olympicsIt’s the Olympics again this year which reminds of a study I heard about that was done way back in 1995.

A team of researchers found that whilst gold medalists are obviously the happiest of all Olympic competitors, bronze medalists are probably happier than the silver medalists. They even managed to replicated their findings in later studies and found this 1-3-2 effect to be at a consistent level. Surprising you may ask yourself…

So naturally we have to ask, why are the people who come in third place happier than those who beat them and came in second?

It all sounds a bit weird to me..

The researchers conducting the study believe this is caused by “counter factual thinking” or in other words, thinking about what ‘might have been’ if only something else had been done or different.

For instance, the silver medalist might very well be thinking, “What if I had just gone ever so slightly faster? I could have won!” But the bronze medal winner might be thinking, “Wow, I almost didn’t get a medal at all, I’m really lucky to be on this podium with the other two.”

So you could say silver medalists view themselves as the first loser, while bronze medalists think of themselves as the last winner. (Don’t you just love how the human brain works)?

This is top down thinking versus bottom up thinking, and it can make a vast difference in how you view yourself and your business. In fact, it can even determine how happy you allow yourself to be.

For instance, if you view your online business as small and unsuccessful compared to those who are earning more than you, you’re more likely to be unhappy and dissatisfied yourself. But if you compare your business to those that are smaller than yours, you’re more likely to be happy.

So what’s the importance of all this? Research shows us the happier you are, the better you perform. Thus, if you have to compare yourself to others, do it on a downward scale. This will actually put you in the right frame of mind to perform better and accomplish more in your business life.

Conversely, if you insist on comparing yourself to those whose accomplishments far exceed yours, you’ll not only make yourself unhappy and you’ll also make it harder to reach a higher level of success.

I’m looking forward to the Olympics this year anyway (I’m an armchair athlete). I might just be looking at those bronze medalists in a different light now 🙂


    5 replies to "Why Are Bronze Medal Winners Happier Than Silver?"

    • Denise

      Great insights! I had never really thought about it this way! I don’t have an online business, but I think this could probably apply in many contexts. Thanks for sharing, Kim!

    • JOnathan

      Nice. Thanks for sharing the insight.

    • Sharon

      You know, I learn a lot from you always. And this post is no exception.

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