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Happy Choices

Speaking of Daniel Gilbert, he was asked by the Washington Post for some suggestions on making choices that'll make us happier in 2008. Gilbert said one mistake people often make is overestimating the negative impact of a bad decision, and that keeps us playing it safe. Got a dream? His advice is to go for it. The unhappiness of wallowing in indecision, he says, will be even greater than trying something and failing.

Matt's View

That isn't to say we should all throw caution to the wind and start investing in penny stocks. But it does suggest that we'd be better off trying to achieve one of our dreams rather than hanging out on the fence for another year. Have you been dreaming of taking a year off, but the fear of leaving your job is holding you back? Maybe this is the year to begin saving for a sabbatical fund.

What dream is on your heart? What steps could you take this year toward making it happen?

This article filed in: Happiness

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"To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'" - 2 Corinthians 12:7-9

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