🛬 Arrival fallacy: An often overlooked part of goal-setting.

As we set our New Year resolutions and intentions, don’t forget to set your expectations accordingly, too.

There are various types of fallacies—aka “mistaken beliefs”. A lot of the fallacies that we are aware of count as logical fallacies or logical gaps that invalidate arguments. These include the Straw Man, Bandwagon, or False Dilemma fallacies, among others.

A fallacy that is strongly connected to goal-setting, which is a common activity at the start of a new year, is an emotion-based one called the Arrival fallacy. It could cause a lack of self-fulfillment which could lead to anxiety and other negative outcomes.

Image source: stylist.co.uk

The security check

So, what exactly is “Arrival Fallacy”, and what are the criteria of someone who experiences it? Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar, a Harvard-trained expert on positive psychology, was the first to coin this term.

Arrival fallacy is the emotional and intellectual illusion of long-term happiness after achieving a long-sought goal, only for that happiness to incrementally fade away in empty waves of shallow hopelessness shortly after reaching the goal. — Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar

In short, it’s when you don’t feel as great a sense of happiness after achieving your goal, as you thought you would. Those with arrival fallacy may be masking unhappiness that worsens after the goal is achieved. Some examples include:

• You got in into the top 3 universities in the country, but it doesn’t give you the intelligence benefits you thought it would.

• Your side-hustle business is thriving, but at the same time the industry’s climate is becoming more and more challenging.

• You end up with an ideal life partner, but it does not make you feel secure.

Learn more about Arrival Fallacy from the full article here or the visual explanation here.

What pushes the take-off

Dr. Ben-Shahar has stated that while most people can predict what might may them happy, they usually misjudge the preconceived intensity and overall duration of said happiness.

There are also other reasons why achieving goals might not bring genuine happiness:

1. Hedonic Adaptation (Getting Used To Rewards)

   Happiness becomes ‘up in the air’ when it does not come from within but from external factors such as money, people, objects, and events.

2. Creating New Goals Without Pausing To Relish

   The positive feelings of accomplishment do not last for long after we achieve a goal because there is already another goal waiting in line.

3. Fear Of Happiness Or Loss Of Good Luck

   Some people are cherophobic, which means they are afraid to let themselves be happy without concern. Read more about cherophobia in our recent edition here.

4. Wrong Social And Parental Conditioning

   The false conditioning that achieving goals = happiness. This perception wrongly assumes that our life will be trouble-free after achieving success.

Find more reasons why people might experience Arrival Fallacy in the full think-piece here.

The clean landing

The journey of achieving a goal is almost like riding a roller coaster—you secure yourself with all kinds of preparations for what’s to come, and then you reach the climax of euphoria when you succeed.

Another important part that needs strategizing, is how to land from the high safely. Here are ways you can do to avoid landing on arrival fallacy:

• From A Black And White Point To Interconnected Nuances

  The arrival fallacy is point-focused. It hones in on a single moment in time and is a prime example of black-and-white thinking. Instead of focusing on “did I succeed?” focus more on “which nuances did I experience during the journey?”.

• The Rule Of Thirds

  Olympian Alexi Pappas uses this method to combat post-success depression. This rule says that you should feel:

  • Crappy a third of the time,

  • OK or “meh” a third of the time, and

  • Good a third of the time.

  The big picture is, it’s OK if the journey isn’t perfect or has some yuck. In fact, it means that you’re probably taking a much healthier path toward success.

• When In Doubt, Chop It Into Pieces

  Another logical approach to happiness, if the arrival fallacy is based on chasing one big goal, is to cut that objective down in size and identify many small goals. This will help you see your entire linear path and quickly boost your confidence.

• Combating Perfectionism with Growth

  Today’s culture is hyper-focused on doing, and more importantly doing everything perfectly. Reflecting every day on how you have changed makes the difference and is, in its own way, the achievement you can be most proud of.

Read more about the strategies you can implement to not get trapped in Arrival Fallacy here.

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Keep your 2023 safe and away from Arrival Fallacy with insights from this week’s Monday Mavens edition.

Share with us your thoughts on today’s topic in the comments below, or reach out to us via Instagram at @lifeatmekari.

See you next week with a better outlook on success!