The end-of-the-year round-up
Let's temporarily fight off the 'arrival fallacy', 'hedonic adaptation' and 'future-oriented thinking', and let's take a look at the past.
I cannot think of a better way to end 2024 than with a good end-of-the-year round-up. I, and you probably too, tend to think about what’s next and focus on that instead of pausing and appreciating what’s happened so far.
Psychologists have terms for this tendency, when don’t they?
It is known as the ‘arrival fallacy’, the belief that achieving a future goal will bring lasting happiness or fulfilment. This belief causes us to focus disproportionately on "what's next" rather than savouring the present or appreciating past achievements. This often leads to a perpetual cycle of striving without taking time to enjoy or reflect on accomplishments, leaving a sense of dissatisfaction or emptiness even after reaching significant milestones.
It's closely related to concepts like hedonic adaptation, where we tend to quickly return to a baseline level of happiness after positive or negative events, and future-oriented thinking, which can sometimes overshadow the value of living in the moment.
Now, let’s shift back from the psychology lesson and the end-of-the-year roundup.
This is a different type of roundup. It will be less about me and more about my fellow writers.
Here’s the thing: Over the past year, I’ve been finding my way on Substack and hopefully improving my writing process. Often, I am thinking about deleting my old posts and starting from scratch, but that’s imposter syndrome talking loudly.
Yet, the best idea that sparkled in my mind this year was the Behind the Substack series. I’ve come across and got to present my 14 questions to so many amazing and talented writers, and guess what—they were all willing to share their processes, planning, and strategies. The highlights of all the interviews were not only getting to know other writers a bit more but also getting some great book recommendations:
‘How To Do Nothing’ by Jenny Odell
‘The Fact of a Body’ by Alexandria (Alex) Marzano-Lesnevich
‘Nancy Drew mysteries’ by Carolyn Keene
‘Always Bring Your Sunglasses’ by Becca Lory Hector
‘Station Eleven’ by Emily St. John Mandel
‘Chorus’ by Rebecca Kauffman
‘Florida’ by Lauren Groff
‘Happily — A Personal History - With Fairy Tales’ by Sabrina Orah Mark
‘The Tiffany Aching’ series from Sir Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series
‘The Heroine’s Journey’ by Gail Carriger
Yep, that’s what I will be doing over the Christmas. How about you?
If you’re light on reading and need more recommendations, here is the collection of all the Behind the Substack series 2024:
The Navigation:
shares musings, meanderings, and methods for navigating modern life as a millennial woman.
The Therapy Room:
shares musings of the mind, body, heart and soul from the world of psychology, yoga and life.
Writing Elizabeth:
queries her family’s experience with leukaemia and shares the highs and lows.
Wellgevity Warrior:
shares actionable guidance and information on adding life to our years through a balanced approach to wellness and health.
6 'P's in AI Pods:
shares how AI is affecting People and places we care about, Products and platforms we build and use, and practices and processes we use every day. Karen has a second publication—Agile Analytics and Beyond—personal newsletter about inclusion, equality, justice, ethics and business value.
The Thursday list:
shares her writing and thinking about home, motherhood, peace of mind, among other things.
Inner Wilderness Unlimited: “that friend who makes things a little weird by asking Big Questions, but makes up for it with inspiring pep talks and —when needed—a kick in the ass” by
I hope your year was as generous as mine. I can’t wait to deliver more books and writing to you next year. And before you go off to wrap your presents and cook a nice roast dinner, know this—Thank you. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing for you.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year x
PS: Next week, I will share with you one more interview with
from Wild, Cozy, Free. After that, we take a break for Christmas. Have a great one!
As so often happens, you have once again served up a fabulous tidbit of insight that perfectly complements something I’m writing. So, thank you for that! And thank you also for such a great series of behind-the-scenes interviews, AND for inviting me to be among those to answer your fabulous questionnaire. I’m excited to see that I missed a couple, and now can catch up! Wishing you all the best of the season and hoping we get to have some more fun together in 2025!
I know this wasn't exactly the point of this post but I hadn't heard the phrase "arrival fallacy" before and it's a good one! Perfectly describes what it is. And thanks for the book recommendations; I already have something like 10 books on my Christmas list but a few more can't hurt right?!