Happiness and The Expectation Gap

Why are we getting richer but not happier? Why do lottery winners not have sustained happiness? Why are bronze medalists often happier than silver medalists? Why does having more choice decrease our wellbeing? Why does trying to be happy often make us more unhappy? These are important questions to answer. Nat Ware will explore the groundbreaking research on happiness that has been undertaken at Oxford and Harvard over the past decade. Interestingly, our thinking process fundamentally differs from our feeling process, and we often unintentionally create expectation gaps - the gaps between our expectations and reality. This entertaining and educational talk will challenge you to start taking your happiness seriously, to change the very way you make decisions, and to not seduced into a way of life that conspires against your contentment. At the end of this talk you will be able to: (a) Know the underlying reason why we regularly make decisions that reduce, rather than increase, our happiness; (b) Understand the three main drivers of unhappiness (regret, insignificance, and disappointment); (c) Apply strategies for living a happier and more satisfying life, including knowing how to dealing with excess choice, how to manage risk and uncertainty, how to have the right perspective in every situation, and how to manage expectations.

Happiness, Well-Being, and Personal Development:

• How to be happy
• Finding meaning in everyday work
• How to embrace, manage, and deal with risks
• How to be more productive
• Lenses to live by
• How to make the best decisions possible (by understanding common errors in human decision making and having the right perspective at all times)
• How to live a life of no regrets

Social Impact, Non-Profits and Social Entrepreneurship:

• How to have the great possible impact with your life
• How to live an environmentally sustainable life
• How to be the best possible consultant you can be
• How to make charities and aid more effective

Unleashing Innovation and Utilizing Technology:

• How to become more creative/innovative
• How to come up with great ideas every single day
• Technological trends (what will happen, and how will this affect our lives, our work, and our relationships)
• New types of business models that were not previously possible

The Millenial Mindset:

• Understanding how millennials think and why they think this way
• How to recruit and manage top talent

Adventure and Risk-Taking:

• How to live a fit, adventurous and memorable life (drawing on personal experiences such as swimming the English Channel and completing Ironman Triathlons)
• How to reconceptualize the concept of risk so that you can embrace, manage, and deal with risks
• How to challenge conventions in a way that makes the world work for you