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Buy yourself small treats
It’s the same thing with everyone. Whenever we feel miserable or sad, we think buying something for ourselves will make us feel better. Sometimes it works, but most of the times it’s just a short-term hack to cheer us up temporarily.
But guess what? Short-term cheerfulness is exactly what people are looking for when buying small treats for themselves. They all know what they are doing and if it works, then it’s money well spent. “Thus, by treating themselves to frequent, fleeting pleasures (rather than more sporadic but prolonged experiences), consumers can capitalize on the burst of delight that accompanies the first minute of massage, the first bite of chocolate cake, and the first sight of the sea,” authors Dunn, Daniel Gilbert and Wilson concluded in their study.
What matters most is the frequency of these small treats, not their duration. According to Dunn’s research, people felt happier when getting two separate 30-minute massages than one 60-minute massage.
