Happiness bump

I like that phrase. Let's all start using it.

Folks, I'm still kind of off my schedule. So, we'll drive on - normal newsletter today, FFA on Friday, Big Optimism on Monday, and then back to our normal pace next week, we hope. This means the next Life Story Magic entry will just run next Wednesday.

Life happens! Thanks for everyone's patience!

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Photo by Sonaal Bangera on Unsplash

It’s mid-February, and I’m far behind. A few examples that prove the point (but also make me laugh):

• Well, the whole newsletter scheduling thing, as noted above. No need to rehash that.

• Oh, there's a New Year's discount coupon for the gym near my house, still sitting pinned to the bulletin board.

• And, the opportunity for a massive “happiness bump” coinciding with National Plan for Vacation Day? The pseudo-holiday has come and gone, and I've yet to share the story.

Let's remedy that. Because there’s still time to get the emotional and cognitive rewards that come along with the process of planning a vacation, at least according to Yale University cognitive scientist Laurie Santos, who has studied and written widely on the idea:

“Planning a vacation can give you an unexpected happiness bump because experiences matter for our well-being more than we expect. When you book a vacation, you experience the reward of anticipating a positive experience.

The happiness boost we get from travel can last long after you book your ticket—from the moments you happily anticipate your getaway, to taking the fun trip itself, to the times you recall trip high points with friends once you get back home.”

I think she may have coined the phrase, "happiness bump," too. I like it.

Now, let’s give credit where it’s due: I had no idea any of this was a thing, except that United Airlines sent me a note that they'd teamed up with Santos to explore the “happiness bump” idea and to promote the idea of booking a vacation via United Airlines -- an airline that is apparently better organized than I am these days.

They also took the opportunity to commission a survey of “1,323 nationally representative Americans,” and came up with a few happiness-boosting, vacation-related statistics.

The survey suggested that 68 percent of people say January is a month when they need something to look forward to, and that people actually said they get slightly more happiness out of sharing memories of their trips with others (83 percent) than they do while experiencing the trips themselves (82 percent).

United also said 73 percent of people said they derived happiness from the experience of planning a getaway—basically, the same point Santos has made, including on her podcast, The Happiness Lab.

Anecdotally, I’ll add some firsthand experience to this, as my family has been planning an epic trip to the Grand Canyon and other locations in Arizona later this spring with some family (including lots of cousins).

So far, the planning has been fun, and I also enjoy having little jolts of “nice problems” to deal with.

• Should we stay in this house with the amazing pool, or that one with the beautiful view?

• Do we want to take this awe-inspiring tour of the canyon, or try another epic adventure?

• Will the epic, corny, practical Dad Joke I have planned for the trip be extremely funny, or just very funny?

(Why not all of the above?)

Santos also had a point—echoed by United Airlines, of course—about how the experience of planning and then going on vacation improves happiness more than making a big new purchase like clothing, jewelry, home goods—and especially electronics:

“A vacation gives you a bigger and more lasting happiness bump because as humans, we are delighted by the novelty of the unknown.

The thrill of a new handbag wears off quickly since you get used to them through a trick our mind does called “hedonic adaptation,” but travel brings new experiences each day that delight and engage us.

And then we build on that through social connections by traveling with other people and talking about our trip with them later.”

Remember, even if you missed National Plan for Vacation Day, planning is free no matter what day you do it.

Paying for the vacation? That might be another story. Still, if you’re running behind like me, try looking at it all this way:

Maybe we’re not late on our plans for the New Year after all. Maybe we can just all agree to call it “early for spring cleaning.”

There's no rule that says you can't start going to the gym again in March.

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7 other things worth knowing today

• For 16 months, despite mounting evidence to the contrary, Israelis clung to the hope that the Bibas family’s young, flame-haired children and their mother might somehow be alive. The kidnapping of Shiri, 33; Ariel, 4; and nine-month-old Kfir during the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, instantly became a searing symbol of that day’s brutality—and of the country’s desperate hopes for the safety of its loved ones. But on Tuesday, Hamas said the bodies of the hostages it will release this week would include those of Shiri and her sons. The news cast a pall over Israel. (WSJ)

• Over 6,000 Internal Revenue Service employees are expected to be terminated by the end of this week -- height of tax season, of course -- including 3,500 in the Small Business/Self-Employed Division (SBSE), which is in charge of enforcing tax laws for small businesses. As of 2023, the IRS had 82,990 employees. (CBS News)

• Speaking of national parks and reductions in workforce: About 1,000 newly hired National Park Service employees have been fired. Park advocates say the permanent staff cuts will leave hundreds of national parks — including some of the most well-known and most heavily visited sites — understaffed and facing tough decisions about operating hours, public safety and resource protection. (AP)

• President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy exchanged terse insults on Wednesday, following meetings between U.S. and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday without representatives from Ukraine. Trump repeatedly has said that he is the only one who can bring an end to the war, but Ukraine’s exclusion from the negotiations on Tuesday appears to have exacerbated a wedge between Washington and Kyiv. While Zelenskyy accused Trump of perpetuating Russian "disinformation" on Wednesday, Trump clapped back and labeled Zelenskyy a "dictator" who has failed his country. (Fox News)

• Andrew Lester, 86, a Kansas City man who pleaded guilty to felony assault in the second degree for shooting and wounding Ralph Yarl, a Black teenager who mistakenly knocked on his door, has died while awaiting sentencing, prosecutors said. (ABC News)

• In an atmosphere that could rival any Game 7, the United States and Canada are set for a rematch to crown the winner of the 4 Nations Face-Off tonight. The championship game — scheduled for 8 p.m. ET at TD Garden in Boston — will conclude the four-nation, best-on-best tournament the NHL is staging this year in lieu of its All-Star Game. The U.S. and Canada already played once in the tournament (USA 3, Canada 1), in a game that saw three fights break out in the first 9 seconds. (The Athletic)

• Can you remember your dreams? Some people wake up and consistently remember their dreams in vivid detail — including complex storylines, dialogue, and locations — while others have no dream memory whatsoever. Scientists from the IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca in Italy set out to investigate the factors influencing dream recall. Younger study participants reported higher dream recall rates, while older individuals often experienced white dreams — a feeling of having dreamt without knowing any details or imagery. (Discover)

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Thanks for reading. Photo by Sonaal Bangera on Unsplash. I wrote about some of this before at Inc.com. See you in the comments!