The Hindu Business Line : Is your satisfaction subtracted?

The other day, I had quite an annoying experience. A car was parked right in front of our house, half-blocking our gate that opened into the street. The thought of a car blocking our gate was, indeed, disturbing. And that led to a sharp reduction in satisfaction levels that I derived from other activities that day! Why?

Classical economists argue that the “utility” or the satisfaction that we derive from a good or activity is only dependent on that good or activity. My experience shows otherwise.

I had an interesting business meeting that day, read an absorbing book and watched cartoons with my daughter. Yet, the satisfaction that I derived from all these activities was far less than what it would have been had the car not been parked in front of my gate!

You will agree that all of us like to be in control, or at least delude ourselves that we are in control. The fact that I could not move the car out of the way went against this grain of illusion. This created a high dissonance- a cost that was eating into the satisfaction levels that I derived from other activities carried out that day.

Barry Schwartz, author of the best-selling book Paradox of choice, mentions a similar case. A man and a woman are on a two-week holiday at a very costly resort. Yet, the man is only thinking of the parking space in Lower Manhattan! Why?

Parking in Lower Manhattan is mostly a luxury. It is easier to get a good parking space when many residents are on holiday. So, instead of enjoying his holiday, this man is nagged by the thought that he is missing out the opportunity of parking in front of his house in Manhattan! And that thought subtracted the utility that he derived from his holiday.

Do you experience such conflicting thoughts that subtract your utility levels as well? Perhaps, we should all learn to live in the “now”. That will reduce the dissonance and increase our satisfaction levels.

(The author is an investment strategist.)

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