Lately, I’ve been noticing a sense of well-being and accomplishment after getting stuff done around the house. I am by no means a person who can actually do anything industrious with or around the house (no painting, drywalling, or building decks for me!), but I am pretty good at cleaning up the kitchen, cooking meals, sorting out finances, and making sure the hummingbirds are happy with their feeders. I’ve noticed, however, that before I do these tasks, I have a mild sense of dread. My brain is somehow predicting that the tasks will be burdensome, annoying, and a lot less enjoyable than simply sitting on my lawn chair and reading a good book. Once I get started, however, I actually find these regular household tasks to be quite enjoyable, and I normally feel a sense of satisfaction when they are done. This brought to mind a couple of topics that are relevant to emotions, psychology, and behaviour change: 1.) how we can go wrong in our predictions of how we will feel when we engage in certain activities, and 2.) the importance of including activities in our daily lives that give us a sense of accomplishment.
As for 1.), researchers have found that, while we are generally fairly good at predicting whether an event will result in positive or negative emotions, several biases can make it difficult for us to accurately predict how we will feel when certain events occur (Wilson & Gilbert, 2003). One such bias has to do with recall. Our recall of events that have happened to us is not always perfect; thus, I might not remember that I actually experience pleasure while washing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen. As a result, when I contemplate these tasks, I might inaccurately predict that I won’t feel so great while doing them. Another bias has to do with what people call inaccurate theories. Basically, this means that we sometimes have inaccurate ideas about which types of activities will result in which types of emotional states. I might think, for example, that I will feel a lot more pleasure sitting in the sun with a snack, reading my book, compared to washing my car or putting the kids to bed. In reality, if I were to measure my happiness during these tasks, it might not be so different. This suggests that, perhaps I should reconsider my theory or idea of what gives me pleasure or happiness. Similarly, if you struggle with the experience of dread in anticipation of certain activities, such as getting out of bed in the morning, socializing with other people, preparing meals, exercising, and so on, it might be worth reconsidering how you construe these activities. As an experiment, it might also be worth keeping track of your mood, pleasure, and happiness during these activities. Indeed, keeping track of activities and associated moods is one of the main components of a very effective treatment for depression – behavioural activation. Stay tuned, as I will address item #2 next time. – Alexander L. Chapman, Ph.D., R.Psych.