The amazing benefit of the everyday and humdrum – SCN Encourager

Aiming for the “extraordinary” may be a mistake.

I’ve cancelled my ticket to the “Wow ‘Em with Wonderful Writing!” boot camp.

There’s a research study from Yale (the university, not the lock company) that says that you wouldn’t want me to go.

The study, refuting the famous tagline that “things go better with Coke,” posits that things actually go better with “each other.”

Whether it’s eating chocolate cake, washing the car, or watching the big game on TV, it seems the vast majority of us would prefer to enjoy these activities in the company of other people than do them all alone.

Yale tags this phenomenon as the “power of the shared experience.”

Apparently, when we share experiences with other people, this is when we all score high on Yale’s scientifically-measured happiness scale.

While I originally thought this happiness assessment was just another standardized test obligation, it’s actually on the up and up.

It clearly proves that “shared experiences” help lower our stress and bring us more joy.

And this is why I signed up for the writing bootcamp.

I’m appreciative of the work that you do and I’m grateful for your willingness to check in with the Encourager from time to time.

So I thought that – that just maybe – I could improve on the quality of our “shared experiences” by attempting to make my writing extraordinary.

Well, that was the plan, anyway, until part II of the Yale study uncovered that aiming for the extraordinary wouldn’t be beneficial at all.

In somewhat of a surprise (at least to me!), Yale’s research revealed that we greatly prefer shared “common” experiences, not shared way-over-the-top experiences.

For example, let’s say we’re planning a back-to-school open house or some other school-related event.

Yale would advise us to create an event that invites attendees to participate in friendly activities that are understandable and comfortable.

This is the optimal way to nurture meaningful relationships.

Trying to roll out one time “whiz bang” experiences won’t yield anything close.

Bottom line: Our comfort is found in the common.

Who’d a thunk it?

I know Cindy sure didn’t.

She was eager to see me aim for the extraordinary.

So she says.

I think she just wanted me out of the house for a few days.

——————————————————