last week i had drinks with a couple of friends whom i've lost contact with since high school. one became an ibanker but hates his job because he works from 8:30am to midnight most nights + weekends. they gave him a crackberry and he basically has to drop whatever he's doing and tend to whoever's needs it is in Japan (or wherever) when it starts buzzing. On top of that, he works with people who are "evil" as he would call them. he said that "these people would bend down and strangle your puppy when you're not looking". yikes!

but he got talking about perspective and how he's always the eternal optimist no matter what. he said that he dated a girl who studied psychology and she did a study that interviewed people who won the lottery. not just $20 or $500 but the jackpot and needless to say these people were ecstatic. she also interviewed people who became disabled (for example lost their legs) and they were overwhelmingly distraught. one year later, she interviewed those same groups of people and found that their happiness levels were the same!!!!

you would never think that right? and furthermore, i don't even know how accurately this experiment was executed, if she asked biased or leading questions, was there a control side, etc. etc. etc. BUT regardless, i do believe its possible. it's basically all about perspective. he said it's not always easy trying to see the bright side of things, but its something you can work at. nobody wants to be a debbie downer :P