Research shows that living life and thinking about it are two fundamentally different things: The experiencing self and the remembering/reflecting self are two distinct entities that make up happiness
of the moment and happiness in general. The remembering self can easily contradict the experiencing self (a moment can be experienced as beautiful/painful, but the memory may be distorted by
additional factors and not overlap with the feeling experienced in the moment). As the storyteller of life has a longer tenure it can distort or trick the actual experience. Is happiness determined by
how happy a person is in the moment or by how a person remembers that moment? Why do we put so much emphasis on memories rather than the experience itself?
Happiness has to be measured on both
scales, as they are fundamentally different. And while many people will never live a happier or less happy life, changing factors of their lives will make them think they are happier now that they
made changes.
The experience of happiness will play a greater role in politics in the future.
