Experiencing something -- the savory taste of a pepperoni pizza, the sound of gentle waves lapping sugary white sand -- can be an utter delight to the senses.  But according to studies, the experience actually pales in comparison to the anticipation of that experience.  Here are just a few examples: 1. Planning and looking forward to a vacation vs. actually being there. 2. Planning to buy clothes, a car, or other items compared to consuming them.  3. Picturing yourself eating a hearty meal (especially on an empty stomach and/or while watching a restaurant ad) vs actually eating it.  Dopamine, commonly considered the happiness or "feel good" chemical, is more involved in the anticipation of an event or feeling than in the actual feeling of happiness. Often, the experience falls short of what we imagined, whether because it rains on the trip, the food leaves us with gas, or we get buyers' remorse for something we later discover we could have bought elsewhere for much c...

In the U.S., most people consider Memorial Day weekend the unofficial start of summer. And rightfully so. This time of year, people hit the beach in droves, take exciting vacations, and fire up the barbecue virtually every weekend. It's hard to believe that today is the last day of the month of May. It feels like it was only yesterday that we were celebrating Cinco de Mayo and, more recently, Mother's Day. Hopefully, you found May a productive month and managed to achieve one or more goals, if not inch closer to that end. If May was nothing to write home about -- maybe you didn't land that job you wanted, got dumped, or had to deal with a lot of crap at work -- you're certainly not alone. A new month means being able to press the Reset button and start with a clean slate. Whatever your goals, here's the chance to work even harder than you did last month toward accomplishing them. Whatever your passions, June presents a fresh opportunity to indulge them...

I know a couple of people who have cancelled their Facebook accounts within the past three months.  Could this be the start of a mass exodus? Could people really be leaving Facebook in droves? I sincerely doubt it, as Facebook has close to 2 billion users worldwide. Still, one has to wonder whether many people are beginning to grow tired of the routine. Over the years, Facebook has become a breeding ground for narcissists and attention hounds. I have a couple of Facebook friends who check in at and post pictures (in real time) of nearly every venue they visit while on vacation. This includes everything from restaurants to before-I-go-to bed selfies at the hotel. It's really gotten out of control. Can't people leave anything to the imagination anymore? Can't they put the phone down and just enjoy their vacations? Why not leave the posting of pictures for later, once they're back in town? I'm not saying Facebook is all bad. It's a great medium on whi...

When you look back on the best times of your life, vacations are likely to come to mind -- whether family trips to Walt Disney World as a child, scuba diving adventures with friends, or romantic Caribbean escapes with your spouse. But why is it that vacations hold so much meaning? Why do we have a tendency to say "I need a vacation" in the first place? It's simple: vacations help us escape reality. They offer welcome respite from the daily grind, which, for most people, starts with getting up for work and ends with going to sleep to get up for work. In other words, vacations break a pattern of mundaneness in our life, even if only for a couple of days. Beyond that, vacations create memories, some of which remain etched in our minds and hearts for the rest of our lives. Like eating something new for the first time or entering into a new relationship, visiting a new destination can be very exciting. For example, to behold the Grand Canyon or Statue of Liberty fo...

What would you do if someone gave you a cheap gift ?  With Christmas just a few weeks away, people are hitting the malls in full force, snagging everything from clothing to electronics. For some people, their holiday shopping list includes a few less expensive items they may plan to give to acquaintances or people they don't know all too well, like their kids' teachers, the cleaning lady at work, and so on. But sometimes we receive what we'd consider cheap gifts even from friends or relatives. This especially throws us for a loop when we've always given the other person higher-quality stuff. Would you feel the gift is a reflection of how much (or little) that individual values you? The first thing one has to determine is whether the person is strapped for cash. If he or she bought you something cheap because they really can't do any better at this time, then it's understandable. Most of us would probably do the same if we were in their shoes. The mere ...

It's finite. It's in short supply. And there's nothing we should be working harder to make the most of than this. Any idea what I'm talking about? It's time. Now, does making the most of your time necessarily mean that you ought to be taking as many vacations as you can possibly squeeze into a year? Does making the most of your time mean you should be having as many children as you can? Does making the most of your time mean you should aim to buy the best car and biggest house you can afford? If anything, such pursuits seem like they'd be an even bigger drain on your time. The question becomes: Do you think investing a lot of your time -- the scarcest commodity you have -- on these things is worth it? When it comes to travel, we spend a significant amount of time at airports, on flights, and in cabs. What's more, you have to factor all the time spent planning the vacation, including researching key sites and attractions, booking flights and tou...

I don't know if it's just me, but I'm noticing that a lot of my friends have been less active on Facebook these days. Are we getting busier, or is the site's popularity starting to wane? About a year ago, I told some of my closest friends that I predicted the social networking behemoth would eventually go the way of MySpace. It's to be expected of all these sites: They are simply fads. Once something new comes along -- I don't know what that will be but I'm sure Google or another of these huge companies has something in the works -- people gravitate toward it. The same applies to a wealth of consumer products we purchase and use every day -- from clothing to cars. I know a lot of people -- myself among them -- who sometimes feel like their friends go overboard by posting on Facebook the most minute details of their lives on a daily basis, from what they're having for dinner to why they hardly got any sleep last night. We all want to keep in touch, bu...

I've noticed a trend when poring over my Facebook Wall posts: It's usually women who love submitting posts about anything and everything in their lives, from pictures of the foods they eat at restaurants to videos of their newborns. Yet, most men don't seem to share this inclination to publicize everything. Sure, they post pictures and other content here and there, but not to the same degree as their female counterparts. Is it that women are simply trying to outdo other women? It's a well-known fact that women size each other up all the time. Women keenly observe how other women dress, their bodies, their hair, and even their mannerisms. Whether in the workplace or at the club, they are always in competition with each other. Now, that's not to say that men aren't competitive with one another, but I've seen it happen more often with the fairer sex -- and the latter tend to be less subtle about it. I've noted in earlier posts that Facebook is becom...