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#1,033 - August 7, 2024

Yay! I finished third! 

If you happened to catch the men's 100-meter butterfly competition in the Olympics, you would know that two Canadians got on the podium with silver and bronze medals. I couldn't help but notice how much happier the bronze medalist, Ilya Karhun, appeared to be compared to the silver medalist, Josh Liendo, after they saw the results. In fact, the commentators made a comment (as commentators are prone to doing) about Karhun's self-congratulations and how happy he looked at the end of the race.  

This pattern repeats itself time and time again. A 1995 study by three psychologists and a study by the University of Iowa in 2021 both found that bronze medalists do indeed tend to be happier than silver medalists, which, on the surface, doesn't seem to make any sense. 

The reason - and this affects our happiness and outlook in every aspect of our lives - has to do with something known as "counterfactual thinking," the phenomenon of comparing our achievements to what might have been. 

So, the theory goes, silver medalists focus (at least initially) on what they lost. Silver medalists lose out on a goal medal (in Liendo's case, by a mere 0.9 seconds), whereas the bronze medalists are thinking, "Phew, I made it onto the podium!" 

One is focused on what they lost. 

The other is focused on what they gained.       

So, what lens are you looking at your achievements and results through? Intentionally reminding ourselves to focus on and celebrate our wins rather than churning over what could have been is a powerful way to stay more motivated in any aspect of our lives.