse events more positively if they had experienced them in the past."
"Making a decision may be a tiring, difficult ordeal, butonce you make up your mind , something miraculous happens."
"This affirmation of our decisions helps us derive heightened pleasure from choices that might be neutral. Without this our lives might well be filled with second-guessing."
"We would find ourselves stuck, overcome by indecision and unable to move forward."
"Positive expectations enhance the odds of survival."
Awareness rarely shatters the illusion."
