What happens to you when a bad event takes place?

Do you feel that it will go on forever? If you feel that way, you are a normal person.

Why do I bring this up? This is all about what psychologists call ‘impact bias’. This is the tendency of people to over estimate the length of time an intense feeling will stay with you. The research also shows that people will also over estimate the intensity of the feeling as well. Everyone who works with other people needs to remember this because when something happens (good or bad) we can smile after our first thoughts.

This ‘impact bias’ is due to two reasons. Firstly we become extremely focused on what took place and we forget about all the other things that are going on in our lives. Secondly, we have a natural tendency to rationalize what happens in our lives. This tendency to over-estimate the impact of major events can affect our ability to make good decisions.

Whether the event is good or bad we need to realize that it is the actions after an event takes place that will help us move forward in our life. Remember that these actions will have the greatest impact in your long-term growth as a person.